Born in the Bronx, NY, Albert Rivera’s musical journey began early on and flourished at Laguardia High School for Performing Arts in New York City, Albert has won awards as both a sideman and a leader. He won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2009 , the 2012 Chamber Music American Residency Grant and most recently the 2021 New York City Artist Corps Grant. Critics have called him “a modern Jazz Messenger.” As a performer, he has appeared in his hometown of New York in venues like Zinc Bar, Smalls Jazz Club, and the Blue Note . His collaborators have included Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Claudio Roditi, Avery Sharpe, Rachel Z, and legendary pianist Junior Mance. At the Litchfield Jazz Camp and Jazz Festival, where he is the current Director of Operations, he often appears with his own group and faculty stars like Matt Wilson, Paul Bollenback and Dave Stryker.

www.AlbertRiverJazz.com

Sally Terrell’s professional singing career may be a “second act” following thirty years as an English professor, but music has always been her first passion. A native of Youngstown, New York, she began playing piano and singing at age six, poking out melodies alongside her father, a classically trained pianist and jazz aficionado who passed along his love for music while discovering his youngest daughter could play and sing by ear. Terrell’s interest and skill flourished in her public school music program, but she would put her musical ambitions aside while building a successful college teaching career in Connecticut. Terrell began singing professionally when she and her husband formed the Green Jazz Band in 2010. Her second release, Feel Alive (2022), “artfully captures the zeitgeist of the pandemic era with a collection of emotional, socially conscious originals and fresh interpretations of standards that uniquely fit our cultural moment.” Both projects highlight a fruitful collaboration with producer and renowned jazz pianist John diMartino, who says of her work, “Sally brings a beautiful energy to these songs, breathing new life into them.” Terrell’s intuitive interpretations and razor-sharp ear showcase a velvety alto and a gift for sharing the timeless stories of jazz while boldly exploring her range across musical genres.

www.SallyTerrell.com

Composer, arranger, bandleader, and drummer Art Lillard grew up in Miami, where his jazz roots include playing with the great master Ira Sullivan and studying with pianist/composer Wally Cirillo. Having begun his college music studies in Florida, Art transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he earned merit scholarships, several Faculty Association Awards for Performance, and his bachelor’s degree in jazz composition and arranging. A professional drummer since 1970, Art has had a rich performing career, leading and co-leading various jazz ensembles, and as a sideman in groups of various musical genres, including jazz, country & western, cabaret, rock, and show music. He has recorded with swing/blues band Groovalaya (“Groovalaya ’92”), with vocalist Cleve Douglass (“Duke Ellington Boulevard”), and with flutist Jan Leder (“Passage to Freedom” on Monad Records and “Nonchalant” on A-Records). He performed at the Greenwich Village jazz Festival in 1983 with the Amy Duncan Trio (at the Blue Note), at Finland’s Pori Jazz Festival in 1993 with the New York All-Stars, and at the Hunter Mountain Festival with Slicker, a country & western group, in 1993, ’94 and ’95. During the 1990’s he also played at the Hudson Riverfest in Yonkers with his Heavenly Big Band, with the Dixieland band the 9th Street Stompers, and several times with the Jan Leder Quartet. Art’s own ensembles include the Heavenly Big Band, the Blue Heaven swing sextet, the On Time trio/quartet, and the Art Lillard Duo. He has produced eight professional recordings with these bands.

www.ArtLillard.com

Dan Pugach is a GRAMMY® Award nominated drummer and composer, a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Jazz Composer Award, a winner of the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize/Manny Albam Commission as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and a Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency Program participant at the Kennedy Center (where he worked with Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis and George Cables). He was the featured drummer on the 2024 GRAMMY® Award winning album “How Love Begins,” co-produced by Nicole Zuraitis and Christian McBride. Dan is the leader of The Dan Pugach Nonet and the Dan Pugach Big Band, playing his original music and arrangements. The Nonet and Big Band tour regularly, and have played at Bird’s Eye Basel, The Zone in Tel Aviv, Blue Note Jazz, Birdland Jazz Club, The 55bar, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Loft, The Jazz Estate, Stowe Jazz Festival, and esteemed Performing Arts Centers across the country. Dan’s debut nonet album, “Plus One” (2018), was released on UNIT Records and charted on jazz radio in the top 20. The album includes Dan’s arrangement of Jolene (Dolly Parton), which was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award (Best Arrangement, Instruments with Vocals) alongside vocalist Nicole Zuraitis.

www.Dan Pugach.com

Leala Cyr is fast becoming one of the most sought-after jazz vocalists of her generation. A rare “double threat,” Cyr complements her impeccable vocals with a warm, golden tone on the trumpet. As a member of Esperanza Spalding’s “Radio Music and Chamber Music Societies,” she has performed around the world and has appeared on The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The View, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits, and more. In February 2019, Cyr released her debut album, First Instinct. A blend of originals and standards, the album showcases her unique talent for vocal improvisation as well as her ingenuity as a songwriter and arranger. Leala has appeared with her own group at highly regarded venues such as Cornelia Street Café, National Sawdust, Zinc Bar, and Rockwood Music Hall in New York City; Ryles Jazz Club, the Bee Hive, and the Beat Brew Hall in Boston; the Egg in Albany, NY; the Blue Opus in Green Bay, WI; and at the Baby Grand Jazz Series and Black Eyed Sally's in Hartford, CT.

www.LealaCyr.com

Dan Moretti is an acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and educator with a career spanning over four decades. Known for his versatility and innovative approach to jazz, Moretti has released numerous albums as a bandleader and has performed with a wide array of legendary musicians. His work continues to push the boundaries of jazz, blending traditional elements with modern influences. Dan is thrilled to announce the release of his latest album, Dan Moretti & Brazilia: Live at the Pump House Music Works. This extraordinary live recording captures a vibrant performance dedicated to the legendary jazz composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, blending the genius of Shorter’s compositions with the dynamic rhythms of Latin jazz.

www.DanMoretti.com