Peter Erskine began playing the drums at the age of four and has been at the forefront of world-class jazz musicians for the last twenty-six years. His first major professional work was with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, which he joined in 1972. After three years, left Kenton to perform with Maynard Ferguson for another two years. In 1978 Peter combined with Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul to form the fusion group Weather Report which rose to promi-nence with five albums including the Grammy Award winning “8:30".

More recently Peter has recorded with most of the top artists of today. He has performed with Michael Brecker, Mike Maineri and Eddie Gomez in the group Steps Ahead. He also played with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Steely Dan, Pat Metheny, Freddie Hubbard and a host of other notable jazz musicians. Peter also recorded numerous albums under his own name like “Transition”, “Motion Poet”, “Sweet Soul” and “Big Theatre” to name but a few. One of his latest playing ventures includes a trio called The Lounge Art Ensemble with saxophonist Bob Sheppard and bassist Dave Carpenter. Their new CD is entitle “Lava Jazz” and was released in November of 1997.

Terry Gibbs has been a dominant force in the jazz world for over five decades. His energetic playing and personality have distinguished him as on the leading vibraphone players of all times. His “Dream Band” recordings of the 50's and 60's are considered by many to be the finest collection of jazz musicians ever to play in one band. The arrangements and solo playing are some of the most exciting you will ever hear on any big band recording.

To date, Terry has the distinction of being the only musician nominated in four categories of the Playboy Jazz Club every year since its inception. They include Best Vibraphonist, Best Quartet, Best Big Band and Best Bandleader. In addition, he has written more that 300 original songs and has recorded over 35 long-playing albums. Jazz history books will no doubt herald Terry Gibbs is one of the greatest vibes players of all times.

Tom Ranier is known primarily for his jazz piano playing but he is also a very accomplished saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. He has risen to the top of the California jazz scene and is generally regarded as one of Southern California’s top jazz improvisers. One of Tom’s trademarks is his extraordinary technical ability which, at the keyboard, is reminiscent of Oscar Peterson’s bravura and bluesiness, Chick Corea’s intricate and beautiful melodies and Bill Evan’s chordal brilliance. As a composer and arranger, Tom exhibits a broad orchestral palette and a keen sense of melody and harmony. This is clearly illustrated in his latest recording effort entitled “In The Still Of The Night” which showcases eleven of his original compositions for keyboard, saxophone, clarinet and string orchestra.

As a jazz educator, he is currently involved in a New Jazz Studies Program at U.C.L.A. headed up by famous jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell. Tom’s teaching responsibilities in this program are in the areas of jazz piano and jazz theory.

Clipper Anderson is an alumnus of The University of Montana where he attended college as a music major in the late 70's. After college, he left to go to Spokane, Washington where he maintained a busy schedule as a professional jazz bassist. He worked steadily for many years at Ankeny’s on the top of the Ridpath Hotel while garnering most of the jazz bass work there was to be had in the city. Also during his tenure in Spokane, Clipper taught bass at Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Clipper currently resides in Seattle where he has spent the last several years building his reputation as on the of the finest jazz bass players in the Pacific Northwest. He was recently described in Seattle’s premier jazz magazine Earshot as being “a player for the connoisseur to savor”.

Dr. Robert LedBetter is an Associate Professor of Music at The University of Montana where is he Director of Percussion Studies and Director of the “Big Sky Winds” Marching Band. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas, a Masters Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Akron and a B.M. in Music Education from Mars Hill College in North Carolina.

As a performer, Dr. LedBetter was the lead player and soloist with the Panhandlers, a professional steel drum band in Dallas. He currently performs with two similar ensembles in Missoula called the 4-tet Caribe and the UM Islanders. In addition, Robert is a free-lance drummer with local jazz groups like the Trout Quintet, the Ed Norton Big Band and the Chuck Florence Quartet.

Bill Prince, a professor of American Music at the University of North Florida, comes from a background rich in music. He has performed with numerous big bands including the Buddy Rich Band, the Billy Maxted Band and the NORAD Band based in Omaha, Nebraska. Bill has performed on over 50 albums recorded in the studios of Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Miami. This includes his own “The Best Kept Secret In Jazz” CD released by Revelation Records. He can currently be heard on Duffy Jackson’s CD “Swing! Swing! Swing!” and on two of Buddy Rich’s albums recently rereleased on CD entitled “Mercy, Mercy” and “The Best Of Buddy Rich”.

One of Bill’s amazing talents is his ability to perform professionally on several different instruments. For example, he was offered a position to play in Buddy Rich’s saxophone section but wound up playing trumpet. When he was in the NORAD Band he regularly played the tenor sax but was often called upon to play trumpet. The list of instruments that Bill can play convincingly include trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, flute, clarinet, saxophone, piano and electric bass. His dream is to release a big band CD on which he will write all the music and play all the parts.

Dave Eshelman is the Director of Jazz Studies at California State University, Hayward. He has been active as a trombonist, composer, arranger, band leader and educator for over three decades. Dave has performed with Joe Henderson, Tito Puente, Gerald Wilson and Ray Brown and has recorded with a group called Triceratops which is a Bay Area jazz sextet. He has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival with guitarist Jim Hall and has collaborated with trumpeter/composer Terrence Blanchard.

Twenty five years ago Mr. Eshelman founded the Jazz Garden Big Band, comprised of the top San Francisco Bay Area professional jazz musicians. The band has record-ed four LP/CD albums which feature his compositions and arrangements. These albums include “Deep Voices” featuring Joe Henderson, “When Dreams Come True” and “Temperature Rising, A Suite For Jazz Orchestra”. Dave’s music is widely published and has been performed by such jazz notables as Don Ellis, Bill Watrous and Stan Kenton. It has also been played by the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the Airmen of Note and several other armed service bands, professional bands, college bands and public school bands throughout the United States and Europe.