Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Biello has earned a reputation as an exciting and artful musician. He has worked with some of the greatest artists in jazz, and was recognized for his prowess as a saxophonist and improviser by being named the winner of the Julius Keilwerth 2014 International Saxophone Idol Competition. Nick has performed with some of the luminaries of jazz, including Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Carl Allen, John Benitez, Rich Perry, Clarence Penn, Phil Markowitz, and Zaccai Curtis.
His career has taken him to some of the world’s greatest venues, such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls, the Litchfield Jazz Festival, 55 Bar, the Kitano, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. He has also performed at festivals and clubs in Europe,Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, Qatar, Mexico, Canada, and much of the United States. Nick’s debut album, “Vagabond Soul”, was released to critical acclaim. Nick holds a Master of Music Degree from Manhattan School of Music, and teaches Saxophone Performance at The New School and New Jersey City University.
Known for his improvisational virtuosity, his steady presence in the pocket and his command of multiple styles, bassist Clipper Anderson is one of the most highly regarded musicians on the Northwest jazz scene today. Equally comfortable with straight-ahead, traditional, free jazz or bebop, he plays with genuine reverence for the music and an unassuming mastery that speaks for itself.
Clipper has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a composer, performer, studio musician, vocalist and educator. Clipper plays at jazz festivals throughout the United States and Canada. A resident of Seattle, WA, he is presently on the jazz faculty at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.
Camille Bloom has played in premier venues in eight different countries including Canada, U.S.A., Germany, The Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Belgium and Ireland. Combining percussive guitar and a voice that can “purr and wail” (Victory Review), “Camille’s music can make even the rain dance” (Mike Galaxy Indie Music). In the last years, Camille has been featured in Performing Songwriter Magazine and has had songs licensed for use in 21 shows on major network channels including, MTV, E! and Oxygen.
Known for her incredibly dynamic voice and edgy acoustic rock, Camille has toured the U.S. playing the most premier venues on both coasts. As a teacher, Camille, “…loves helping kids who are already so enthralled with writing music find their own voice to write original songs.” She has released three full-length albums, two EPs, and one Live DVD.
Bob Gray taught for 42 years in the Blaine School District, serving primarily as theMiddle and High School band director. He retired in 2023. From the start, Bob, alongwith his wife Dorita, worked to establish an inclusive, supportive band culture whereeveryone in the “band family” is respected and encouraged to grow. Under his direction,the Borderite bands consistently received high marks for performances at regionalcontests and festivals; the BHS Wind Ensemble performed in Japan five times over thecourse of 15 years as invited guests at the Funabashi Music Festival; and the BHS JazzBand took top honors at the 2001 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (Division A). Bob is anaccomplished bass trombone player and low brass specialist. He currently performs withthe Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, the Jansen Jazz Orchestra (Lynden,WA), and theSpinnaker Trombone Ensemble. Bob lives in Ferndale, WA.
A pianist, arranger, composer, lyricist, and author, Randy has enjoyed an international performing career, having played and/or recorded with a “who’s who” of jazz luminaries. His book, Metaphors For The Musician: Perspectives From A Jazz Pianist (Sher Music, 2002) has become one of the most highly acclaimed texts in jazz education, and his composition “When Springtime Turns To Fall” appears in The All-Jazz Real Book. His recordings include Inner Voice (Pony Boy Records 1991), Clockwork (Pony Boy Records 1995), Parallel Tracks (Origin Records 2004), Flash Point (Origin Records 2010), and Open Heart (Origin Records 2018).
Randy makes his home in the Pacific Northwest and taught for 41 years at Seattle’s prestigious Cornish College of the Arts. A regular for many years at the Blaine Harbor Music Festival, Randy states “It’s always so exciting for me to see how much progress the kids make in one short week, and I love performing with such a world-class faculty.”
Lots of energy and an enthusiasm for music have made Hopkins one of the most revered members of the Berklee College of Music Jazz Composition Department over the past 30 years. In addition to his work at Berklee, Hopkins has a jam-packed calendar with engagements to work as a performer, conductor, and composer in such far-flung places as Iceland, Iowa, Alaska, Tokyo, and eastern Europe.Among his career highlights are performances with Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, the Supremes, Burt Bacharach, Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne, and others.
Pianist and composer Nelda Swiggett has been a vibrant force in the Pacific Northwest jazz scene since the early 1990s. Her compositions blend jazz with Afro-Cuban, gospel and classical influences, creating a distinctive and engaging sound. Swiggett’s ensembles, including her trio, quintet, and sextet, have graced stages at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Bumbershoot, and the Earshot Jazz Festival. She is an award-winning composer and OA2 recording artist. Her five album releases have received rave reviews and extensive airplay around the globe. Nelda’s big band arrangements of her original music have been performed by Seattle’s nationally recognized Garfield High School Jazz Band, the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, and others. Nelda currently co-leads Clif & Nelda’s Little Big Band with her trombonist husband, Clif Swiggett; composes for the Megabopolis sextet; and performs “For the Birds” — live music, images and poetry invite reflection on our changing climate — with the Nelda Swiggett Quintet. She is also in demand as a solo pianist, side woman and jazz educator.
Portland native Christopher Brown is a drummer, composer, bandleader, educator, and 20-year military veteran between the Marines and Army who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz and American culture.
His performance credits include a long list of who's-who within and outside the world of Jazz, such as Beyonce, esperanza spalding, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, David Sanborn, Randy Brecker, John Patitucci, Benny Golson, and more. As an educator he holds two music degrees (BM & MM) from Rutgers University (NJ) and is a former professor of music theory and history at his alma mater. He also co-created a course entitled “Business Innovation Through Jazz Improvisation” via Portland State University’s MBA program, and currently hosts a monthly workshop for high school Jazz musicians at The 1905 Jazz club in Portland, OR. titled "Behind the Scene" in partnership with Montavilla Jazz.
Aside from his music endeavors, he has also spent time in front of the camera, appearing in commercials for MasterCard and the History Channel, re-enactment scenes on the Maury Povich show, Beyoncé’s “Countdown” video, and big-budget films "Mr Holland's Opus" (starring Richard Dreyfuss) and “American Gangster” (starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe). He currently serves on the board of “TASTE for Equity” (OR), leads Portland’s Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Jazz program, and is the faculty drum instructor at Portland State University.
A constant presence in the Seattle area for 30 years, David Marriott, Jr. is best known as a featured trombone soloist and composer/arranger, both as a sideman and leader. David teaches not only the history and mechanics of jazz, but also guides students in finding their own improvisational voices.
Andy Marshall is returning as The jazz choir Director at the Blaine Harbor Music Camp. He taught here from 2012 to 2014 and discovered that Blaine was such a great community that he decided to move here permanently in 2020. Andy is a public school music educator who has taught choir in Bellingham at Squalicum High School, in Thailand at International School Bangkok and now at Blaine middle school and high school. Andy started his career at Edmonds community college under the direction of KIRK MARCY. He then became a professional a cappella singer in the group Kickshaw and toured and recorded for six years.
He and his wife then joined the Peace Corps and lived in the country of Mali and west Africa for two years helping small villages with sanitation and picking up as much music as possible. Africa is where he decided to become a teacher and then spend time at Western Washington University obtaining a masters in teaching. Currently he is a member of Male Ensemble Northwest, A group of male educators who perform all over the northwest advocating for choral music in schools.
In the Pacific Northwest, where she built her career, Greta Matassa wins wide acclaim as a vocalist. She has been voted four times by the readers of “Earshot”, the Seattle jazz magazine, as the best jazz vocalist in the Northwest. Jim Wilke, the Seattle jazz maven, praises her versatility. “She has a fearlessness in approaching material that makes her like an instrumentalist in a jam session,” Wilke says.
A dedicated teacher, Greta has been a featured faculty with the Blaine Harbor Music Festival for over fifteen years. She observes that “every year the kids teach me new things about how to help them learn! It’s a two-way street and that’s what makes this a great musical experience for all of us.”
Three-time Latin Grammy nominee Jovino Santos Neto worked as a pianist, flutist and producer with the legendary Hermeto Pascoal in his native Brazil for 15 years before moving to Seattle in 1993. He has released several recordings as a composer and leader of his Quinteto.
A worldwide performer and lecturer, he has received many commissions and awards for his work for orchestras, soloists, and chamber ensembles. His music blends contemporary harmonies and improvisations with a rich variety of Brazilian rhythmic languages. Jovino was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame and is a Professor of Music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.
Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Wynton Marsalis, internationally acclaimed trumpeter, composer, and 2020 Grammy winner Charlie Porter has delved into many projects from jazz and classical to Arabic, Indian, African, Australian Aboriginal and Korean music, seeking to find common ground among all “good music”.
Touring with his quartet throughout India, China, West Africa and Southeast Asia as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s American Music Abroad program was highly influential in shaping Charlie’s inclusive view. A graduate of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, Charlie is equally at home as a side-man and band-leader in jazz, or as a classical soloist and chamber musician. He has earned numerous awards for his skills across the musical spectrum.
For forty years Bob had been a music teacher in the public schools working at the middle school level teaching band, jazz band, elementary music and chorus. He was elected Music Teacher of the Year in 2000 for the San Juan district of the Washington State MENC (Music Education National Conference) by his peers and was subsequently admitted to the NWBA, an organization with the elite membership of outstanding music teachers in the northwest.
Bob’s clarinet playing has been recognized by both jazz and classical audiences, is participation in countless Dixieland Jazz Festivals around the U.S.A. have allowed him to perform with famous musicians and travel around the globe as a jazz musician
Nico Tower is an intermedia artist. Over the past fifteen years, she has released ten albums, and presented her original works in more than 40 cities. Currently, she works as a composer, accompanist, performer, designer, and educator. She teaches various instruments both privately and through youth programs in addition to instructing music at Seattle Waldorf High School. As a designer, she provides photography, web and instructional design for non-profits and independent business. She collaborates and performs with several of Seattle's contemporary dance entities, and has scored works featured in various prominent Northwest festivals and venues.
Bassist, Composer, and Educator, Alex Tremblay has been on the music scene in New York City since 2013. Originally hailing from North Providence, Rhode Island, Alex began performing and composing music at a young age and would go on to the esteemed Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford to further his studies and receive his Bachelor’s of Music. With wide-ranging influences spanning from the likes of Ray Brown and Ron Carter to James Jamerson and Jaco Pastorious, Alex has been able to formulate a sound and style that has found him working consistently throughout his career with many different artists from NYC to all over the world, performing at many of the city’s and worlds top venues. With his compositions, he draws influences from his love of many different styles of music,and explores the sonic possibilities each style offers to formulate a sound uniquely his own. His debut record Thoughts and Images was released October 7th of 2022 and features some of the top names on the scene today, including vocalist Vanisha Gould, saxophonist Nicholas Biello, guitarist Tony Davis, pianist Taber Gable, and drummer Evan Hyde. Ijn January 2024 he released a collaborative record with guitarist and longtime friend Dan Liparini entitled, Miss You, Dear Old Friend on La Reserve Records which has been well received by the public. He has written and arranged music for many of the ensembles he works with as well as taking commissions to write works for film and dance. You can follow Alex on all socials @alextremblaymusic.
