SUMMER MEDIA GUIDE

2012

Centrum promotes creative experiences that change lives. Bringing together aspiring, emerging, and master artists to develop creative skills, find mentorship, and build community. Centrum performances and installations are the public culmination of the workshops and residencies, inviting the greater public into the artistic experience.

CENTRUM 2012 SUMMER MEDIA GUIDE

Table of Contents

About Centrum Page 3

Voice Works Page 4

Festival of American Fiddle Tunes Page 7

Port Townsend Writers Conference Page 13

Jazz Port Townsend Page 16

Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival Page 24

Performance Schedule Page 31

2012 Media Guide provided by:

Centrum 223 Battery Way Fort Worden State Park Port Townsend, WA/98368

ph: 360.385.3102 cell: 206.851.0411 fax: 360.385.2470 www.centrum.org

CENTRUM 2012 SUMMER MEDIA GUIDE

ABOUT CENTRUM

Centrum, in partnership with Fort Worden State Park, is a gathering place for artists and creative thinkers from around the world, students of all ages and backgrounds, and audiences seeking extraordinary cultural enrichment. Centrum promotes creative experiences that change lives.

Located in Port Townsend, Washington, Fort Wordena turn-of-the-century army base--offers an unmatched combination of natural beauty and historic interest. Acres of saltwater beaches, wooded hills, and open fields are framed by stunning vistas of the Olympic and Cascade ranges and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Its a place where the land stops, the sea begins, and the mind keeps going.

Over the past three decades Centrum has gathered hundreds of thousands of individualsgreat artists, creative thinkers, ardent students, and passionate fanswho have transformed Fort Worden into a legendary site of creative learning and interaction.

Creativity is our primary resource. We believe that individuals and organizations achieve excellence by taking risks and embracing change. We change by actively seeking out, inviting in, listening to, and learning from people of all ages and backgrounds. Centrum serves as both a retreat from and opening to the world.

Centrum was founded as a partnership between the Washington State Arts Commission, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. We continue to thrive in partnership with these agencies and develop new partnerships with educational and arts organizations (such as Goddard College and Copper Canyon Press) that extend our mission and expand our capacity and reach.

With these partners Centrum is able to provide year-round programming at Fort Worden. We offer 2-7 day residential workshopssome very intimate, others serving several hundred participants in myriad forms of music, dance, writing, visual arts, and theater, led by master artists from around the region and world. Often these gatherings feature major festivals and public performances drawing thousands from around the region to McCurdy Pavilion and the Wheeler Theater. Centrum provides artist residencies and creative gatherings devoted to new work and new ideas.

While most of our programming is intergenerational we do provide a series of residential learning experiences that serve youth only. About one-third of Centrum workshop participants are 18 years old or younger. We are dramatically increasing scholarship funds available for youth with the goal of being able to serve and learn from the broadest possible spectrum of aspiring young artists and creative thinkers.

We directly serve about 27,000 individuals each year.

At the core of the Centrum community are more than one thousand individual donors and volunteers who demonstrate through their generosity a profound belief in the power of creativity. They understand that imagination is the freedom to create a different world--for an hour, a week, or a lifetime.

2012 Summer Season

VOICEWORKS

MONDAY, JUNE 25 SUNDAY, JULY 1

Tim OBrien Download photo

Grammy award winning guitarist, fiddler, banjoist and vocalist Tim OBrien has toured extensively in the US, Europe, Japan, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, and has been featured on Austin City Limits, the Grand Ole Opry, and BBCs Transatlantic Sessions. He has recorded with many world-renowned artists including The Chieftains, Paul Brady, Steve Martin, Earl Scruggs, and Mark Knopfler; and is also a prolific and celebrated songwriter whose music has been recorded by Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, Kathy Mattea and others. Drawing from many influences to create a unique blend of bluegrass, honky-tonk, folk and swing with the award-winning band Hot Rize, Tim emerged in the 1980s as a bridge between traditional and modern bluegrass styles. Hot Rize was the International Bluegrass Music Association's first Entertainer of the Year in 1990; and in 1993, Tim took the IBMA's Male Vocalist of the Year honors. Tims recording of Art Stamper will appear in the 2012 Ken Burns film, Prohibition. Tim OBriens appearance is made possible by the Anne and Dick Schneider Directors Creative Fund and all who contribute to that fund.

Kelli Jones Download photo

Music around a campfire seems to be about as good as it gets. Both the experience and the memory of the experience are downright heart-warming, spiriting us away to a place where the blues isnt such a bad thing. Born and raised in the Piedmont of North Carolina, Kelli Jones must have spent a lot of time playing and singing around a campfire because her sensual voice evokes that same spiritual peace. She is a powerful force in the progressive music scene of Southwest Louisiana where she now lives, shining as a songwriter in her own band Jones and the Giants, and playing fiddle and singing in French in her all-girl Cajun trio Jolie Blonde et les Bassettes. With a repertoire that seems to be made up of the best songs youve never heard and that natural musical talent that only comes from being raised in it, not only does this young lady have a future in music, music has a future in Kelli Jones.

Aoife ODonovan Download photo

Aoife ODonovan grew up in a musical family, immersed in folk music. She studied contemporary improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music, and has since performed and recorded with Ollabelle, Karan Casey and Seamus Egan, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Sara Watkins, and Chris Thile of the Punch Brothers. For the past ten years, Aoife has been fronting the alt-bluegrass/string band Crooked Still, and has toured in ten different countries, performed with the Boston Pops and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. In addition, Aoife's husky and instantly-identifiable voice can be heard on HBOs True Blood, and Private Practice on ABC. In June 2010, Aoife released her first solo recording, garnering rave reviews from audiophiles worldwide, and plans to record a full length follow up, due for release in 2012.

Pharis Romero Download photo

Pharis Romero is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, teacher, and a respected figure in North American acoustic music circles. She has performed and instructed at many of the major North American festivals and venues, including Wintergrass, the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals, and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. A native of Horsefly, deep in the Cariboo interior of British Columbia, Pharis developed her style through both classical training and older tradition-bearers. Writing songs about hard living, love and loss, her music has been played around the world. Pharis began performing at an early age with her family band, The Patenaude Family, and is a founding member of the Haints Old Time Stringband. She currently records, performs, and makes banjos with her husband Jason. Their first album, A Passing Glimpse, reached number one on the North American Folk DJ playlist in 2011.

Mollie OBrien Download photo

Mollie OBrien has a voice the way Groucho Marx had a sense of humor, the way Secretariat had legs, and the way Elizabeth Taylor has eyes (or husbands). Try to imagine one without the other - impossible. Mollies voice is a natural extension of herself. Anything she can imagine, she can communicate in song. Refusing to be pigeon-holed to any particular musical genre, the breadth of her music is startling - jazz, R&B, blues, gospel, or a southern mountain ballad. She approaches each with an ease that makes you think she was steeped in the style since the first time a note left her throat, dipping into the songs of Lennon and McCartney, Percy Mayfield, Memphis Minnie, Chuck Berry, and the Subdudes. Shell be accompanied at the workshop by her husband Rich Moore, well-known and well-loved in Colorado's acoustic music family, and the reigning "King of Party Guitar" - he knows the chords and every signature lick to any song youll want to sing during the week, and hell be there to back you up.

Courtney Granger Download photo

Courtney Granger is the next generation of the Balfa Family, and his inspired fiddling and singing are testament to the power of that bloodline. He recorded his debut CD for Rounder Records at the age of 15. Now in his late twenties, he has matured into one of the most passionate singers and fiddlers in Louisiana. Courtney sheds new light on the ancient traditions left to him by his family, and stakes his own claim as a vibrant young master musician. He sings with a deep soulfulness, fiddles with a seemingly impossible combination of ancient wisdom and youthful vigor, and possesses an endless repertoire of both Cajun and classic country tunes. Courtney has recorded and performed with the Balfa Toujours, Tim OBrien, Kevin Wimmer, Dirk Powell, and many others. He currently performs with the Grammy nominated Cajun quintet, the Pine Leaf Boys.

Bill Kirchen Download photo

Virtuoso Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen is one of the fortunate few who can step onto any stage and elicit instant recognition for a career that has spanned over 40 years. His diverse rsum includes guitar work with Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe, and he was the original guitarist with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, whose signature blend of rock 'n' roll, hard-core country, boogie and rockabilly produced a high-octane mix that propelled them into the stratosphere of San Francisco Bay area bands in the eary 1970s. Named, A Titan of the Telecaster by Guitar Player Magazine, Bill champions an American musical tradition where rock 'n' roll and country music draw upon their origins in the blues and bluegrass, Western swing, and honky-tonk.

Caleb Klauder Download photo

Caleb Klauders warm sound, authentic and familiar, feels all at once contemporary and vintage, as though its coming from the kitchen next-door. Caleb has been on tour for the last fifteen years, most notably with the Caleb Klauder Country Band, the Foghorn Stringband, and with Dirk Powell. Hes opened for acts such as JJ Cale, Iris Dement, David Bromberg, and the Del McCoury Band, and has shared the stage with Tim OBrien, Kevin Burke, The Wilders, Uncle Earl, and Justin Townes Earle. He has toured extensively throughout the US, the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Malaysia, including appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, the New orleans Jazz and heritage Festival, the Chicago Folk and Roots Festival, The Seattle Folk Life Festival, Bumbershoot, and the ROMP Festival. In 2010 the Caleb Klauder band released their critically acclaimed second album, Western Country. Praised for its classic country vibe, the album reached #2 on the Freeform American Roots Radio Chart.

Linda and David Lay Download photo

Linda and David Lay have performed at the Library of Congress, several National Folk Festivals, the Masters of the Steel String Guitar tour, the Birchmere, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Opryland Hotel, and many other prestigious venues and stages. Raised in Bristol, Virginia, where the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers made their first recordings, Linda was singing on stage with her father and uncles by the time she was only six. Later, she and her husband David founded the innovative bluegrass band, Appalachian Trail. Linda currently sings and plays acoustic bass with David in the popular quartet Springfield Exit. In 2006, Linda was chosen to be a Master Artist for the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. David Lay, a native of east Tennessee, is a talented harmony singer, solid rhythm guitar player, and a farmer. Linda and David currently reside in Fairfax County, Virginia, where they run a vegetable farm and country store.

Tony Marcus and Patrice Haan Download photo

Tony Marcus and Patrice Haan form the group Leftover Dreams, performing standards (and not-so-standards) of the Great American Songbook combined with witty and imaginative vocal arrangements featuring Patrice's sultry and seductive voice. Tony, a longtime bastion of the Bay Area music scene, is perhaps best known for his work with R. Crumb & the Cheap Suit Serenaders and Cats & Jammers. He has also toured Japan in 2004 with Geoff Muldaur. Tony plays guitar and sings as well, and the combination creates an intriguing mix of moody ballads, jumping swingers and unabashedly romantic love songs. Recently Leftover Dreams was featured on NPRs All Songs Considered, where their rendition of Teach Me Tonight won the weekly listeners poll.

Nancy Thorwardson Download photo

Nancy Thorwardson is a singer and songwriter, guitar and ukulele player, egg and leg shaker, and occasional drummer. She has been a performing musician for many years, playing western and standard swing music, old-timey and Cajun dance music, and folk and bluegrass music. She's currently in six bands! Nancy will lead a ukulele workshop each afternoon.

Lauren Sheehan Download photo

Lauren Sheehan is a contemporary songster, interpreting a wide variety of material learned from some of America's finest folk and blues artists. Her repertoire includes unaccompanied ballads, country blues, bluegrass, vintage country, 60's pop, and modern folk. She has a special affinity for the traditional music of America, and her passion for learning directly from other musicians has led her into the homes and front porches of the tradition-bearers such as John Cephas, Ginny Hawker, Etta Baker, Carl Rutherford and Howard Armstrong, who passed on much of the material and stylistic qualities she presents today. "The first thing that strikes me is the beauty and clarity of Lauren's voice, says Phil Wiggins. It's like discovering some new instrument that combines qualities of fiddle and clarinet, fresh but with deep roots

FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN FIDDLE TUNES

SUNDAY, JULY 1 SUNDAY, JULY 8

Brandon Moreau Download photo

Brandon Moreau was born and raised in Basile, Louisiana, home of the Balfa family, Harry Choates, and many other important figures in Cajun music. His high soulful singing, smooth timing, and unique fiddling are very much steeped in the Balfa style. His grandfather, Vories Moreau, was a well-known fiddler around the Basile-Eunice area, although he never recorded. Brandon's father, Kerry, played with Dewey Balfa during the 1980s and early 90s. Playing the fiddle since junior high school, Moreau has toured with Ray Abshire, including performances in California and at the Jazz Heritage Festival in New Orleans, and performed in Canada in the 400-year celebration of the Acadians.

Al Berard, Download photo

Al Berard, Grammy nominee, Cajun French Music Association multi-award recipient, and Cajun native son, has been playing traditional French Cajun music all his life and enjoys sharing both the music, and anecdotal stories of his home and his culture, as he has done all over the world for 30 years. Al sings and plays the fiddle, guitar, and mandolin as well as composes new Cajun songs in a traditional style. He started out playing rock & roll guitar, but he learned many of his Cajun tunes from recordings of Dennis McGee and Dewey Balfa, and took his first fiddle lessons from Hadley Castille. Al has a special love of two-fiddle Cajun music, and hes released two recordings of just that. The Basin Brothers, one of the lasting bands that he founded, has a CD consisting entirely of twin fiddle tunes, Deux Violons; he also has a twin fiddle recording with Karen England, Feet Off the Ground, on the Swallow Records label.

Ray Abshire Download photo

Ray Abshire is one of Cajun music's purist accordionists and vocalists and a living link to its very roots. A member of one of Louisiana's legendary musical families, Ray grew up surrounded by Cajun music's pioneer artists. He has performed with many all of the old masters whose recordings now form the texts for players today. Ray played for many years with the Balfa Brothers, helping to open windows for Cajun culture in the nation's musical consciousness. He loves to share his knowledge and skills with aspiring players. Recognized as a master musician, Ray counts himself as one of the resurgence leaders of Cajun music. His playing and singing is unfiltered and has its own wholesome electricity. He plays it the way it was handed down to him and he understands the importance of holding on and adding to his culture. Ray draws from a large repertoire of songs rarely heard today, as featured on his recording For Old Times Sake, with fiddlers Courtney Granger and Kevin Wimmer.

Genticorum Download photo

This energetic traditional Quebecois musical trio based in Montreal, Quebec, are comprised of Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand (wooden flute, fiddle, vocals), Pascal Gemme (fiddle, feet, vocals) and Yann Falquet (guitar, feet, vocals). Genticorum offers a rich Qubcois repertoire of captivatingly-crooked traditional tunes and tongue-in-cheek songs. In addition to scavaging for seldom-heard traditional fare, they integrate an inspired choice selection of original compositions that render hommage to their musical roots. They weave precise and intricate fiddle and flute work, gorgeous vocal harmonies, energetic foot percussion and guitar and bass accompaniment into a big and jubilant musical feast. Their distinctive sound, and especially their supreme sense of humor, make them and stage presence make them welcome everywhere they go. At the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards, Genticorum won the "Traditional Album Of The Year" and "Ensemble Of The Year.

Lester McCumbers Download photo

Lester McCumbers carries on a rich tradition of fiddling, singing and guitar playing that has thrived in his family for generations. He has performed widely for more than 60 years with old-time and bluegrass music groups, appearing at concerts, contests, festivals, square dances and on radio shows throughout West Virginia and elsewhere. He has maintained his music as an important part of his life, developing a personal style of playing and singing marked by sincerity, drive and emotion. Lester continues to pass on his musical heritage to others, including family members, apprentices and countless workshop participants. He and his wife and performing partner Linda have known each other since childhood. They were married in 1937 and raised nine children as they performed with a variety of bands. For four years in the mid-1960s, they hosted a weekly radio show on WSPZ in Spencer. The couples first album, Old Timey, was released in 2002 and features 26 of their old-time fiddle tunes and songs.

Kim Johnson Download photo

Kim Johnson is from Clendenin in Kanawha County, West Virginia. She was exposed to banjo music at the West Virginia Folk Festival held in Glenville, WV, where she also attended college. Kim bought her first banjo in the early 1970s and initially struggled until she met West Virginia fiddler Wilson Douglas, whose father and grandmother had both been fine banjoists. Kims determination and persistence eventually paid off and she learned to play in a sparse style suitable for string band accompaniment. Kims banjo playing compliments Wilson Douglass fiddling so well that the two made three recordings together: Boatin Up Sandy (1989), Common Ground (1993) and Back Porch Symphony (1995). Kims song list includes many old-time fiddle tunes common in Clay County, WV, such as Liza Jane, Pretty Little Cat, and Elzics Farewell. When shes not performing, she can be found teaching at camps such as the Augusta Heritage Center, and performing at festivals all over West Virginia and beyond.

Elmer Rich Download photo

Elmer Rich was born in West Virginia in 1919. As a youngster, Elmer played mandolin in a band that included his father, fiddler Harry Pap Rich; and Elmers uncle, fiddler Sanford Rich. In 1936, the group recorded for the Library of Congress, and played for Eleanor Roosevelt at Arthurdale, where she pinned a blue ribbon on young Elmers chest. Dozens more ribbons followed over the next 70 plus years, and continue to accumulate at his home. Retired from the railroad since 1980, Elmer has continued to perform and record. His albums include, Augusta Heritage Recordings, a journey back to Elmers roots as he recalls and plays two dozen tunes from his childhood. Another album, Tunes from Sanford and Pap, is a field recording made in Elmers living room by Mark Crabtree over several visits during 2008 and 2009. The album concludes with four tracks from the famed 1936 Library of Congress session, including the popular Colored Aristocracy and an exciting Lop-Eared Mule, with live square dance calls. (Photo by Paula Hunt)

Dwight Lamb Download photo

Dwight Lamb was born in Moorhead, Iowa in 1934 to Clarence and Mary Lamb. Descendants of Danish immigrants, the Lamb family cherished the traditions of self-made music and entertainment. Dwight's grandfather, Chris Jerup, played traditional Danish melodies on the single-row button accordion and the fiddle. His father played the fiddle and his mother chorded on the pump organ. His great-grandfather, Kraen Jerup, was a famous fiddler in Denmark and his tunes are still played in Denmark to this day. In 1946 Chris Jerup moved in with the Lambs and it was then that Dwight started to learn Danish tunes on his grandfather's accordion. He captured about 100 tunes from his grandfather and most of the tunes weren't named. Dwight has also mastered a style of fiddling often referred to as Missouri Valley Style. Dwight developed this style as a protg of Bob Walters, and learned much of his vast repertoire of hornpipes, waltzes and other dance tunes. Dwight also became close friends and exchanged tunes with other great fiddlers in the region, most notably Cyril Stinnett. Dwight's Danish roots are important to him and he conveys his love of the music through the simple, yet lively and elegant tunes that his grandfather gave him. Today these tunes are being revived in Denmark through the teachings of Kristian Bugge and Mette Jensen, who will travel from Denmark to accompany Dwight at the festival.

Kristian Bugge Download photo

Kristian Bugge was born in Nstved, Denmark, and studied at Raduga Art College in Moscow where he was taught by Mikhail Tsinman, the first violinist of the Bolshoi Theatre. In the spring of 2000, he went to study at the Malung Folk High School, Sweden. Here he received six month of lessons in traditional dance from Ami Petterson followed by fiddle classes with the distinguished Swedish fiddler Kalle Almlf. Kristian is very active on the Danish and Scandinavian folk music scene, both as a musician and teacher. He has specialized in the strong Danish folk music traditions, playing with groups like Jensen & Bugge, Impuls Trio, Kings of Polka, Skaarup & Bugge. And recent years have also led to various crossover projects as the cooperation with classical percussionist Ronni Kot Wenzel in the very active duo Wenzell & Bugge and the exciting Danish folk big band Habadekuk. (Photo by Ronni Kot Wenzell)

Mette Kathrine Jensen Download photo

Mette Kathrine Jensen has a deep love for the music and culture of her country, Denmark. Of her musical partnership with Kristian Bugge, she says "From the word go it's been traditional music that we cherish and we focus on. That's how we met, and we have played countless concerts and for dances in Denmark, Germany, USA and even in South Korea - all over the place." They consistently visit older musicians to learn their music, concentrating on the different playing styles that still exist in the various parts of the country. On a visit to Iowa, Mette and Kristian met the American accordionist and fiddler Dwight Lamb, whose grandfather was Danish. Subsequently they have learned old Danish tunes from him, and currently travel with him in Denmark and the US. Together, Mette Kathrine and Kristian are recognized as two of the finest traditional musicians in Denmark.

Bruce Molsky Download photo

Bruce Molsky has brought his virtuoso fiddling in the Appalachian tradition to audiences around the world. Born in the Bronx in 1955, Bruce fell in love with old-time music as a teenager. He moved to Virginia in the '70s, learning directly from old masters like Tommy Jarrell, and seeing how the music fit into people's lives. Whether performing an ancient reel from Virginia, a Swedish waltz, or a loping cowboy ballad, Molsky presents himself as exactly who he is. In addition to a prolific solo career, Molsky frequently joins groups like the Grammy-nominated Fiddlers Four, and Mozaik, with Hungarian Nikola Parov, and Celtic giant Donal Lunny. He was on Nickel Creek's farewell tour, and performs in a trio with Scottish fiddler Aly Bain and Sweden's great Ale Moller.

Ramona Jones Download photo

Ramona Jones was born in 1924 in a remote area of Daviess County, Indiana. She picked up the fiddle from her father, and by the age of six was playing both fiddle and mandolin with her brothers and friends at neighborhood dances and social gatherings. Before she finished high school she was performing twice daily on radio WRVA in Richmond, VA, with Sunshine Sue Workman, and playing dances throughout Virginia. In the fall of 1942, Ramona was hired to join a tour featuring Merle Travis and the Drifting Pioneers, Bradley Kincaid, and others including a well-known songwriter and musician, Grandpa Jones, who eventually became her husband of more than 50 years. Ramona and Grandpa Jones performed on radio, at the Grand Ole Opry, and made several tours stateside and overseas for the USO. In 1969 they began their long association with the television variety program, Hee-Haw, performing alongside Buck Owens, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn, and many others. The show brought country music in the homes of millions of Americans during its 25 year run. Ramona has toured the world, and performed on numerous recordings including albums featuring Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Tommy Jackson, Jerry Byrd, Joe Maphis, and countless others.

Byron Berline Download photo

Oklahoma native Byron Berline is a three-time National Fiddle Champion who turned to a musical career after earning a degree in Physical Education at the University of Oklahoma. A highly sought after and hugely influential musician, he has led or been a member of Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Dillard & Clark, Country Gazette, L. A. Fiddle Band, and the Byron Berline Band; and has performed alongside Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Tammy Wynette, and many others. In addition, his original composition, Gold Rush, has become a staple of bluegrass fiddle repertoire. He has toured the United States extensively, Europe often, China, Japan, Australia, Northern Africa and the South Pacific. Byron was inducted into Oklahoma's Musicians Hall of Fame, named Oklahoma's Ambassador of Goodwill, and been a featured artist at the international convention of the Violin Society of America. (Photo courtesy of the estate of Don Shorock)

Kevin Burke Download photo

London native Kevin Burke took up the fiddle at the age of eight, eventually acquiring a virtuosic technique in the Irish Sligo fiddling style, which features ornamentation with both the left and right hands. In 1974, he moved to Ireland, where he formed a duo with singer-songwriter Christy Moore, a former member of the Irish band Planxty. In 1976, he became a member of the influential Irish traditional music group The Bothy Band. In 1979, Burke moved to the United States and settled in Portland, Oregon, where he formed a duo with guitarist Mchel Domhnaill. Together, they toured throughout the United States and Europe, and recorded two acclaimed albums. In the early 1980s, Burke joined the Legends of Irish Music tour, where he played with influential Irish musicians Andy Irvine and Jackie Daly. Throughout the 1990s, Burke toured and recorded with Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham and Breton fiddler Christian Lemaitre as the Celtic Fiddle Festival. In 2002, Burke was recognized as a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Paul Kotapish Download photo

Paul Kotapish got his start playing and calling regularly for traditional square and contra dances. In 1982, Paul moved to Oakland, California, where he began playing with Daniel Steinberg, Kevin Carr, and Ray Bierl as, "The Hillbillies from Mars, a musical friendship that has endured to this day. Paul has performed throughout the United States and Canada, including touring as part of Open House, with Kevin Burke, Mark Graham, and Sandy Silva. Recent festival performances include Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland; Folk Festival, Finland; Sweden; and the Vancouver Folk Festival. Paul is also a highly regarded teacher, and has served on the faculty of the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Pinewoods Music and Dance Camps, Augusta Heritage Festival, The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Lark in the Morning, and Mendocino Music and Dance Camps.

Sandy Silva Download photo

A veteran of dance for over 20 years, Sandy Silva currently performs with La Bottine Souriante and The Red Rabbit Project with Charmaine Leblanc. Through improvisation, body percussion and original choreography, Sandy draws from the drum and dance traditions of Celtic step dance, Spanish Flamenco, American tap, Hungarian legenyes, Appalachian buck dance and modern dance. The result is rich and riveting, full of rhythmic and visual inventiveness. She has performed internationally at festivals including the Montreal International Jazz Festival as a special guest with Bobby McFerrin; WOMAD Festival in Australia; Midsummer Night Swing, Lincoln Center, New York; Celtic Connections, Glasgow, Scotland; Galway Arts Festival, Ireland; WOMEX, Brussels; and NPR's A Prairie Home Companion. She has worked with the Human Rhythm Project, as well as with a variety of musicians such as Rick Haworth, jazz saxophonist Remi Bolduc and new music composer Guy Klucevsek. Sandy has also appeared with the Irish band, Altan, fiddlers Kevin Burke, Martin Hayes, Laura Risk and Bruce Molsky. Sandy Silvas appearance is sponsored by Grandy Tile & Marble.

Mark Graham Download photo

Mark Graham grew up in Renton, Washington and has been playing blues and country music on the harmonica since 1970. With an encyclopedic knowledge of Southern country and blues styles, he has mastered the hallmark traditional harmonica solos: fox chases, train impressions and the call and response song accompaniment reminiscent of Sonny Terry and Peg Leg Sam. Mark has performed at such venues as The Newport Folk Festival, The Prairie Home Companion, and Festival Hall in London, England and has taught at The Augusta Heritage Festival, and The Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland.

Kimberley Fraser Download photo

Kimberley Fraser was born on Cape Breton Island, and nurtured within its rich musical heritage. She first began to impress audiences at the age of three with her step-dancing talents. Soon after that she took up both the fiddle and the piano. Though still in her 20s, Kimberley has traveled the world, from Victoria to Afghanistan, performing at venues such as The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and bringing Cape Breton music with her wherever she goes. Kimberley has shared the stage with artists such as Alasdair Fraser, Martin Hayes and Lunasa. She holds a degree in Violin performance from Berklee College of Music, and in Celtic Studies from St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. She has conducted workshops at many camps and festivals, including Alasdair Frasers Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp, the Swannanoa Gathering, to name a few. Kimberley also has experience giving workshops to string orchestras demonstrating how traditional music can be arranged for classical ensembles. In 2006, Kimberley released her second studio album, Falling on New Ground, a winner of the East Coast Music Award for best Roots/Traditional Album of the Year. (photo by Kathryn Gordon)

David MacIsaac Download photo

David MacIsaac is a Canadian musician from Nova Scotia who plays the fiddle and guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and piano, and specializes in the Celtic music style. Dave learned the fiddle from his father, the late Alex Dan MacIsaac. A respected performer and recording artist, he was named Male Artist of the Year in 1996 by the East Coast Music Awards, and also was named Instrumental Artist of the Year. His albums include Nimble Fingers and Guitar Souls. David travels around the world performing the music of Cape Breton, and accompanies a host of musicians throughout Canada, The U.S. and Europe. (Photo by Steve Mullensky)

Jerron Paxton Download photo

Jerron Paxton was born into a Creole family in Los Angeles. While growing up in the South Central area, he learned banjo, guitar, harmonica, piano and several other instruments in their authentic pre-war American styles. He copped licks from Blind Blake, Papa Charley Jackson, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Earl Scruggs, Willie "The Lion" Smith and Lonnie Johnson, recreating the sounds of pre-war music in America. His maternal grandmother would sing him blues, ballads, Cajun lullabies and tell him folk stories, and the Creole French that she had not spoken since the early 1940s. When he was 12 years old his Aunt LaShunder bought him a fiddle, and helped him discover a love for bluegrass and early country music. Associations with Brad Kay and Frank Fairfield have reinforced his uncanny ability to channel the spirit of pre-war guitar and piano blues music. Jerron brings to his listeners a vivid recreation of music as it was, and a strong hint of where it is headed.

George Wilson Download photo

Multi-instrumentalist and singer George Wilson's repertoire samples a wide variety of traditional and folk styles. As a fiddler, he has over 500 tunes from New England, Quebec, Cape Breton, Scotland, Ireland and Shetland. His dynamic fiddling, strongly influenced by Cape Breton and French Canadian styles, has been popular with contra dancers and concert-goers since the late 1970s. George has performed and recorded with the popular Fennig's All-Star String Band, featuring Bill Spence on hammered dulcimer, since 1975. He has performed and recorded with the Whippersnappers since 1976. He plays at contradances, festivals and dance camps on both coasts and in between with Selma Kaplan, Groovemama, the Beaudoin Legacy, Bruce and Sue Rosen and more. Additionally he performs with the trio Peter, Paul & George (with Peter Davis and Paul Rosenberg), presenting hundreds of dance and music programs in elementary, middle school and high schools.

Bob McQuillen Download photo

New England pianist and accordionist Bob McQuillen got his start with the legendary Ralph Page, and later joined the Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra with Dudley Laufman. He currently plays with Old New England, a group that includes Jane Orzechowski and Deanna Stiles. He is a prolific composer of tunesover 1,000 of which appear in a series of self-published tune books called Bob's Notebooks. Many of Bobs tunes are now part of a shared repertoire among contra musicians, both within New Hampshire and across the country. In 1997, McQuillen received the Governors Arts Award in Living Folk Heritage from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. McQuillens group Old New England was part of the delegation representing New Hampshire at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Celebrate New Hampshire festival held in 2000 in Hopkinton. In 2003, he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, our nation's highest honor for a traditional artist.

Antonia Apodaca Download photo

Antonia Apodaca was born in 1923 in Rociada, New Mexico, to a family of musicians. When she was thirteen she decided to learn the accordion, practicing on one she found in the trash near her home. Her parents were so impressed that they entered her in a local contest, which she won, beating out a room of shocked adults. When she was eighteen she met and married a fiddler from Mora, NM, named Maximilian Apodaca, and they lived and played in Wyoming for dances and local events for both Hispanic and cowboy communities, adapting the old polkas and waltzes into western rhythms for the anglos. Antonia also composes many songs about her life in New Mexico which she has added to her repertoire of older traditional songs. Antonia was awarded the Governor's award for Excellence in the Arts in 1992, and has continued to play at events such as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and many other festivals and venues in the Western states.

Jeanie McLerie Download photo

Jeanie McLerie has been a professional musician for more than four decades, playing fiddle and singing in English, French, Spanish, and Navajo. For more than two decades she has been researching and playing the music of the Southwest United States - from the Mississippi to the deserts of Arizona - as a member of Bayou Seco, touring throughout the US and Europe with her husband Ken Keppeler. In addition, Jeanie has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the groups Sandy and Jeanie, The Harmony Sisters (with Alice Gerrard and Irene Hermann), and The Delta Sisters (with Frannie Leopold). In addition to recording and performing, Jeanie is the founder of a school of fiddle instruction called, "The Fiddling Friends, which focuses on an international repertoire of fiddle styles and music, with an emphasis on the sources of the music, including personal contact with traditional musicians.

Larry Edelman Download photo

One of the nations most in-demand dance callers, Larry Edelman has been playing traditional music for more than 25 years. He has played guitar and mandolin in several bands, including Devilish Merry, and The Percolators - and currently plays driving fiddle in Poultry in Motion and The Soda Rock Ramblers. Larry is also The Percolators dance caller and teacher, performing a variety of traditional dances from different regions of the US, including square dances, contras, circles and some unusual formations. He is an avid dance researcher and traveled widely throughout the United States and in Europe, delighting both novice and veteran dancers with his humor, enthusiasm, skillful teaching, knowledge of dance history, and colorful calling. Larry will be leading a special dance callers track for those who wish to learn, or improve their dance calling.

PORT TOWNSEND WRITERS CONFERENCE

SUNDAY, JULY 8 SUNDAY, JULY 15 and

SUNDAY, JULY 15SUNDAY, JULY 22

Gary Copeland Lilley [July 8-15] Download photo

Gary Copeland Lilley is a North Carolina native who earned his MFA from the Warren Wilson College Program for Writers. His publications include four books of poetry, of which the most recent is "Alpha Zulu", from Ausable/Copper Canyon Press. He has taught poetry and creative writing in the scholar program of Young Chicago Authors, the Great Smokies Writing Program at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and at Warren Wilson College. He has been a poet-in-residence at The Poetry Center of Chicago, and a visiting writer-lecturer at Colby College and at the Institute of American Indian Art.

Kim Addonizio [July 15-22] Download photo Kim Addonizio was born in Washington, D.C., in 1954. She received her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University. Her books of poetry include "Lucifer at the Starlite," "Tell Me," "The Philosopher's Club," and many others. Addonizio is also the author of a collection of short stories, two novels, and, with Dorianne Laux, the co-author of "The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry."

Ashley Capps [July 8-15 and July 15-22] Download photo Ashley Capps was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Her first book of poems, Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields, was selected by Gerald Stern for the Akron Poetry Prize. Recent poems appear in APR and Boston Review. She is the recipient of a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry.

Dana Levin [July 15-22] Download photo Dana Levins collections of poetry include "In the Surgical Theatre," "Wedding Day," and "Sky Burial." Selecting Levins manuscript for the American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize, Louise Glck praised the work as sensuous, compassionate, violent, extravagant. Levins free-verse, image-driven poems grapple with the legacies of both Confessionalism and Language poetry by engaging and questioning the Self, while at the same time using line breaks, punctuation, and syntax as primarily sound-driven tools. Levins honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation. She lives in Santa Fe and teaches at the University of New Mexico and Warren Wilson College.

Erin Belieu [July 8-15] Download photo Erin Belieu, Centrum's Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Writers' Conference, is the author of three collections of poetry. Her first book, "Infanta," was a winner of the National Poetry Series, selected by Hayden Carruth. "Infanta" was also chosen as a best book of the year by The Washington Post and Library Journal. Her second collection, "One Above & One Below," was the winner of the Midland Authors Prize in poetry and the Ohioana prize, and her most recent collection, "Black Box," was a finalist in 2007 for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She is currently Director of The Graduate Creative Writing Program at Florida State University. In addition to her writing, editing, and teacher, Erin Belieu is the co-founder and co-director of VIDA, a literary organization that seeks to explore critical and cultural perceptions of writing by women.

Cheryl Strayed [July 15-22] Download photoCheryl Strayed's debut novel Torch was a finalist for the Great Lakes Award and was selected by The Oregonian as one of the top ten books of the year by writers living in the Pacific Northwest. Her memoir "Wild" will be released in 2012. Strayeds short stories and essays have been anthologized in The Best American Essays, Best New American Voices, and other anthologies, and have been published in such periodicals as The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, The Sun, and The Missouri Review. She holds an MFA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Diane Roberts [July 8-15] Download photo Diane Roberts's latest book, "Dream State," about her politically prominent (and very odd) family has been called "perfect," as well as "hilarious," "wild," "fun," "strange,"and "splendid." Roberts's previous two books --"Faulkner and Southern Womanhood" and "The Myth of Aunt Jemima"--are explorations of Southern culture. She is also a journalist, writing op-ed pieces for The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Times of London. She is a political columnist for The St. Petersburg Times in Florida and makes documentaries for BBC Radio in London, where she also spends part of the year. She has been a commentator for NPR since 1993 and she writes for the Washington Post.

Judith Kitchen [July 8-15] Download photo Judith Kitchen is the author of five books, including "Perennials" (poetry), "Only the Dance," "Distance and Direction," and " The House on Eccles Road." Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including recent essays in Prairie Schooner, the Colorado Review, and the Georgia Review. She has also edited three collections of short nonfiction pieces for W. W. Norton. Her awards include two Pushcart prizes in nonfiction and the Lillian Fairchild award. A former instructor at SUNY College at Brockport, she also served as editor and publisher of the State Street Press Chapbook Series. She currently serves on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop Low-Residency MFA at Pacific Lutheran University.

Benjamin Alire Senz [July 8-15] Download photo Benjamin Alire Senz is the author of such novels as "Carry Me Like Water," "Dark and Perfect Angels," "The House of Forgetting," "In Perfect Light," and "Names on a Map", as well as "Elegies in Blue," "Dreaming the End of War" and "The Book of What Remains." He has taught at the University of Texas at El Paso for the past twenty years and lives, writes, loves, hates, and breathes on the U.S./Mexico border.

Sam Ligon [July 12-15] Download photo Sam Ligon is the author of the short-story collection Drift and Swerve and the novel Safe in Heaven Dead. His stories have appeared in such journals as Alaska Quarterly Review, StoryQuarterly, and New England Review. He teaches at Eastern Washington Universitys Inland Northwest Center for Writers, and is the editor of Willow Springs.

Pam Houston [July 15-22] Download photo Pam Houston is the author of two collections of linked short stories, "Cowboys Are My Weakness," which was the winner of the 1993 Western States Book Award and has been translated into nine languages, and "Waltzing the Cat." Her stories have been selected for the 1999 volumes of Best American Short Stories, and The O. Henry Awards. She is a regular contributor to O, the Oprah Magazine. Her novel "Sight Hound" was released in January, 2005.

Jennine Cap Crucet [July 8-15] Download photo Jennine Cap Crucet is a Miami-born Cuban writer. Her debut story collection, "How to Leave Hialeah," won the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Prize, the 2010 John Gardner Book Award, the 2010 Devil's Kitchen Reading Award, and was named a Best Book of the Year by the Miami Herald, the Miami New Times, and the Latinidad List. Jennine is the recipient of the John Winthrop Prize & Residency for Emerging Writers, scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and her work has been a finalist for both the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize and the Missouri Review Editors Prize. Her stories have appeared in multiple literary journals.

Dorothy Allison [July 15-22] Download photo Dorothy Allison grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, the first child of a fifteen-year-old unwed mother who worked as a waitress. Now living in Northern California with her partner Alix and her teenage son, she describes herself as a feminist, a working class story teller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet and a happily born-again Californian. Allison's chapbook of poetry, "The Women Who Hate Me," was published with Long Haul Press in 1983. Her short story collection, "Trash" came out in 1988. "Bastard Out of Carolina," became a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award, and "Cavedweller" is a national bestseller. Awarded the 2007 Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, Allison is a member of the board of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Susan Steinberg [July 15-22] Download photo Susan Steinberg is the 2010 United States Artists Ziporyn Fellow in Literature. She is the author of the short story collections, "Hydroplane" and "The End of Free Love." Her third collection is forthcoming from Graywolf. Her stories have appeared in McSweeney's, The Better of McSweeney's Volume Two, Conjunctions, The Gettysburg Review, American Short Fiction, Boulevard, The Massachusetts Review, Quarterly West, Denver Quarterly, Columbia, and other literary journals and magazines. Steinberg is the recipient of a 2011 Pushcart Prize. She has held residencies at The MacDowell Colony, The Vermont Studio Center, The Wurlitzer Foundation, the Blue Mountain Center, Yaddo, and NYU. She received a BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA in English from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is currently Associate Professor of English at the University of San Francisco.

Peggy Shumaker [July 15-22] Download photo Peggy Shumaker is the Alaska State Writer Laureate. Her most recent book of poems is "Gnawed Bones." Her lyrical memoir is "Just Breathe Normally," and she is on a book of poems set in Costa Rica, "Genesis, Quetzal." Peggy is founding editor of Boreal Books, an imprint that publishes books of fine art and literature from Alaska. She's also editor of the Alaska Literary Series at University of Alaska Press. Professor emerita from University of Alaska Fairbanks, she teaches in the Rainier Writing Workshop MFA Program.

Chris Crutcher [July 8-15] Download photo Chris Crutcher is the author of thirteen books--ten novels, two short story collections and an autobiography. Prior to his work as an author, he taught school in Washington and California and acted as director of an Oakland alternative school for nearly a decade. That academic history, coupled with 25 years as a child and family therapist specializing in abuse and neglect, has infused his literary work with realism and emotional heft. His signature blend of tragedy and comedy have made him a favorite with teen and adult readers. He is also one of the most frequently banned authors in North America--a fact he considers an accomplishment, rather than a drawback. Crutcher has been awarded the NCTE's National Intellectual Freedom Award, the ALAN Award, the ALA's Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, the CLA's St. Katharine Drexel Award and Writer magazine's Writers Who Make a Difference Award. Chris Crutcher makes his home in Spokane, Washington.

JAZZ PORT TOWNSEND

SUNDAY, JULY 22 SUNDAY, JULY 29

CLARENCE ACOX DRUMS Download photo

Clarence Acox Jr., an instrumental figure in the Seattle music scene, has nurtured young musicians for the past 35 years as director of jazz bands at Garfield High School. He leads the renowned Garfield Jazz Ensemble, winning dozens of awards and making regular appearances at national and international venues.

Garfield's Jazz Ensemble has twice taken first place at New York's Essentially Ellington National Jazz Band Competition and Festival - the country's most prestigious high school jazz competition.

Acox, who also directs Seattle University's Jazz Ensemble, was named "Educator of the Year" by DownBeat Magazine in 2001. Acox co-founded the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in 1995 and performed with the Floyd Standifer Quartet at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant for more than two decades. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

GEORGE CABLES PIANO Download photo

George Cables is a significant figure in the jazz scenes of Los Angeles, where he first resided, and San Francisco, where he also lived.

Collaborations and recordings with tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Sonny Rollins, trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson made Cables' wide-ranging keyboard skills, often on electric piano, amply evident.

He has performed and recorded with Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson and Dizzy Gillespie, among others.

JEFF CLAYTON - ALTO Download photo

Reed specialist Jeff Clayton is a versatile performer, bandleader, and studio musician whose diverse recording credits include work with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Madonna, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Together with his brother John, he founded the Grammy-nominated Clayton Brothers in 1977, and later co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz orchestra named by readers of Downbeat as the top big band in jazz.

In addition, Jeff has performed with numerous artists including Lena Horne, Lionel Hampton, Dr. John, Ella Fitzgerald, and played in the Count Basie Orchestra while under the leadership of Thad Jones. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

DAWN CLEMENTPIANO Download photo

Pianist/Composer and vocalist Dawn Clement hails from Seattle, WA. A veteran of Jazz Port Townsend, Dawn is involved in several collaborations including the Jane Ira Bloom Quartet, Priester's Cue with the legendary Julian Priester, the Seattle Pianist Collective, as well as her own trio.

Dawn has performed with such notables as Nancy King, Ingrid Jensen, Hadley Caliman, John Clayton, Mercer Ellington, Mark Dresser, Jay Clayton and Pharaoh Sanders. Dawn has performed in some of the worlds most premier venues such as Carnegie Hall, Le Conservatoire Superieur, Paris, and Seattles Benaroya Hall, as well as numerous clubs (including Sweet Rhythm, Tonic, and Iridium), art museums, and theaters.

In addition to her work with Jane Ira Bloom, Dawn has toured the U.S. with a number of projects including the Sabella Consort, and the Rubin/Clement Piano Dialogues. Dawn is currently on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts and maintains a rigorous performance schedule.

CHUCK DEARDORF - BASS Download photo

Chuck Deardorf has recorded and toured internationally with Bud Shank and Don Lanphere, George Cables and Kenny Barron, Winard Harper, and Larry Coryell. As the first call bassist in Seattle, Chuck has performed with Chet Baker, Zoot Sims, Art Farmer, Howard Roberts, Monty Alexander, Kenny Burrell, Marian McPartland, Mel Lewis, Pete Christlieb, Joe Williams, Kenny Werner, Carl Fontana, Joe LaBarbara, and Tal Farlow.

Chucks latest solo release on Origin records, Transparence (released 2011) demonstrates his performing, producing and arranging abilities with a host of great musicians. He is currently a member of the Deardorf/Peterson Group (whose 2004 Origin release "Portal" won critical acclaim), the Jovino Santos Neto Quartet, the Susan Pascal Quartet along with the Bill Ramsay Big Band. An accomplished studio musician, Chucks bass has been heard on many first run movie soundtracks, dozens of albums and CD projects, and numerous Broadway touring shows. Chuck also has performed on numerous occasions with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. (Photo by Tim Rounds)

GRAHAM DECHTER GUITAR Download photo

Guitarist Graham Dechter began his study of music at the age of five when he started taking violin lessons and composing orchestral pieces. He discovered his passion for guitar and jazz at Idyllwild Arts Academy, the prestigious residential arts high school. At only 19 years old Dechter became the youngest member of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (CHJO). He has toured extensively in the United States and Europe with CHJO and has performed with some of the most respected names in jazz including Bill Charlap, Kurt Elling, Jon Faddis, Benny Golson, Wycliffe Gordon, Benny Green, Jon Hendricks, Wynton Marsalis, Les McCann, James Moody, Marlena Shaw, Terell Stafford, Clark Terry, Peter Washington, Nancy Wilson and Snooky Young. Dechter has played at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Hollywood Bowl and has been a part of major festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. LA Jazz Scene calls him technically perfect in his musical styles and approach...jazz fans have a lot to look forward to!"

DENA DEROSE PIANO/VOCAL Download photo

Grammy-nominated pianist and vocalist Dena DeRose studied classical piano throughout her childhood, until she was enticed into the world of jazz by playing Count Basie's music in her junior high stage band. Her impressive list of recording and performance credits includes work with Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Benny Golson, John Scofield, Jimmy Cobb, Reid, Mark Murphy, and many others.

A devoted educator, Dena has been on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, The New School, Long Island University, and The Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. She is currently the Head of Jazz Vocal Department at The University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria, and teaches at the Prince Claus Conservatory of Music in The Netherlands. In addition, she frequently teaches at clinics and workshops, such as the Dave Brubeck Institute in Oakland, CA, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, The Litchfield Summer Jazz Camp, and the Rotterdam Summer Jazz School, among others.

BRUCE FORMAN - GUITAR Download photo

Bruce Forman has been featured as leader and sideman at many of the most prestigious festivals and concert venues throughout the world. His has recorded and performed with Bobby Hutcherson, Ray Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Barney Kessel, Roger Kellaway, Richie Cole, and countless others.

In addition, his guitar work is featured throughout Clint Eastwood's Academy Award winning film, Million Dollar Baby. Bruce has thirteen recordings as leader, including a self-produced issue entitled Dedication, Bootleg Vol. I, (re-released by BluJazz Records) a selection of compositions and arrangements that reveal his personal acknowledgement of many of the musicians and experiences that shaped his music.

Among his numerous recordings as sideman, Bruce was prominently featured on Ray Brown's album, Some of My Best Friends are Guitarists, released in 2002. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

BENNY GREEN - PIANO Download photo

Born in New York in 1963, Benny Green grew up in Berkeley, California, and began classical piano studies at the age of seven. He moved to New York in the spring of 1982, and worked with Betty Carter between 1983 and 1987, the year he joined Art Blakey's band. He remained a Jazz Messenger through late 1989, at which point he began working with Freddie Hubbard's quintet.

In 1993 Oscar Peterson chose Benny as the first recipient of the City of Toronto's Glen Gould International Protg Prize in Music. That year, Green replaced Gene Harris in Ray Brown's Trio, working with the veteran bass player until 1997. He has recorded as a sideman with Betty Carter, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Watson, Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, and the Ray Brown Trio. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

RODNEY GREEN DRUMS Download photo

Drummer Rodney Green grew up surrounded by gospel music, and by age 17 was already touring internationally and doing an occasional gig in New York City. After moving to NYC, he got into the jazz scene and quickly developed a name for himself. He was a favorite sub and had a remarkable range and a reputation for being an extremely professional young musician. Word continued to spread, and Green spent the next couple of years playing with the likes of Christian McBride, Eric Reed, Greg Osby, Joe Henderson, Benny Green, Tom Harrell, and Mulgrew Miller.

With a recommendation from bassist Ben Wolfe, Green joined the band of vocalist Diana Krall at the age of 19. His two-year tenure with Krall taught him a great deal about the business of music, and the importance of being a responsible, mature young professional.

Today, Rodney Green is a seasoned professional with experience and skill beyond his years. He continues to grow and challenge himself creatively, stepping out as a leader with the Rodney Green Group, writing music and pursuing projects that interest him. Rodney Green has worked with a broad range of jazz musicians, including Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, Stephon Harris, Charlie Haden, Wynton Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane, Lizz Wright, Terell Stafford, Greg Osby. Ben Wolfe, Christian Mc Bride, Joe Henderson, Diana Krall, George Benson, Nicholas Payton, Cyrus Chestnut, Sadao Watanabe, Antonio Hart, Adam Rodgers, Michael Brecker, Kenny Barron, Marc Cary, Abby Lincoln, Betty Carter, Shirley Scott, Benny Wallace, Makoto Ozone, Wycliffe Gordon, Paula West, Bruce Barth, Peter Cincotti, Andy Bey, Tom Harrell, New York Voices, Herbie Hancock, and Dianne Reeves.

WYCLIFFE GORDON TROMBONE Download photo

Wycliffe Gordon is a six-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association Award for Trombonist of the Year, and a past winner of the Jazz Journalists Association Critics' Choice Award for Best Trombone.

In addition to a thriving solo career, he tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, headlining at legendary jazz venues throughout the world. He is a former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and The Gully Low Jazz Band, and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's Jazz at The Kennedy Center series.

A gifted composer and arranger, he also serves as a faculty member of the Jazz Studies Program at The Juilliard School, and works with young musicians and audiences from elementary schools to universities all over the world through master classes, clinics, workshops, concerts and lectures.

In 2011, Wycliffe released his fifteenth album, Hello Pops!, a tribute to Louis Armstrong.

RANDY HALBERSTADT - PIANO Download photo

Randy Halberstadt has been a major figure on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene for many years. In addition to leading his own trio and producing his own recordings, he has performed with Herb Ellis, Buddy de Franco, Nick Brignola, Terry Gibbs, Slide Hampton, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew, Joe LaBarbera, Lanny Morgan, John Stowell, David Friesen, Kim Richmond, Don Lanphere, Jiggs Whigham, Roswell Rudd, Jack Walrath, Gary Smulyan, Julian Priester, Mel Brown, and many others.

Recently, Randy recorded with Bay area guitarist Mimi Fox and the world renowned Ray Drummond on bass. In the Seattle area, Randy works regularly with drummer Clarence Acox, saxophonist Hadley Caliman, vibraphonist Susan Pascal, cornetist Jon Pugh, and his own trio.

JON HAMAR BASS Download photo

Bassist Jon Hamar is a staple in the Northwest music scene. In 2003 he released a mostly solo bass cd on Pony Boy Records featuring his own compositions as well as arrangements of songs that he grew up listening to. In addition to his role as a leader, Hamar has been active in the role of supporting bassist.

He remains active as a recording artist playing on multiple CDs with singer/songwriting artists including Wendy Huckins, Brian Finnell, Hans York, Eric Goetz and Bobby Krier. Recently Hamar played on Brian Owens disc Unmei, released on the OA2 label from Origin Records and will be heard on Carl Tanners upcoming release Hear the Angels Sing on Sony Classical.

Of late he has been performing with Jay Thomas, Ernestine Anderson, the Greg Williamson Quartet and the Axiom Quartet.

JEFF HAMILTON DRUMS Download photo

Jeff Hamilton is perhaps best known for his work with Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, and Diana Krall as well as with the groups he headlines. He has played in jazz festivals and clubs worldwide. Early in his career, he played with the Tommy Dorsey ghost band, Lionel Hampton, Monty Alexander's Trio, Woody Herman's Orchestra, and the L.A. Four with whom he made six record albums. After this, he started recording regularly as a sideman for Concord. He has performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, the Count Basie Orchestra, and Monty Alexander. In the 1990s, Hamilton played gigs with the The Clayton Brothers, toured the world with Oscar Peterson and the Ray Brown trio. Currently Hamilton co-leads the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with brothers John and Jeff Clayton.

TAMIR HENDELMAN PIANO Download photo

Israeli-born, LA-based award-winning jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman has been a member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio and Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra since the early 2000s and has two recordings as a leader, Playground (2008) and his newest CD, Destinations (Resonance Records 2010), inspired by the journey of being a jazz musician. His keyboard studies began at age six, while attending the Anazagi Conservatory in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In 1984, Tamirs family moved to Los Angeles and two years later, at age 14, he won top honors at Yamahas national keyboard competition. Tamir moved on to study at the Tanglewood Institute in 1988 and received a Bachelor of Music Composition from Eastman School of Music in 1993. Since moving back to Los Angeles, he has established himself as a creative and multi-faceted pianist, composer and arranger as well as educator. Tamir has performed and/or recorded with artists as varied as James Moody, Roberta Gambarini, Teddy Edwards, Barbra Streisand, Graham Dechter, Natalie Cole and Harry Allen. Tamir has been on the jazz faculty at UCLA since 2005.

KEVIN KANNER DRUMS Download photo

Despite his young age, drummer Kevin Kanner has amassed a large summary of jazz credits including records with Paul Anka, Bill Holman (including his Grammy nominated 2006 recording, and his Grammy nominated 2007 recording), Bud Shank, Gilbert Castellanos, Melissa Morgan, Annie Sellick, and Gail Wynters. Kanner has performed and toured with jazz greats including John Pizzarelli, Maureen McGovern, The Gilbert Castellanos Quintet, The Bill Holman Band, The Gerald Clayton Trio, The Clayton Brothers, The Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Lee Konitz, Bob Brookmeyer, Larry Goldings, Charles McPhearson, Benny Green, Bob Hurst, Eric Reed, Peter Washington, Terrell Stafford, Russell Malone, Stefon Harris, Johnny Mandel, Larry Koonse, Anthony Wilson Trio and Nonette.

JOHNNY MANDEL COMPOSING/ARRANGING Download photo

Johnny Mandel studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. A veteran performer, he played in the orchestras of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Georgie Auld and Chubby Jackson. Additionally, he played and arranged music in the band of Elliott Lawrence, and with Count Basie.

His compositions include "Not Really the Blues" for Woody Herman in 1949, "Hershey Bar" and "Pot Luck" for Stan Getz, "Straight Life" and "Low Life" for Count Basie as well as "Tommyhawk" for Chet Baker. Mandel's most famous compositions include "Suicide Is Painless" (theme from the movie and TV series M*A*S*H), "Close Enough for Love, "Emily," and "A Time for Love" (nominated for an Academy Award).

His composition, The Shadow of Your Smile, won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Song, and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1966. Mandel has received five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for Tony Bennett's performance of "The Shadow of your Smile" and Best Original Score for The Sandpiper, Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording for Quincy Jones' song "Velas," Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for Natalie Cole's Unforgettable, and Shirley Horn's Here's to Life.

In 2011 he was recognized as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. (Photo by Carol Friedman)

SHERRIE MARICLE DRUMS Download photo

Sherrie Maricle began playing professionally with Slam Stewart while studying music at SUNY-Binghamton. She then moved to New York City and attended New York University where she completed a Masters of Arts in Jazz Performance in 1986 and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Jazz Performance and Composition in 2000.

In the late 1980s, she was appointed director of percussion studies at NYU. Maricle directed Saturday jam sessions at the Village Gate from 1987 until the venue closed in 1993. Beginning in 1987, she also began collaborating and leading small groups with Peter Appleyard. In the 1990s, she performed with the New York Pops, Clark Terry, and Al Grey and began working with the group DIVA.

Maricle currently leads the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the DIVA Jazz Trio, and the quintet Five Play. She teaches on the jazz faculty of the New York State Summer Music Festival, as well as running her own private drum and percussion studio.

KELBY MACNAYR - DRUMS Download photo

Percussionist, composer, music director and band leader Kelby MacNayr performs jazz, classical, new music, and has collaborated with many acclaimed artists including Anne Schaefer, pop group Elephant Island, N.Y. pianist Misha Piatigorsky, composer and pianist Marianne Trudel, Christine Jensen, Chuck Deardorf, Ian McDougall, Chet Doxas and many others.

Kelby is currently the Artistic Director for the Art of the Trio Series, and is a member of the Marc Atkinson Quartet, the Marianne Trudel Quintet, and Misha Piatigorsky's Canadian trio.

His group the Kelby MacNayr Quintet has been earning critical acclaim in the US and Canada. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

ERIC REED PIANO Download photo

Pianist and composer Eric Reed began playing the piano at age two and was performing in his fathers Baptist church in Philadelphia by age five. After studying at Philadelphia's Settlement Music School and Los Angeles Colburn School of Arts, Reed began a vibrant professional career both in combos and as a leader. He has worked with such jazz luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Jessye Norman, Quincy Jones, Patti Labelle, Irvin Mayfield, Benny Carter, and others.

Reed has taught at The Juilliard School of Music and gives master classes and lecture demonstrations on the history of music. He has recorded over 20 albums, three of which have charted on Billboards Top Jazz Albums chart.

Reed scored Eddie Murphys comedy, Life and was the musical director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Currently Reed is in residence with the Ebony Repertory Theatre of Los Angeles, as musical director of Regina Taylor's Crowns. His latest recording is entitled The Dancing Monk.

WALTER SMITH III SAXOPHONE Download photo

Walter Smith III began playing the saxophone at the age of seven and from the very beginnings of his career garnered a host of awards including the NFAA Young Talent Award and a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts medal. Graduating from Berklee in 2003 with a degree in Music Education, Smith has since performed around the world on famed stages such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. He has shared the stage and appeared on recordings with many jazz notables including Terence Blanchard, Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, and a host of others. Smiths debut recording as a leader was released in March of 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and features many of the brightest young jazz talents. His most recent album, III, was released in September of 2010 and was the #3 best-seller on itunes in the U.S. for its first week. Aside from leading a quintet, Smith has been a member of several groups including the Terence Blanchard group, Eric Harland's quintet, Ambrose Akinmusire's band, Jason Morans Big Bandwagon, and the Christian McBride Situation Band.

GARY SMULYAN - BARI SAX Download photo

Gary Smulyan attended SUNY-Postsdam and Hofstra University before he joined Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd in 1978. In 1980, he became part of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra then under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer.

Smulyan also found work with other important large ensembles including the Mingus Epitaph band, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Smulyan has shared the stage and the recording studio with trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Stan Getz, pianist Chick Corea, timbales king Tito Puente, and R&B/blues and soul icons Ray Charles, B.B. King and Diana Ross.

Smulyan is a four-time winner of the DownBeat Readers Poll, and a five-time Grammy award winner for his work with B.B. King, Lovano, Holland and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

TERELL STAFFORD - TRUMPET Download photo

Terell Stafford picked up his first trumpet at the age of thirteen, and even though he was drawn to jazz, initially studied classical music. While pursuing a music education degree at the University of Maryland, Stafford played with the schools jazz band.

Since the mid-1990s Stafford has performed with groups such as Benny Golsons Sextet, McCoy Tyners Sextet, the Kenny Barron Sextet, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, the Jon Faddis Orchestra.

Currently he is a member of the Grammy award winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, as well as a member of the Grammy nominated Clayton Brothers Quintet, and the Frank Wess Quintet. Stafford has recorded six albums as a leader, and a sideman has been featured on over 90 albums. (Photo by Jimmy Ryan)

MARY STALLINGS VOCALS Download photo

According to the New York Times, perhaps the best jazz singer singing today is a woman almost everybody seems to have missed. That woman is Mary Stallings, a Bay Area native who established a name for herself as one of the finest jazz singers of the 1960s, performing with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Cal Tjader, Billy Eckstine, and Count Basie.

After taking a hiatus from her recording career in the 1970s to raise her daughter and work as a clothes designer, Stallings stepped back into the national jazz spotlight in 1999 when the owner of the famous Village Vanguard nightclub in New York heard a recording of her singing and eventually tracked her down at her home in San Francisco.

Ever since then, jazz fans have had the pleasure of rediscovering Stallings, whose voice and phrasing continued to mature and improve during her long sabbatical.

JAY THOMAS TRUMPET Download photo

Jay Thomas is a versatile multi-instrumentalist, and can be heard on over 60 recordings that run the gamut from hip-hop to acid-jazz, rock, Latin, and big band.

Jay has appeared in concert with Mel Lewis, John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, Maria Schneider, Bill Holman, Bob Florence and Frank Wess. He has played festivals at Wolf Trap with Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan, the Aspen Jazz Festival with Herb Ellis, Jake Hanna and Mel Ryne (recorded with them on Roll Call), the duMaurier Jazz Festival with Chuck Israels Trio and with the Jay Thomas Quartet.

Jay toured Great Britain with jazz legend Slim Gaillard recording there with Slim, Jay McShann and Buddy Tate.

BYRON VANNOY DRUMS Download photo

Byron Vannoy has become one of the first call drummers in Seattles Jazz and creative music scenes. He has studied privately with Ian Froman, Mark Ivester, Bob Moses, and Joe LaBarbera and holds an Associate Certificate in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music, a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from Cornish College of the Arts and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Jazz and African American Music Performance from California Institute of the Arts.

Vannoy has performed and recorded with many internationally known musicians such as Julian Priester, Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, Jovino Santos-Neto, Tom Scott, Wayne Horvitz, Ron Carter, Ernestine Anderson, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Vinnie Golia, and Hadley Caliman. Recently emerging as a bandleader and composer, his debut recording Meridian received national recognition as well as the 2008 Golden Ear Award for Recording of the Year.

SACHAL VASANDANI VOCALS Download photo

Vocalist, composer, and arranger, Sachal Vasandani first attracted attention when he was named Down Beat magazine's Collegiate Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 1999. His debut recording, Eyes Wide Open, established Vasandani as one of the most promising voices in modern jazz and led to tours and openings for artists such as jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and pop singer Joan Osborne. Vasandani's second album, 2009's We Move, was chosen as a New York Times Critic's Pick. In 2010 he was the Rising Star poll winner for DownBeat magazine. Of his 2011 album, Hi-Fly, NPRs Michele Norris said, Every now and again you hear a special voice that makes you sit up and take notice . . . Sachal Vasandani has that voice.

LAURA WELLAND BASS Download photo

Bassist Laura Welland has played with Jay Thomas, Hadley Caliman, Julian Priester, Dawn Clement and other Seattle jazz greats. She has studied under Chuck Deardorf, John Clayton and the late Ray Brown. Welland received her music degree from Cornish College of the Arts and was a runner-up bass player at the international Sisters in Jazz Competition. She has been praised for her swinging time, facile sight-reading, and simpatico stage presence. Her albums include, Love is Never out of Season (2004) and Dissertation on the State of Bliss (2005), both produced by her friend and mentor, John Clayton.

JIGGS WHIGHAM - TROMBONE Download photo

Jiggs Whigham first came to the attention of critics and fans at age 17 as featured soloist and first trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Ray McKinley.

In 1979 he was named Professor and Head of the Jazz Department at Cologne University College of Music. From 1995-2000 he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Radio Orchestra.

He is currently a soloist and clinician worldwide, conductor of the BBC Big Band in Great Britain, artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Orchestra and visiting Professor at the Guildhall School of Music And Drama in London.

MATT WILSON - DRUMS Download photo

Grammy nominee Matt Wilson is universally recognized as a gifted composer, bandleader, producer, and teaching artist. He leads the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts and Crafts, Christmas Tree-O, and the Carl Sandburg Project.

He has performed with many legends of music including Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Marshall Allen, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Hank Jones.

Wilson has appeared on 250 CDs as a sideman and has released 9 as a leader, as well as co-leading 5 additional releases.

In 2003, he was voted Drummer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association; and was featured on the covers of both DownBeat and JazzTimes magazines in November 2009. Matt was voted #1 Rising Star Drummer for 5 consecutive years in the DownBeat Critics Poll. (Photo by Jim Levitt)

MARTIN WIND - BASS Download photo

Bassist and composer Martin Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany, and moved to New York to study at New York University on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service.

Since his move Martin has become a regular at all major jazz clubs and is also in demand as a session player. In addition to leading his own quartet, Martin has recorded and/or performed with Monty Alexander, Pat Metheny, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Toots Thielemans, Buddy DeFranco, The Metropole Orchestra, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin, Michael Brecker, Bud Shank, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Terell Stafford, John Scofield, Benny Green, and many others.

He has been on the faculty at New York University since 1997, and is a frequent guest at colleges and jazz programs across the U.S. and abroad. (Photo by Olff Appold)

BEN WOLFE BASS Download photo

Early on in bassist/composer Ben Wolfes career, he formed a Duo with Harry Connick Jr. and went on to record over a dozen albums and soundtracks. During his five years with Connick, he performed on numerous world tours as musical director. He then joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and remained until it disbanded. Ben also became an integral part of Diana Krall's touring band and played on many of her recordings, including the Grammy Award winning CD, "When I Look In Your Eyes."

Ben Wolfe has recently released his new CD, No Strangers Here on MAXJAZZ. As Wynton Marsalis said, Ben Wolfe swings with authority. And as can be heard from Bens original compositions on this, his fifth and newest CD, Ben also innovates and scores with authority. Downbeat Magazine says, He hews to the esthetic of group interplay and the rhythms of bebop, and displays a well-honed sense of sonic narrative.

Ben is currently on the teaching faculty at The Juilliard School.

PORT TOWNSEND ACOUSTIC BLUES FESTIVAL

SUNDAY, JULY 29 SUNDAY, AUGUST 5

BRUCE SUNPIE BARNES - ACCORDION Download photoBruce Sunpie Barnes is a veteran musician, park ranger, actor, former high school biology teacher, and former NFL player with the Kansas City Chiefs. His career has taken him far and wide, travelling to over 35 countries playing his own style of blues, zydeco and Afro-Louisiana music incorporating Caribbean and African influenced rhythms and melodies. He is a multi-instrumentalist playing piano, percussion, and harmonica - and he learned to play accordion from some of the best, including Fernest Arceneaux, John Delafose, and Clayton Sampy. With his musical group Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, he has played festivals and concerts accross New Orleans and the US, as well as internationally, and they have recorded 5 critically acclaimed CDs.

TERRY BEAN HARMONICA Download photoTerry Harmonica Bean began playing guitar and harmonica as a child, and eventually began performing at family gatherings and house parties. Terry decided to get serious about the blues in 1988 after attending the Delta Blues Festival in Greenville. He went there to see Robert Junior Lockwood, who played with Terrys idol, harmonica legend Little Walter, but inadvertently fell in with the Greenville blues scene. Every weekend for three years Terry traveled to Greenville and its environs to play harmonica with James "T-Model" Ford as well as Asie Payton at various juke joints. He eventually formed a band of his own, and following the lead of Arkansas bluesman John Weston, started using a harmonica rack and performing as a one-man band, stomping his feet for percussion. Terry has maintained a busy performance schedule as both a solo artist and with the Terry Harmonica Bean Blues Band, performing at festivals across Mississippi as well as in Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee, and at clubs across the region.

ROBERT BELFOUR GUITAR Download photoRobert Belfour was born in the hill country in the northern part of Mississippi. The region has a distinctly different culture than the more famous Mississippi Delta, and the blues from the region is strong and unique, mesmerizing and hypnotic. Like most of the other accomplished performers from the area, Robert was submerged in the area's rich musical heritage. Robert's first memory is that of his father playing a resonator guitar in a style similar to that of Charlie Pattons. In the 1980s, Belfour began playing on Beale Street performing at the Rum Boogie, the Hard Rock Caf, and B.B. Kings Club. In 1994 he had eight songs featured on the compilation album, The Spirit Lives On, Deep South Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s. This led him to Fat Possum Records and his first album What's Wrong With You, released in 2000. At sixty, Roberts guitar playing is mature and highly accomplished; his voice, clear and powerful, and the sound is pure country blues. Robert left the hills of North Mississippi forty years ago but his music never did.

MARK BROOKS BASS Download photoNew Orleans native Mark Brooks attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he pursued a music degree along with one of his close friends, Branford Marsalis. Mark has played and toured with an array of artists, including Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Henry Butler, Charles and Aaron Nevilles Ensembles, Lou Rawls, Fats Domino, Ellis Hall Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Harry Connick Sr. Mark is known for his mastery of different styles ranging from rhythm & blues to contemporary jazz, traditional jazz, blues, and gospel. Mark has to his credit numerous recordings and appearances on local and national television shows, including appearing on screen and the soundtrack for the Clint Eastwood film, The Bridges of Madison County, as well as The Regis and Kathy Lee Show and the movie, Ray, directed by Taylor Hackford, on which he worked closely with actors Jamie Foxx and Terrence Howard.

ELAN CHALFORD FIDDLE Download photoViolinist, fiddler and composer Elan Chalford has played the stage fiddler in Foxfire, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Fiddler on the Roof, Phantom of the Opera, A Christmas Carol, Robber Bridegroom and Die Fleidermaus. Additionally he has been Concertmaster for productions of South Pacific, The Mikado, A Most Happy Fellow, and HMS Pinafore. He has also held Concertmaster positions with the Clearwater Symphony Orchestra, the Masters' Chamber Orchestra, and the Summit Orchestra and Singers. Elan is an award winning Fiddler having won First Prize in the Florida State Fiddlers' Contest and First Prize in the Twin Fiddle Division. His fiddle recordings include, Fluke, Don't Bet Your Money on the Shanghai, A Fiddler's Year, Unhewn Quartz, Elan Go Brag, Top 10 Fiddle Tunes, Touch Lia Fal and Lia Fal Live at the Iron Horse. Elan also teaches, offering private lessons in violin and viola.

BILLY CITRIN MANDOLIN/FIDDLE Download photoA native of St. Louis, MO. Billy Citrin grew up with a background of formal study in classical violin. Later, inspired and influenced by Sonny Terry, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bob Dylan, John Mayall and Stephan Grapelli, Billy would add acoustic guitar, harmonica, and mandolin, to his arsenal, developing proficiency on all four instruments. Always creative, Billy fashioned his own unique style of mandolin blues which he describes as a hybrid of country and blues. In addition to gigs and television commercials in St. Louis, Billy spent two years touring the Netherlands, performing across the United States as member of SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of Harmonica) at their conventions, and doing mandolin seminars with renowned mandolinist Rich DelGrosso in New York. Currently, Billy resides in Jalisco, Mexico where he has regular gigs touring around Mexico playing Blues, Gypsy Jazz and Mexican Romantic music.

GUY DAVIS GUITAR Download photoGuy Davis is a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer, but most importantly, Guy Davis is a bluesman. He has dedicated himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and bringing them to as many listeners as possible through the material of the great blues masters, African American stories, and his own original songs, stories and performance pieces. Raised in the New York City area, he grew up hearing accounts of life in the rural south from his parents and especially his grandparents, and they made their way into his own stories and songs. And its his storytelling set in an acoustic blues framework that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

RICH DELGROSSO MANDOLIN Download photoWriter/teacher/performer Rich DelGrosso is widely regarded as the leading exponent of mandolin blues. For over twenty years he has written articles for Blues Revue, Living Blues, Mandolin Magazine, Frets, and Sing Out!, and has published mandolin and guitar instruction books on for Hal Leonard Pub. He has presented workshops across the U.S. and Europe, earning him a Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Richs many performances, recordings, and festival appearances have garnered him five Blues Music Award nominations. Four of the five were for Best Instrumentalist-Other for his mandolin work, and the other, in 2009, for his recording Live From Bluesville, which was nominated for Acoustic Album of the Year; a recorded live jam session with BMA nominees and winners Fiona Boyes and Mookie Brill at XM radios B.B.Kings Bluesville.

GRANT DERMODY HARMONICA Download photoGrant Dermody is a harmonica player, singer, songwriter, and teacher from Seattle, Washington. He has performed with blues legends Leon Bib, Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Lowery, Big Joe Duskin, John Dee Holeman, and Cephas & Wiggins. As a member of The Improbabillies, whose 1998 self-titled CD made a serious splash in the old-time world, Grant brought a unique blues sensibility and an innovative harmonica style to that genre. He has played on several of Seattle based singer/songwriter Jim Page's recordings, and was a guest artist on Dan Crary's, Renaissance of the Steel String Guitar. A dedicated mentor of the instrument, Grant has taught harmonica for many years in both private and group settings nationwide to students of all ages. Teaching venues have included Blues Week at The Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins West Virginia, the Telluride Acoustic Blues Camp in Telluride, Colorado, and Blues Week at The University of Northhampton in the United Kingdom.

ARI EISINGER GUITAR Download photoCountry blues and ragtime guitarist Ari Eisinger has toured across the US and performed in the UK and Japan, sharing the bill along the way with artists like Doc Watson, John Jackson, Dave Van Ronk, Paul Geremia and Taj Mahal. He has led guitar classes both in the US and the UK, and he is a featured instructor for Stefan Grossmans Guitar Wo