Performer, composer, arranger, educator and arts administrator Dan Thomas has received countless performance awards, and has performed, recorded and presented with some of the most influential jazz artists and pedagogues in nearly every state in the continental US, Canada, and abroad. Thomas’ CDs, City Scope, Musical Sanctuary and Voyage continue to receive critical acclaim, and acknowledgement on the national airplay charts.

Thomas has held previous appointments having served as the Executive Director and CEO of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. For nearly two decades, he served on the Doctoral faculty and as the co-chair of the Jazz Studies Program at UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and Dance with Bobby Watson. His students perform throughout the globe and teach at the highest levels, and have appeared many times at the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program, Jazz Port Townsend workshops, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and JEN. Students have been recognized in numerous jazz competitions and received many awards, notably in Downbeat, by Thelonious Monk, MTNA, Yamaha, ITG, Name, Music for All, Grammy, Bard Summer Jazz Academy (JALCO), the National Youth Orchestra and the Vandoren jazz saxophone competition, among other.

Thomas holds performing artist/educator endorsements with Yamaha, Vandoren, Locoparasaxo, WeWOOD and Roo Pads.

Bobby Watson sits among the pantheon of present-day jazz greats both as performer and composer. Born in Lawrence, Kan., his career now spans more than four decades. A multi-GRAMMY®-nominated saxophonist, composer, bandleader, educator and producer, Watson trained formally at the University of Miami and then, from 1977-81, earned his “doctorate” as musical director of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. During his four-plus years with the legendary drummer, the saxophonist contributed to 14 Jazz Messengers recordings — more than anyone else in the group’s 35-year (1955-90) storied history.

Early on, in addition to Blakey, the saxophonist also worked with notable jazz icons and elder statesmen such as Max Roach, Louis Hayes, George Coleman and Sam Rivers, as well as sharing music experiences with innumerable noteworthy peers and colleagues as well as legendary vocalists such as Joe Williams, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves and Carmen Lundy.

Virtually simultaneously, Watson also issued several other titles such as Love Remains (Red), the saxophonist’s now-classic 1986 release. The recording, recognized by the Penguin Guide to Jazz (Penguin; 7 th Ed.), received the publication’s highest rating, cited in the edition as a part of its “core collection” joining other entries as a title any jazz aficionado should own. Year of the Rabbit, a musical tribute to Johnny Hodges, followed in 1989; Tailor Made, the Watson-led GRAMMY®-nominated all-star big band in 1993; he also released multiple titles by the four-horn 29th Street Saxophone Quartet and composed music for the Robert De Niro-directed film, A Bronx Tale (1993).

To read more visit Bobbywatson.com

Stan was born into a musical family and he began his professional
career at age 15 by playing “tailgate” trombone in his Dad’s Dixieland
Band. After college, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Music Eduacation
and a Master’s in Solo Performance, Stan entered the U.S. Air Force Band
program. During his Air Force career, he was trombone soloist and lead
player with various groups. Stan arrived on the Portland, OR scene in
the mid ‘90s and has become one of the most active jazz trombonists in
the area, performing with a full spectrum of musical groups throughout
the United States.

Stan was on the music faculty at Willamette University from Sep. 1995-
May 2012 and in the fall term, 2005, he also joined the jazz faculty at
Mt. Hood Community College until retiring from higher education in
2012. He continues to be an active performer, composer, and arranger,
appearing throughout the Northwest as a Clinician and Performer.

Based in Kansas City, bassist Sam Copeland’s artistic career spans performance in jazz and classical music, composition, arranging, and education.

Sam is one of the most sought-after jazz bassists in the region. Sam serves as bassist in Riff Generation, a ten-piece jazz collective sponsored by the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, dedicated to performing original music and exploring the relationship between composed and improvised modes of music making. An active session musician, Sam has recorded with William Flynn, Nate Nall, Arthur White, and many others. Sam's own group, Sam Copeland Quartet, has performed at the Capital Jazz Fest in Jefferson City, MO and the Blue Note Jazz Fest in Columbia, MO. Sam has performed and recorded with numerous other local, regional, and international artists, including Matt Otto, Dan Thomas, Roger Wilder, Rob Scheps, Danny Embrey, Jim Lower, Bobby Watson, and many more.

As a classical musician, Sam has performed professionally in many orchestral, chamber, and solo settings. He performs frequently with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Midwest Chamber Ensemble. Sam has served as bassist for Missouri Symphony Society in Columbia, MO, and has frequently subbed for Springfield Symphony in Springfield, MO.

Also a prolific composer and arranger, Sam's music has been performed and recorded by numerous diverse professional and collegiate ensembles. His compositions for big band have been performed or recorded by student and professional jazz ensembles including the KC-based Jim Lower Jazz Orchestra, UMKC Jazz Ensemble, University Of Missouri Concert Jazz Band, Taneycomo Festival Jazz Orchestra, and others. Sam is constantly writing new compositions for Riff Generation and for his own quartet.

A dedicated music educator, Sam teaches all levels from beginning through collegiate. He has served as bass instructor at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas, and at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. Sam is director of string orchestras in multiple schools in Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas. Also a frequent clinician, Sam teaches clinics annually at Olathe Bass Workshop, Kansas City Bass Workshop, and other clinics.

Sam holds a Master of Arts in Music degree from University of Missouri–Kansas City, a Bachelor of Music degree in Double Bass Performance from University of Missouri–Columbia, and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Pittsburg State University. His primary teachers and mentors include Jeff Kail, James Albright, and Sue Stubbs.

Matt has been a top-tier guitarist in Kansas City for over 20 years. In addition to working frequently with his own jazz trio and quartet, Matt is a vital fixture in at least 25 of Kansas City’s premier music ensembles. The reasons that he remains in such demand as a performer and educator are that he is uniquely gifted, reliable, and diligent. Additionally, his aptitude for performing and teaching various styles of music makes him an invaluable asset in any musical situation and institution.

In addition to performing consistently and frequently around the greater Kansas City metropolitan area for over 20 years, Matt has performed overseas in Paris, Porto Alegre, Rio, Salvador, and Novo Hamburgo. While in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Rio, Matt taught masterclasses at their local universities.

Matt’s impeccable skill as a guitarist and his wealth of experience as a private jazz instructor make him a valuable asset to the Ottawa University music faculty.

Aaron Linscheid is a trumpet performer and educator based in Kansas City. In addition to his work as an educator, Linscheid is also an accomplished performer.  Recent performances include with his own trio, the Diamond Empire Band and performances of original works with Clint Ashlock’s New Jazz Order. Before moving to Kansas City, he spent several summers in the Education Department of the New York Philharmonic.

Brian Steever is a drummer on a mission to inject joy into every musical situation that he finds himself.  He is a Jazz Studies alumnus of UMKC where he was fortunate enough to study with drummers Doug Auwarter, Brandon Draper, Curtis Lundy, and Michael Carvin.  Beyond being one of the busiest drummers in the Midwest, Brian has had the opportunity to perform with musicians from all over the world including Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison, Javon Jackson, Deborah Brown, Bob Sheppard, Jerry Dodgion, Tony Tixier, Shunzo Ohno, Frank Basile, Roger Rosenberg, and Sam Newsome among others.

Forest Stewart's experience includes work on both French horn and electric bass. Forest is bassist and musical director for a popular and well-known singer in the Kansas City area, Ida McBeth and Friends, plays bass with Dan Thomas and Voyage, Cubanisms, and has worked extensively with Orquesta Alto Maiz, "the Salsa Band". On horn, Forest has performed with the Des Moines Symphony, the Rochester Orchestra and Chorale, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, and currently plays with Lee’s Summit Symphony and the People’s Liberation Big Band under the direction of Brad Cox. Forest has performed in New York, Las Vegas, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, in cities throughout Germany and Italy, and at festivals in Chicago, Los Angeles, Geneva, Montreaux, Den Haag and Cuba.

Artists with whom Forest has performed include Nick Brignola, Steve Cardenas, Richie Cole, Jerry Coker, Garry Dial, John Fedchock, Bruce Forman, Mike Freeman, Bill Goodwin, Steve Houghton, Arnie Lawrence, David Liebman, Chip McNeal, Jim McNeely, Roy Meriwether, Dick Oatts, Kim Park, Jack Peterson, Jim Piu, Joe Porcaro, Emil Richards, Bobby Shew, Marvin Stam, Jerry Steinholtz, Clark Terry, Dan Thomas, Phil Upchurch, Bobby Watson, Jiggs Wiggums, and the Paul Winter Consort.

Brian Ward is a keyboardist, educator, composer, and arranger from Portland, Oregon. Brian has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Bobby Torres, Shirley Nanette, Curtis Salgado, Obo Addy, Will Matthews, Dan Thomas, Dave Valdez, Bobby Watson, and many others. “City of Roses,” one of the arrangements Ward helped create for Esperanza Spalding's album Radio Music Society, won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for Vocal Performance. Ward has teaching affiliations at Portland State University, Washington State University, University of Idaho, Eastern Washington University, University of Kansas, and Benedictine College. Currently, Brian came to Kansas City to complete his Doctor of Musical Arts in composition degree at KU Lawrence and is enjoying performing jazz and blues in the Kansas City area.