Fred Thomas occupies a very special niche in the history R&B. As James Brown’s principal bassist since 1971 (the “Make if Funky” era), he participated in one the most prolific periods in the Godfather of Soul’s incredible career as a member of Brown’s band, the J.B.'s.

Fred can be heard on hits such as: “Hot Pants”, “Papa Don’t Take No Mess,” “Make it Funky,” "Get on the Good Foot," "Doing it to Death," "I'm a Greedy Man," "I Got Ants in My Pants," "There it Is," "Stoned to the Bone," and instrumental classics like “Pass the Peas” and “Gimme Some More.” His recorded basslines on tracks such as Bobby Byrd's "I Know You Got Soul" and Lyn Collin's "Think" have been sampled numerous times.

He's on the seminal "Live at the Apollo Vol. 3 Revolution of the Mind" and can be seen in "Soul Power" (2008) documentary of James Brown's 1974 concert in Zaire, and in the many James Brown "Soul Train" appearances.

In his band, Fred Thomas is front and center singing, playing bass and tearing into a mix of blues and soul classics and the JB hits he recorded on.

SunDub is a testament to the power of inclusion, diversity and unity— their music and community rallies around the concept that we are strongest when people of different backgrounds can work together to create positive change. These core values are showcased on SunDub’s first release, “Burden of Love,” which has since amassed millions of streams and whet the appetites of listeners around the world for their next release. In a world that is dominated by watered-down distillation of reggae, SunDub aims to honor the roots of Jamaican music while offering their unique ability to combine soul and funk sophistication into their art.

Born out of a weekly music residency at a local watering hole, Brooklyn-based SunDub has developed into a collaborative mix of New York City musicians, consistently turning heads with an offering of classic reggae repertoire peppered with original and featured soul and blues almost weekly since 2013. Anchored by a core quintet—Finnegan Singer (guitar), Josh T Carter (bass), Eric "The General'' Toussaint (vocals-keys) and the brother-sister team of Joanna (lead vocals) and Ben Teters (vocals-drums)—many of SunDub’s stellar and frequent collaborators came together for its first production of original music, "Burden of Love." The album features reggae royalty Ruff Scott, The Chronic Horns (Easy Star All-Stars), Larry McDonald (Lee Scratch Perry, Gil Scott-Heron) and Sidney Mills (Steel Pulse). They lend their talents to Joanna Teters' commanding and soulfully smoky lead vocals and blend seamlessly with the air-tight arrangements of the SunDub rhythm section. The result is a stand out expression of reggae’s classic undulating pulse and lush subterranean grooves, reinvented for listeners of all times and genres.

Outside of the studio and off of the stage, the band members that make up SunDub put their talents to work in a myriad of ways; using their music as a platform to advocate for political movements, teaching music lessons to New York City youth, and collaborating with non-profits to create change. Like so many other bands, SunDub was hit hard by the onset of the pandemic of 2020 — tours cancelled, opportunities postponed, income lost. But instead of being discouraged, the band came together on a Brooklyn patio and figured out how to make the most of the situation. During weekly, COVID-safe live stream performances in the summer of 2020, SunDub raised over $1,000 for the NAACP Education and Legal Defense Fund, used their platform to rally their community around the importance of political activism and dismantling unjust racial and societal structures.

www.sundubmusic.com

J. Hoard interweaves genres to articulate his vivid songwriting. This eclectic approach has yielded songwriting collaborations on two Grammy-award winning albums (Black Coffee – 2022 “Subconsciously” Dance Album & Chance the Rapper – 2017 “Coloring Book” Rap album). Additionally, he works closely with artists such as Brasstracks, Endea Owens, Jose James and the legendary Meshell Ndegeocello (credited vocalist on her 2019 Grammy nominated “Ventriloquism” album).

No matter the genre, platform, or language (backing vocalist on the Latin Grammy winning “Sobrevolando” Cultura Profetica album) J. Hoard possesses the essence of the Black church and allure of the Great White Way, usually with his arms stretched out like Whitney Houston, to ensure the audience is enriched while being entertained.

www.jhoardmusic.com

Mafer Bandola (Maria Fernanda Gonzalez) Is a Venezuelan bandola llanera player, community organizer, self-thought composer, and educator. With a grounded understanding of the bandola llanera (male-dominated) traditions,  she focuses on bringing the instrument to a new artistic path through composition, performance, and improvisation.

As co-founder and current member of Ladama, a collective of four female musicians from four different countries, mafer combines her oral traditions and musical approaches to create collectively original music in Spanish, English, and Portugues. . Currently, is the creator and hoster of Pipiris Nights, the first and only gathering event with a community focus where to play and dance Venezuelan Joropos in New York.

Mafer occupies a unique place as a composer, educator, and artist and has won multiple residencies and been the recipient of many grants for her work.  She has performed at institutions such as MassMoca, WOMAD, Womex, TED, TEDx, National Sawdust, NPR TinyDesk, among others, as well as presenting in spaces in Latin America as varied as Teatro Juares, Teatro Teresa Carreño both in Venezuela, Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia and Paco do Frevo in Recife, Brazil. As an educator, she has worked with El Sistema in Venezuela, has developed open sourced, culturally-responsive curriculum in partnership with TeachRock for American students, and has taught at multiple universities as an artist in residence such as Dartmouth College, George Mason University and Butler University among others. From July 2020 - March 2021, she  produced the international online conference Latínica where more than 200 Latinas from around the world gathered together to discuss in Spanish the different issues affecting them in the music industry.

www.maferbandola.com

Armo’s intimate and energetic sound focuses on classic and contemporary Afrobeat.

Founded by longtime Antibalas bandmates vocalist/keyboardist Amayo, trumpeter/percussionist Jordan McLean, percussionist/vocalist Marcus Farrar, guitarist/keyboardist Nikhil P. Yerawadekar, drummerKevin Raczka, and bassist Justin Kimmel, Armo creates spontaneous arrangements of the music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, TheDaktaris, Ebo Taylor, William Onyeabor, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and original rhythm based music.

This 5-8 piece band features a revolving cast from the Daptone Records family and NY Afrobeat Scene. Members of the band now include Dave “Smoota” Smith on trombone/keyboards, bassists/guitarists Binky Griptite andTimothy James, saxophonist/keyboardist TonyJarvis, and drummer Dylan Fusillo.

Collectively the members of Armo have performed thousands of concerts around the world working with such luminaries as David Byrne, Angelique Kidjo, Public Enemy, TV on The Radio, Sharon Jones & The Dapkings, Ornette Coleman, and in the band for the Tony Award winning musical FELA!

Their first release, a self-titled EP, was released on System Dialing Records in 2018 and is available on 10” 45 rpm record, as downloads, and streaming on all major platforms. Their 2020 single New Beginning is available on Bandcamp.

With the goal of expanding the New York Afrobeat Scene, the band holds a monthly jam session at the legendary Bitter End in NYC’s West Village. Most recently they served as the house band for theCity Winery/Carnegie Hall afterparty tribute to Paul McCartney, and have restarted their years-long residency at Brooklyn’s famed Bar Lunatico.

@armoafrobeat on IG. Photo credit: Amy Touchette

Eli “Paperboy” Reed is a survivor. He was one of the first of the new wave of singers and songwriters to embrace unabashedly soulful music and he has been tearing up stages all over the world with his heart-stopping falsetto screams for more than a decade with no plans to slowdown. From humble musical beginnings growing up outside of Boston, at 18 Reed moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi and cut his teeth playing and singing in juke joints all over the Delta. From there he took the well-trod path to Chicago where he spent a year as minister of music the Southside church of Soul legend Mitty Collier.

Soon after returning to Boston, he was bit by the songwriting bug and released his first full length, “Roll with You” in 2008. Reed’s combination of powerful soulful vocals coupled with his strong pop sensibility as a songwriter made people all over the world stand up and take notice. Soon there were calls coming in from everywhere; television shows in the UK, festivals in Australia, and a jaw-dropping schedule of national and international tour dates.

Major record labels came calling, deals were signed and Reed’s star kept rising, now with the help of song placements in major movies, television shows and commercials. The albums “Come and Get it” (Capitol - 2010) and “Nights Like This” (Warner Brothers - 2014) went on to do more than $2.5 million in total licensing, while Reed and his crack band continued to wow audiences on five continents. In 2016, after some much-needed time off from the road, Reed returned to the studio to cut “My Way Home” (YepRoc - 2016); an album that is at once back-to-basics and startlingly current.

Starting in 2013 Reed began teaching at an after-school music education based in Harlem called Gospel for Teens during his breaks from touring. The program worked with at-risk youth from around the New York City area and Reed specifically began teaching these young men about Gospel Quartet music, its history and harmony. Out of those classes emerged a new project that Reed dubbed The Harlem Gospel Travelers. He produced, arranged and played guitar on their debut album which came out on the revered soul label Colemine records in 2019 to rave reviews. Now The Harlem Gospel Travelers are at work on their second full-length and have begun conquering festival stages as well.

Parenthood gave Reed a newfound wisdom and self-reflection. His daughter Stella was born in 2016 and son Oscar in 2019. With that in mind he returned to the south to record his 7th full-length “99 Cent Dreams” at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, TN. This time around he was joined by Soul legends The Masqueraders on background vocals. The title track was given an unexpected boost with a feature by hip-hop pioneer Big Daddy Kane! No Depression wrote “Reed never disappoints and on 99 Cent Dreams he takes his musical game to anew level, elevating us with it.”

Now approaching the 15-year mark in his career and releasing his 8th album “Down EveryRoad”, Reed has improbably become an elder statesman of the genre, and he’s begun seeing new artists who are taking inspiration from his unique sound. A sound that, over everything else, prizes feeling, energy, and, yes, Soul.

www.elipaperboyreed.com

Katie Martucci is a performer, bandleader, singer and composer who believes in the necessity of creative process for the self and the power of music to build and sustain community.

Her latest release ‘Note to Self’ on La Reserve Records is acollection of songs about the “unspoken third thing in theroom” — stories surrounding friendship, family history, imposter syndrome, her own personal journey with epilepsy and more. Drawing inspiration from the writing and production of artists like Madison Cunningham and Emily King, Martucci's songs are lush and cinematic.

"No matter what Katie Martucci chooses to sing, it absolutely captivates us. Her voice is incredible, warm, and personal." -Ear to the Ground Music

In addition to her solo work, Katie tours nationally with The Ladles, her folk-pop trio, while providing music workshops for local communities and developing sustainable touring methods. She is also the bandleader for Tucci Swing, a jazz ensemble featuring intricate three-part vocal harmony, and has worked as a producer for Eva Lovullo on her latest EP ‘tried to be everything.’ Katie has been featured on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and has scored film for National Geographic.

Born to an American mother and a concert-promoter Brazilian father, Alexia Bomtempo was raised in the beach culture of Rio de Janeiro, while traveling to America frequently over the years. She grew up listening to Brazilian popular music and Bossa Nova, as well as rock, folk and jazz. Since relocating back to New York City, the Brazilian-American singer-songwriter has fully embraced, challenged, and redefined the Northern half of her American artistic roots. Equally comfortable wandering amidst hazy memory-inducing soundscapes as she is in delivering flowing melodies influenced by her beachside upbringing in Rio de Janeiro, Alexia is an artist of of multiple worlds. Her sound is individual and confidently feminine, navigating genres ranging from classic American song to exploratory Tropicália. In 2008, she began touring throughout Brazil, Europe, Japan and the U.S in support of her debut release Astrolábio (EMI Brazil).

Her 2012 English language tribute to Caetano Veloso, I Just Happen to Be Here (BiscoitoFino) was called “an ingeniously produced, lucidly performed, and hauntingly beautiful collection...” (Village Voice). BlackBook Magazine called her 2017 album Chasing Storms and Stars “a deeply poignant meditation on lost love, broken dreams and the soul-searching confusion that comes with revisiting those memories.”

Her 2020 album, the jazz-meets-bossa-nova-flavored Suspiro (Ropeadope Records) was released to critical acclaim. NPR’s The Latin Alternative named it “one of the best albums of the year”; Jazziz Magazine highlighted its timeless quality; American Songwriter defined it as “an exploratory journey”; KCRW radio hosts fell in love with Alexia’s voice. Suspiro was produced by French producer and drummer Stéphane San Juan – known for his work with a diverse group of acclaimed international artists including David Byrne, Caetano Veloso, Tulipa Ruiz, Amadou & Mariam – and American guitarist Jake Owen (Augustana, Charanga Cakewalk, Forró in the Dark). Thealbum features Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalistMichael Leonhart (Steely Dan, Mark Ronson, The Roots).

As described by the Washington Post, the “top-shelf Brazilian jazz musician” is currently working with Grammy Award nominated pianist Orrin Evanson on a Brazilian inspired jazz ensemble featuring acclaimed modern jazz musicians Clarence Penn drums), Luques Curtis (bass) and Leandro Pellegrino (guitar). Entitled Terreno Comum, the quintet has appeared at this year’s DC Jazz Festival and Exit Zero Jazz Festival.

Alexia Bomtempo brings her trademark sultry Brazilian sounds to fans with a stunning new album called DOCE CARNAVAL released last August on Ropeadope Records.Highlighted on NPR MUSIC’s All Songs Considered as one of the best releases of the week, the nine-track album is a love letter to the timeless soundtrack of Brazilian Carnaval, with Bomtempo reimagining classic Carnaval songs and infusing them with her own intoxicating vocals and “doce” (sweet) musical flourishes.

Leah Rich is a child of refugee Soviet musicians. A first generation American, Leah was taught from birth, that freedom of expression is worth living and dying for. After a lifetime spent playing unsanctioned jazz under the oppressive Soviet regime, Leah’s family risked everything to start over in New York City. And there, a new creative powerhouse came to be. Leah’s soulful, urban style bridges the gap between her Soviet Azeri roots, and her metropolitan upbringing. 

Leah's anticipated sophomore album, Caspian, seeks to celebrate this cultural fusion and courage. In collaboration with renowned producer Cale Hawkins, Leah has managed to do just that. Caspian is set to release Summer 2023. 

www.leahrichmusic.com

Young South African jazz vocalist, Vuyo Sotashe, is gradually making his mark in the New York jazz scene. Sotashe moved to the NYC in 2013 after being awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to pursue Master of Music (Spring 2015) at William Paterson University. Since then, he has gone to win first prize at the very first Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Vocal Competition in 2014, and performed on the festival's main stage in February of 2015. More recently, he won the Audience prize award and placed second over-all at the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition in 2015, held at the annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In the same he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocal competition, where he was the very first male vocalist ever to place in the competition's finals.

Vuyo Sotashe has also performed on international stages which include singing at the Arcevia Jazz Fest and the Fermo Jazz Festival in Italy 2012; the Stockholm Jazz Festival with South African National Youth Jazz Band in Sweden 2012; at the Cape Town International Festival with George Benson and the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra 2010; the Johannesburg Joy of Jazz Festival 2012; and he has toured with the SAMA Award (GRAMMY equivalent) winning band Proxy in the UK and Ireland 2009-2011. He has also performed with Multi-Grammy Award winning gospel artist, Israel Houghton as part of New Breed (Africa) Ensemble.

Sotashe is also the winner of the biggest music scholarship competition in South Africa, the South African Music Rights Foundation Scholarship, where he performed for the former South African President Thabo Mbeki. Vuyo Sotashe is currently performing around New York City with the praised drummer Winard Harper, who has performed with the likes of Betty Carter, Shirley Horn, and many other legends in jazz.

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eleanor Dubinsky and her band perform an engaging blend of multilingual jazz and catchy pop, met with emotionally forthright songwriting. Singing in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, Eleanor invites audiences to travel the world while discovering underground tributaries that connect us in our shared human experience.

"A joyous, uplifting and deeply generous performance...this is music as medicine for your soul."- Tom Pryor (Songlines, Nat. Geo Music).

Recent performances include Jazz Aspen-Snowmass, Joe's Pub at The Public, U.S. Embassy Mauritania, and Bebop Jazz Club, Buenos Aires. Eleanor is joined by Arei Sekiguchi (drums), Michael O'Brien (bass) and Juancho Herrera (guitar/vocals).

Stage mage JENNIFER JADE LEDESNA, Bronxite polyglot, is an alumna of the New School Jazz Conservatory & LaGuardia Arts. A Montreux Jazz Voice Competition Finalist, Equity actress, & ”Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” composer, Ms. Jade often performs at “Aux TroisMailletz” in Paris, “Jazz Na Avenida” in Salvador da Bahia, and all over NYC!

She's sung at Carnegie Hall in Bobby McFerrin’s “INSTANT OPERA!”, in the World Premiere Tour of “CHAPEL/CHAPTER” w the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Co. JJ’s also graced the international stages of Switzerland’s CHORUS Jazz Club, Norway's “Silda Jazz Fest” with her group ”RAJAFRO”, Jazz @ Lincoln Center with Bobby Sanabria’s “Multiverse Orchestra!”, Saint Croix's “Take Five Fest”, Santiago de Chile's “Teatro Municipal de Las Condes”, & Austria's PORGY & BESS, to name a few.

Grammy board member & former Artistic Director of the legendary“Minton’s Playhouse” in Harlem, Ms. Jade, has performed with David Amram, ELEW, Dave Valentin, Roy Hargrove, Wycliffe Gordon, Joatan Nascimento, Junior Mance, James Carter, Benny Powell, Candido Camero, Janis Siegel, & Wynton Marsalis, among others. She recently starred as Tempest in the feature film SINCE I LEFTYOU, and “Tinima” in the opera- musical HATUEY: MEMORY OF FIRE!