Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings and whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” In recent years, Frisell has forged a distinctive and fruitful collaboration with the Blue Note label, releasing Orchestras (Grammy nominated), FOUR, Valentine and HARMONY to great acclaim.

“Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music… There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana.” – New York Times

Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012. He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists and Meet the Composer, among others. In 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music. Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors. Bill is the subject of a documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth as well as an extensive biography by Philip Watson, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music.

Rudy Royston Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Royston has been a professional teacher, drummer and percussionist for almost twenty years. He studied classical percussion at University of Denver where earned undergraduate degrees in Music and English, and accomplished teacher certification credentials from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Rudy grew up playing drums in church, and found his voice under the auspices of Colorado’s celebrated trumpeter Ron Miles, whom Royston deems his greatest influence, and with whom Rudy has played since 1991. He has taught, recorded and performed all styles of music from Jazz to marching percussion. Since moving to Piscataway, New Jersey in 2006, Royston has completed a Masters in Music degree from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and performed with many of today’s finest Jazz musicians. Javon Jackson, Bill Frisell, Les McCann, David Gilmore, Ben Allison, Jason Moran, JD Allen, Sean Jones, Jeremy Pelt, Greg Osby, Jennifer Holiday, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Bowen, Bruce Barth, George Colligan, Don Byron, Stanley Cowell, Tom Harrell, John Ellis, Jenny Scheinmenn and The Mingus Big Band, to name a few. A lover of all genres of music, Rudy continues to pursue music and expand his music horizons.

Thomas Morgan is a double bass player with a unique approach to the instrument and an exceptional musical understanding. He has played on a hundred some recordings and toured all over the world as a member of bands led by Bill Frisell, Jakob Bro, Craig Taborn, Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian, Charles Lloyd, Dan Weiss, Jim Black, John Abercrombie, Dave Binney, Steve Coleman, Henry Threadgill, and Tomasz Stańko, among many others.