
Chuck Owen – President
Chuck Owen is Distinguished University Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of South Florida. A nationally respected educator, having established USF’s acclaimed jazz program, he is recognized equally for his unique compositional voice; one steeped thoroughly in the jazz tradition but drawing on a diverse array of additional influences from contemporary classical and American…

Dave Stamps – VP of Operations
Dave Stamps is Director of Jazz Studies and Arts Administration at Gustavus Adolphus College as well as co-founder and Vice President of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC). An active trombonist and composer/arranger, Dave has performed with/written for the Colorado Jazz Orchestra, Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, Ninth+Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, Chuck Owen & the…

David Caffey – VP of Membership & Advancement
David Caffey is an internationally recognized composer, arranger, conductor, and educator. His most recent CD, ALL IN ONE by the David Caffey Jazz Orchestra, was released in October 2018. DCJO’s first release, ENTER AUTUMN, was released in October 2015. David composed, arranged, conducted, and produced the music on both CDs. His compositions and arrangements have…
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Claire Brantley – VP of Communications
Claire Brantley earned the BA and MA in English Literature before joining Harcourt Brace Publishers as a junior editor of college textbooks; she developed Frank Tirro’s Jazz Appreciation textbook in addition to many others. She was promoted to a position as a book rep with the sales division of Harcourt. She eventually earned the role…

Gail Boyd
Gail Boyd is President of Gail W. Boyd, P.C., an entertainment law firm, and Gail Boyd Artist Management, a wholly owned company of the law firm. She is a graduate of De Paul University and De Paul University School of Law. She was a founding partner in Boyd, Staton and Cave, the first African American…

Terri Lyne Carrington
Celebrating 40 years in music, three-time GRAMMY® award-winning drummer, producer, educator and activist, Terri Lyne Carrington started her professional career in Massachusetts at 10 years old when she became the youngest person to receive a union card in Boston. She was featured as a “kid wonder” in many publications and on local and national TV…

John Clayton
John Clayton is a natural born multitasker. The multiple roles in which he excels — composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, and yes, extraordinary bassist — garner him a number of challenging assignments and commissions. With a Grammy on his shelf and eight additional nominations, artists such as Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee…

Brian Coyle
Brian is an educator, administrator, composer, arranger, and clinician who frequently appears at festivals, conferences, universities, colleges, and high schools both nationally and internationally. He is Co-Founder and Vice President of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers and has served on the International Executive Board for the International Association for Jazz Education. He…

Miho Hazama
Grammy-nominated composer, Miho Hazama is one of the most promising and talented composers/arrangers of her generation. Lauded in Downbeat as one of “25 for the Future”, Miho developed her signature jazz chamber orchestra “m_unit”. Now having 3 full length releases on Universal Music Japan/ Sunnyside Records, Miho has written for and expertly showcased the abilities…

Christine Jensen
Montreal-based saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen has been described as, “an original voice on the international jazz scene… [and] one of Canada’s most compelling composers,” by Mark Miller of the Globe and Mail. According to Greg Buium of Downbeat Magazine, “Jensen writes in three dimensions, with a quiet kind of authority that makes the many…

Jeff Levenson
GRAMMY PRODUCER, JAZZ EDUCATOR, INTERNATIONAL LIAISON …working with commercial and not-for-profit organizations and schools, possessing leadership ability in both business and artistic realms, skilled in industry outreach, curation, operations, planning, budgeting, production, marketing and development. Jeff Levenson is a label executive, writer-producer, and international consultant. His affiliations, past and present, include posts at Half Note,…

Koen Maes
Koen Maes graduated in 1999 as Master in Music, trumpet (Luca School of Arts – campus Lemmens, Leuven). In 2010 he studied General Management at the Vlerick Business School. He joined Brussels Jazz Orchestra in 2000 and developed creative programming, funding and international career of BJO. Under his leadership, BJO toured in N-America, Europe, Asia…

Steve Maxwell
– Owner of Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drums, NYC and Chicago. – Owner of Fork’s Drum Closet, Nashville. – President of Craviotto Drum Company, Nashville. – Drummer for over 50 years, and active in retail drum sales for over 25 years. – Also served in several senior management roles with the credit card processing…

James Miley
Composer and Jazz Pianist James Miley, recipient of the prestigious IAJE/ASCAP Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition, has been a featured composer at the International Jazz Composers Symposium in Tampa, FL, and made his Carnegie Hall debut as a composer with After the Water, the Clouds (2006), premiered by the James Logan Wind Symphony under…

Rufus Reid
For several years, Rufus has been taking the lead as a bandleader, and this ambitious project showcases his evolution, putting the emphasis on his compositional skills. “Quiet Pride – The Elizabeth Catlett Project” was released Feb 11, 2014, one day after his 70th birthday! The Quiet Pride CD showcases handpicked stellar professionals and earned two…

Ellen Rowe
Ellen Rowe, jazz pianist and composer, is currently Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Rayburn Wright and Bill Dobbins. Prior to her appointment in Michigan, she served as Director of Jazz Studies at…

Sunny Sumter
Sunny Sumter is President and CEO of the DC Jazz Festival, a nonprofit service organization established in 2004 to present jazz-related cultural and educational programs in the nation’s capital. Its’ signature programs are the annual DC JazzFest, DC Jazz Festival Education, and the Charles Fishman Embassy Series. DC Jazz Festival is the recipient of the…

Ryan Truesdell
GRAMMY® Award-winning producer, composer, and arranger Ryan Truesdell was voted “Best New Artist” in the 2012 JazzTimes Critic’s Poll, and is best known for his award-winning Gil Evans Project. In his pursuit to restore and perform Evans’ music directly from his original manuscripts, Truesdell discovered over seventy new, never-before-recorded pieces, ten of which were released…