pianist, composer, and writer, first came to international prominence as a founding member of The Bad Plus, a game-changing collective with Reid Anderson and David King. The New York Times called TBP “Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.” During his 17-year tenure, TBP performed in venues as diverse as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, and Bonnaroo; collaborated with Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, and the Mark Morris Dance Group; and created a faithful arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and a radical reinvention of Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction. Since leaving TBP, Iverson has kept busy. In 2017, he co-curated a major centennial celebration of Thelonious Monk at Duke University and premiered the evening-length Pepperland with the Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2018, he premiered an original piano concerto with the American Composers Orchestra and released a duo album of new compositions with Mark Turner on ECM. In 2019, he released Common Practice with Tom Harrell on ECM, standards tracked live at the Village Vanguard. In 2021, he released the big band work Bud Powell in the 21st Century and was featured on the March cover of DownBeat. In 2022, he released Every Note is True on Blue Note records, an album of original music with Larry Grenadier and Jack DeJohnette. Iverson has also been in the critically-acclaimed Billy Hart quartet for well over a decade and occasionally performs with elder statesmen like Albert “Tootie” Heath or Ron Carter or collaborates with noted classical musicians like Miranda Cuckson and Mark Padmore. For almost 20 years, Iverson’s website Do the Math has been a repository of musician-to-musician interviews and analysis. Time Out New York selected Iverson as one of 25 essential New York jazz icons: “Perhaps NYC’s most thoughtful and passionate student of jazz tradition—the most admirable sort of artist-scholar.” Iverson has also published articles about music in The New Yorker, NPR, The Nation, and JazzTimes.
is a singer, actress, and designer. Music was as mandatory as air for the daughter of a truck-driving trumpeter and a gardening artist. In her childhood home, she delighted in drilling arias while jazz greats played in the background. Her ability to passionately embrace diverse vocal styles has made her a standout in New York theatre. Jumping lithely amongst opera, rock, jazz, and R&B, the New York Times recently hailed her as a vocalist who “demolishes the furious torch song” with a “rafter rattling intensity.” Broadway star turns include Tony Award-winning musicals In the Heights, Rent, and her nightly showstopping performance in Lennon, where the New York Post declared this “wildcat kitten” a “star in the making.” Throughout her career, she has had the honor to work with numerous industry legends: Stephen Sondheim, who guided her performance of Marta in Company at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center; Athol Fugard, who directed her in the world premiere of his play Sorrows & Rejoicings; Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents, under whose masterful supervision Harriell deepened the role of Maria in West Side Story. "Superfriend" Lin-Manuel Miranda recruited her to record early demos for Disney’s Moana, tapping Harriell's emotional interpretations for the soundtrack. Enamored by another interpretation, Quentin Tarantino wrote the role of “Marcy” for her in his film Death Proof. On the small screen, Harriell has been a series regular on NBC's Ed; HBO's Nurse Jackie; CBS’s Queens Supreme; and has guest starred in numerous episodics, including Manifest, NCIS, Law & Order, and Search Party. When she’s not onstage, onscreen, or in-studio, Harriell takes a happy audience on a colorful ride alongside her husband Rob in the hit YouTube series @TheHandmadeHarriells, creating couture garments for everyday life.
(@marcyharriell/thehandmadeharriells.com)
is a Chilean-born, New York City-based bassist, composer, and improviser. As an eclectic and in-demand sideman, he has toured with a host of different artists in Europe, the United States, Canada, and South America. His wide-ranging interest in different realms of jazz and improvised music has led him to work with a diverse pool of established artists such as Dave Douglas, Ethan Iverson, Steve Cardenas, George Garzone, Jason Palmer, Rodney Green, Michael Blake, Pablo Held, Jim Black, Tim Miller, and Frank Carlberg, among many others. He also plays in bands of contemporaries such as Kevin Sun, Max Light, and Jacob Shulman. In addition to his sideman work, he co-leads the bands Great on Paper, Family Plan, and Earprint. The latter won the “best debut album” category of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll in 2016, and Family Plan released their debut album in September 2021, due to receiving a generous grant from the Chilean government. Willson can be heard on over twenty-five records for labels such as Tzadik, Steeplechase, Newvelle, and Endectomorph, in addition to a number of self-releases.
is an active member of the Brooklyn jazz and creative music community. He leads several bands (including Apocryphal, Haunted, and Pilot House Overhead), writes music, and is a featured collaborator in a number of bands (including Landline, Hearing Things, and many others). In 2017, he released two widely-praised albums of his original compositions: Juxtaposition (Posi-Tone Records) and Hide Ye Idols (Loyal Label). In 2018, he toured the United States as a member of the MMDG Music Ensemble and did a brief tour of Spain with PLAY, featuring Jacob Sacks and bassist Masa Kamaguchi. Recently, Sperrazza toured extensively with Pepperland and released three collaborative albums with The Choir Invisible (with Charlotte Greve and Chris Tordini), Trio Trio (featuring Dave Scott and Rich Perry), and Caleb Curtis/Noah Garabedian/Vinnie Sperrazza.
is an accomplished trumpeter, composer, and band leader. Named a rising star by DownBeat magazine, Finlayson has been an integral part of the creative music scene in New York since relocating in 2000. He is widely admired for his ability to negotiate cutting-edge material while bringing a strong sense of individuality and verve. Finlayson has garnered critical acclaim and recognition for his three recordings as a leader with his group Sicilian Defense. He has also received much recognition for his contributions as a sideman with cutting-edge artists such as Steve Coleman, Henry Threadgill, Steve Lehman, and Mary Halvorson.
is a multi-genre singer, musician, and songwriter originally from Key West, Florida. As a choral singer he has worked with many of the world’s luminary conductors and orchestras, most recently including engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony. March 2016 marked his operatic debut in Curlew River for the Mark Morris Dance Group. As a popular songwriter and frontman for The Clinton Curtis Band he has toured internationally as a cultural ambassador with the U.S Department of State. He has released five original studio albums available at music.clintoncurtis.com.
is thrilled to be joining the MMDG Music Ensemble in The Look of Love. Her voice and original compositions have been featured in hundreds of TV shows, films, radio spots, and commercials, with credits including Feel the Beat, So You Think You Can Dance, The Friend, Inside Amy Schumer, Dance Moms, The Young and the Restless, One Life to Live, Lincoln Heights, The Voice, Silver Bells, High School Musical, The Namesake, Cow Belles, and The Merry Gentleman. She has also worked as music supervisor on series including Younger and Chappelle’s Show. For over a decade, she has managed and directed the Blaire Reinhard Band, performing as lead vocalist and keyboardist at events around the greater New York City area (blaireband.com).
CHRIS McCARTHY (piano) is known for his “high skill and sensitivity” (The New York Times) and is one of the most in-demand pianists in New York City. McCarthy has developed a reputation as “one of the most imaginative and impressive voices on the New York jazz scene” (Hot House Jazz magazine). McCarthy grew up in the thriving local music scene of Seattle. Early accolades included the 2012 Gerald Wilson Award for big band composition at the Monterey Jazz Festival. After playing with Jerry Bergonzi and Jason Palmer’s working bands in Boston for several years, he moved to New York in 2016 and has been collaborating with artists from around the globe in New York City ever since. He released his debut for Ropeadope Records Still Time to Quit in 2020, featuring Takuya Kuroda on trumpet, Michael Blake on sax, Sam Minaie on bass, and JK Kim on drums. The album received widespread critical praise, including the number three slot in Paul Rauch’s “Best Local Jazz Albums of 2020” for Seattle Times. McCarthy is known for his sensitive accompanying of vocalists, working with many of New York’s finest: Vanisha Gould, Lucy Yeghizarian, Aubrey Johnson, and Sami Stevens to name a few. McCarthy is also active in the world music scenes, touring with Carnatic vocalist Roopa Mahadevan and Gnawa musician Samir Langus. His playing is featured on albums by rising stars such as vibraphonist Sasha Berliner (Azalea, 2019) and saxophonist Eden Bareket (Day Dream, 2021). In 2021, his playing was featured on BBC Radio 1 and drummer Questlove’s social media. McCarthy also collaborates with R&B duo Lion Babe and is featured on their album Cosmic Wind. In January 2023, he was a featured artist in legendary pianist Johnny O’Neal’s show “Tribute to the Crooners” at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He currently plays in legendary tap dancer Dormeshia’s new show Rhythm is Life, a New York Times Critic’s pick. May 2023 brought the release of Priorities (Fresh Sound Records), McCarthy’s new album of all originals in the piano trio tradition featuring Chris Tordini on bass and Steven Crammer on drums. The international jazz scene will continue to hear from McCarthy for years to come.
With a trumpet sound possessing a "beyond-category beauty” (Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz), Australian-born trumpeter/composer NADJE NOORDHUIS’ (trumpet) deeply felt, clarion tone and evocative compositional gift meld classical rigor, jazz expression, and world music accents into a sound that is distinctively her own. From Sydney, Australia, and based in New York for twenty years, Noordhuis was a semi-finalist in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and the 2010 National Jazz Awards in Australia. She has played on two Grammy-winning recordings and six Grammy-nominated albums across a variety of musical genres. She tours with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Anat Cohen Tentet, and leads her own ensembles. Noordhuis has four albums of original compositions on her Little Mystery Records label and two vinyl releases on Newvelle Records. Her 2015 contemplative album with pianist Luke Howard, Ten Sails, currently has over 17 million digital streams. She has been commissioned by brass bands, trumpet ensembles, big bands, string ensembles, and jazz artists internationally