Pop/Jazz

Aubrey Logan

She’s a singer. She’s a trombone player. She’s a songwriter. She’s a performer.

It would have been a lot easier if Aubrey Logan would have just picked one. But she’s never been one to be pigeon-holed. She lives her life outside the box and that makes her difficult to define. And that’s OK with her because she purposely defies definition.

Her Top 5 debut album in 2017 helped establish her as one of the premier young singer-instrumentalists in the country. Her participation in Dave Koz’ #1 album, Summer Horns in 2018 helped cement her position. But it was her own #1 album in 2019 that really helped Aubrey Logan become a household name with music aficionados around the world. Because it was that album, Where the Sunshine is Expensive, that showed the depth of songwriting that she’s capable of.

In between her recording commitments, Logan finds time to share the stage with Alabama Shakes and Meghan Trainor and Pharrell Williams and Josh Groban and Dave Koz and The Commodores and Boston Pops at venues as diverse as Ronnie Scott’s famous jazz club in London to the expansive Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. She’s appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and the Grammy’s Award Show and ABC’s The Goldbergs. She’s won multiple awards at the Montreux Jazz Festival. And she loves performing. But it’s in her writing that we find out who Aubrey Logan really is.

Her title track, LA revealed to the world just how difficult it is to be an artist living in the biggest music town on the planet. She opened up her soul in the song, Understand, and told us how much she wants to be understood. She gave us songs that told us how much travel takes it’s toll and songs that tell us what’s really important in a relationship. She even takes us back a few decades with some retro songs that ask us to remember what it was that first captured our imagination on the radio.

But mostly, Ms. Logan has finally given us a glimpse into the complexity of the mind of the artist. She’s still known as a world-class singer-instrumentalist. But she’s revealed that there’s so much more. Aubrey continues to headline sold-out shows and festivals. She continues to wow the crowds at symphony dates all over the world and she touches us in those rare intimate club shows. And with her latest album, we now discover that “The Queen of Sass” has depths to which we would never have imagined.

Sarah Reich

Sarah Reich (Performer, Choreographer, Instructor, Composer) has emerged as one of the new leaders in the Art Form of Tap Dance. At the young age of 15, this Los Angeles native was featured in Dance Spirit Magazine’s article, “20 Hot Tappers Under 20” and was named one of the “25 To Watch” in the 2017 Dance Magazine article. Sarah has been sought after to perform, choreograph, and teach in over 40 countries. “I want to continue to bring tap into mass media with great respect and quality,” she says, focusing on “reprogramming the minds of the general public on their perception of tap dance.” (Dance Magazine 2017)

Sarah has become one of the art form’s pop culture ambassadors, thanks to her appearances in videos with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. Her videos with them (A Star Wars–themed tribute, “The Tap Awakens,” & “Thriller”, a Michael Jackson cover featuring Wayne Brady) have garnered millions of views on YouTube, all receiving rave reviews. She has toured the world with Postmodern Jukebox playing prestigious venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Sydney Opera House as well as a televised PBS special filmed in Las Vegas.

In addition to her vast international travels and countless television appearances, Sarah has had the honor to perform at some of the most prestigious venues back home in Los Angeles such as The Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theater with Mexican Pop-Star, Cristian Castro and the Kodak/ Dolby Theater with the great Herbie Hancock.

With her Tap Music Project intensives in various cities, Reich teaches tap dancers how to dance with more musicality, communicate with musicians and write music. Using a live band in class, she instructs students on how to “scat” rhythms or transcribe choreography with rhythm notation, among other skills.

Sarah is developing new, and exciting works with her company Tap Music Project, with her debut Tap Jazz Album titled New Change. This album is originally produced, composed from percussive tap rhythms, and performed by a great selection of musicians to create a unique sound. She hopes this is just the beginning: “I want to be the first tap dancer to win a Grammy Award!”

Sara Niemietz

Her artistry is as fresh as that story you love, told the first time. That’s what singer-songwriter Sara Niemietz brings to every concert performance, every guest appearance on television, every song on every album she records. Her story starts with an invitation from the legendary BJ Thomas to join him on stage. The audience knew then and there Sara not only had a remarkable musical gift, but she also displayed and uncommon connection with the crowd she captivated. She was four years old.

Today her credits include U.S. and international concert tours, starring roles on Chicago and Broadway stages, YouTube videos seen more than 24 million times, appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, and The Ellen [DeGeneres] Show. She recently guest starred as a featured vocalist on The Arrangement, and her original music has been heard on Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar.

Sara’s most recent album, Get Right, is a collaboration with Emmy-winning composer Snuffy Walden. Their combined tour is in the making.

To know her music is to appreciate a style that can reach both head and heart with a rare vocal warmth and the best influences of pop, rock and country genres. Not to be missed is Sara Niemietz.

W.G. Walden (Snuffy)

Every time Snuffy Walden picks up his guitar, it seems as though he sings through its strings. And that's why his recordings and appearances are so hugely popular. W.G. Walden, or just “Snuffy," is one of America's foremost film and television composers who reached one of the first of many milestones of success when he and his band opened for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and then toured with such musical greats as Chaka Khan, Eric Burdon, and Donna Summer. See Snuffy perform today, and it seems as if the inventive riffs from his guitar are ultimately shaped by the subtle movements of his lips. Body language, yes, but the most expressive communication is aural – it's what you hear that speaks with color, passion, tenderness, spice and heart. 

Snuffy started scoring themes for television before he really understood what scoring was. The producers of thirtysomething were intrigued to hear a tape by a guy named “Snuffy." As soon as they hit the "play" button they knew he'd be writing the theme for their show. From there, the credits stream on: Friday Night Lights, The Wonder Years, Nashville, My So-Called Life, Roseanne, and West Wing for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Title Theme. Along the way, there've been 13 Emmy nominations and 33 BMI awards including the Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award, an exclusive tribute to those who've made major contributions to the field of television and film composition. Such industry recognition is rare. In this case, however, it's earned because of this artist's hallmark ability to capture intricate emotions with musical simplicity. Today, the work of Snuffy Waldon continues to ring with genuine warmth and truth. 

Bill Cantos

The music and lyrics of Bill Cantos have been recorded by artists spanning the worlds of pop, jazz, theater, gospel, and world music: Ramsey Lewis, Lea Salonga, Patti Austin, Brenda Russell, Herb Alpert, Cheryl Bentyne, The Imperials, Flora Purim, Clay Crosse, Helen Baylor, Mark Winkler, and many others. He has written songs (with Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Mari Falcone) for the new musical CHASING MEM’RIES, which recently premiered at the Geffen Playhouse in LA.

Since 2008, Bill has collaborated live and in the recording studio with Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, contributing to seven albums including the Grammy-winning STEPPIN’ OUT. He also performs regularly with Burt Bacharach as keyboardist and featured vocalist. He was a backing vocalist on three world tours with Phil Collins and has also toured with Diane Schuur, Deniece Williams, Debby Boone, Freddie Hubbard, Vikki Carr, and Rita Coolidge; the artists with whom he has recorded include Elton John, Leon Russell, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow, Bob Dylan, Brian Bromberg, Jay Graydon, Andrae Crouch, Clint Black, and Kirk Whalum.

Bill sang and co-wrote the main title song “All Right Day” for the film HOME RUN SHOWDOWN. He has sung on the soundtrack of over sixty films including SING, STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE, WALL-E, RIO, and RIO 2, and contributed to the music for the Oscar-winning documentary 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. He can be seen performing with Dick Van Dyke in the 2017 HBO film IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE OBIT, EAT BREAKFAST.

Bill was a member of the cast (singer/pianist) of the world premiere production of the Cy Coleman/ Alan & Marilyn Bergman musical LIKE JAZZ at the Mark Taper Forum. He also has a deep love for Brazilian music, and has worked extensively with some of Brazil’s best-known artists, including Dori Caymmi, Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, and Gal Costa. In addition, he has produced albums for Lisa Ono, Steve Amerson, Tony Guerrero, Deniece Williams, and Lillias White.

Bill has recorded six solo CDs; the most recent is LOVE WINS: NEW STANDARDS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM, a collection of original songs written in the style of classic jazz standards. Growing up in San Diego, Cantos received a Masters in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied piano with Fred Hersch. In 2011, he received their Distinguished Alumni Award.

Mari Falcone

Mari Falcone has co-written songs with legendary lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman for the new musical CHASING MEM’RIES. which had its world premiere in 2017 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Among her recent projects, she wrote the string arrangement for "Come Live With Me", a track on Steve Tyrell's #1 Billboard-charting album A SONG FOR YOU, and co-produced a recording project by Tony Award-winning singer/actress Lillias White.

She has released three solo CDs as a pianist/composer (AND ALL THIS, EMBRACE THE CROSS, and CHRISTMAS PEACE); her instrumental music is a blend of classical, pop, gospel and jazz influences.

As a composer/lyricist, she composed THE GARDEN BALLET on a commission from the Florence Dance Company in Florence, Italy; her songs have been recorded by Deniece Williams, Herb Alpert, Haven, and Helen Baylor; she wrote and produced Debby Boone’s album for children THE SNOW ANGEL; co-wrote the main theme (“All Right Day”) and did additional scoring for the film HOME RUN SHOWDOWN; and has written special material for a variety of artists, including Louise Duart, who featured Mari’s music in the revue CATSKILLS ON BROADWAY. In addition, she worked in Italy writing music for Cinecittá and Rai Uno television, and has scored film & TV projects including the documentary TOUCH THE SKY, the award-winning short film JILLIAN’S VANTAGE and THE SECRET LIFE OF BARRY’S WIFE (Showtime).

Mari toured as keyboardist, conductor, and/or musical director with Donna Summer, Amy Grant, Nell Carter, Debby Boone, Deniece Williams, and Vikki Carr. She also served as musical director for the Groundlings comedy troupe and INSTAPLAY, a musical improv group led by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner; was musical director/conductor for the Off-Broadway premiere of the musical MOBY DICK; worked on the musical EFX with Michael Crawford in Las Vegas, and the inaugural production of DENNIS THE MENACE: THE MUSICAL in St. Louis.

Mari is also a playwright with many performed works to her credit, including AN ORANGE IN GRIFFITH PARK, BURT AND HERB, BOXED UP, BETWEEN THE LINES, and NEW CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS. Her work has been staged at numerous LA theaters. She was a founding member of At Rise, a playwriting collective dedicated to the development and presentation of new works by women writers;

Born and raised in Chicago, she earned her Masters degree in classical piano performance from the University of Miami, a student of Rosalina Sackstein.