George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime".
The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. The attackers burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood—at the time, one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States, colloquially known as "Black Wall Street."
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé was an American composer, arranger, pianist, and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement symphonic poem, Grand Canyon Suite, and for orchestrating George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for its 1924 premiere.
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records. Williams wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie.
David Nathaniel Baker Jr. was an American jazz composer, conductor, and musician from Indianapolis, as well as a professor of jazz studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Baker is best known as an educator and founder of the jazz studies program. From 1991 to 2012, he was conductor and musical and artistic director for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has more than 65 recordings, 70 books, and 400 articles to his credit.
Christian Jacob is a French jazz pianist. He has gained widespread exposure as co-leader, arranger and pianist with vocalist Tierney Sutton, although he has also maintained a substantial career as a solo artist and leader.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is an American instrumental music group started in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1994. The band has had 16 different members in 20 years and put out 26 albums under the leadership of keyboardist/composer Brian Haas. The current lineup is Haas on piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers, Josh Raymer on drums and Chris Combs on electric guitar, lap steel, and synthesizer.
Skerik, is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics.
Lawrence Sam "Larry" Goldings is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner.
Diversafest(Dfest), Oklahoma's Music Conference and Festival, was an annual live event that showcased independent and emerging artists and hosted educational music industry panels and a tradeshow. Dfest took place the last weekend in July in the historic Blue Dome District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The music conference and festival had the purpose of promoting and empowering emerging artists from around the United States. By 2008, Dfest had grown to include more than 140 bands performing on over 10 stages in downtown Tulsa and featuring music industry panels, clinics and a tradeshow during the days at the host conference hotel. Attendance over the two-day event in 2009, was nearly 70,000. However, the 2010 festival was cancelled.
Reed Mathis is a bassist, producer, singer, and guitarist who is best known for his 15-year stint as co-leader of the Tulsa progressive jazz band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. The Bay Area rooted player has also notably worked with Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann. He played with Steve Kimock Band, and is a former member of Tea Leaf Green.
Franck Amsallem is a French-American jazz pianist, arranger, composer, singer and educator. He was born in 1961 in Oran, French Algeria, but grew up in Nice, France.
Surendran Reddy was a South African composer and pianist.
Chris Combs is a composer, arranger, steel guitarist, and producer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has been a part of the jazz group Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey since 2008 and has joined contemporary artists like George Porter Jr, Matt Chamberlain, Jeff Coffin, Steven Bernstein, Skerik, Johnny Vidacovich, and Mike Dillon on stage and in the studio. Combs released a self-titled solo album in Oct 2017 debuting a new project called COMBSY.
Ernie Hammes is a Luxembourger trumpet virtuoso, arranger, composer, and big band director who is prolific in both jazz and classical idioms. Notably in jazz, Hammes toured with Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau band in 2005, alternating between the lead and jazz roles. Hammes has performed in more than twenty-five countries while simultaneously supporting the jazz scene in Luxembourg.
Michael Publig is an Austrian composer, pianist, instructor, and music manager. He studied piano with Roland Batik at the City of Vienna Conservatory and Social and Economic Sciences at the Vienna University of Economics.
Yiorgos Kaloudis is a Greek cellist and Cretan lyra player.
Annie Ellicott is an American jazz singer, composer and voice actor. She began performing from an early age in Tulsa, Oklahoma, making dozens of stage appearances as a child. After being discovered while in high school by veteran musician Buddy Bruce, she joined him and keyboardist Gayle Williamson as the singer for the jazz trio Soundz Good. She later formed her own group, and has collaborated with a number of local and national jazz musicians, including Brian Haas and Jeff Goldblum's The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Her 2016 avant-garde album Lonesome Goldmine featuring all original material won The Tulsa Voice's Best Local Album of the year.
Jeremy Siskind is an American pianist, composer, and educator known for his innovative blending of jazz and classical music.
