The Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It is managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with the Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Monday night appearance at Jazz Standard in New York City, the Mingus Big Band tours frequently, giving performances and clinics in America, Europe, and other parts of the world.
Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger, working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His pianoless quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz groups. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions, such as "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.
The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music, first released during the eligibility year. In theory, any style of music is eligible for this category, but winning compositions are usually in the jazz or film score genres.
Maria Lynn Schneider is an American composer and jazz orchestra leader who has won multiple Grammy Awards.
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965. The band performed for twelve years in its original incarnation, including a 1972 tour of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The band won a Grammy Award for the album Live in Munich and in 2009 for the album Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard. The collaboration ended in 1978 with Jones suddenly moving to Copenhagen, Denmark, after which the band became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Since the death of Lewis in 1990 it has been known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They have maintained a Monday-night residency at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York for five decades.
Fred Hersch is an American jazz pianist, educator and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his jazz compositions. Hersch has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and, as of December 2014, had been on the Jazz Studies faculty of the New England Conservatory since 1980.
Carmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist and soprano saxophonist.
The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It was founded on October 3, 1958 by jazz disc jockey Jimmy Lyons.
Luciana Souza is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in classical and chamber music. Her song Muita Bobeira was famously featured as a music sample on Windows Vista.
The Half Note was a jazz club in New York City, New York that flourished in two Manhattan locations – from 1957 to 1972 in SoHo at 289 Hudson Street at Spring Street and from 1972 to 1974 in Midtown at 149 West 54th Street, one block west of the Museum of Modern Art.
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979. A revival began in 1986 with the opening of the second nightclub by the same name that is now located in Manhattan's Theater District, not far from the original nightclub's location. The current location is in the same building as the previous headquarters of The New York Observer.
Wayne Escoffery is an American jazz saxophonist.
"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington.
Mingus Dynasty was an American jazz ensemble formed in 1979, just after the death of Charles Mingus, which featured many musicians Mingus recorded or played with. The group was named after the 1959 album Mingus Dynasty.
Richard Gene Williams was an American jazz trumpeter.
Rich Perry is an American jazz tenor saxophonist from Cleveland, Ohio.
Steve Wilson is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, who is best known in the musical community as a flutist and an alto and soprano saxophonist. He also plays the clarinet and the piccolo. Wilson performs on many different instruments and has performed and recorded on over twenty-five albums. His interests include folk, jazz, classical, world music, and experimental music. Wilson is currently on the faculty of New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. He was elected as an American Champion by the National Flute Association. Wilson has maintained a busy career working as a session musician, and has contributed to many musicians of note both in the recording studios, but as a sideman on tours. Over the years he has participated in engagements with several musical ensembles, as well as his own solo efforts.
Eli Degibri is an Israeli jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger.
Baystate was a Japanese jazz record label.
Jeanfrançois Prins is a Belgian jazz guitarist, vocalist and record producer
trains at 28th Street 
