Steve Cardenas has been an integral part of the New York City jazz community since 1995.
Steve was a longstanding member of the Paul Motian Electric Bebop Band, Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra and Steve Swallow Quintet and is currently a member of Ben Allison and Think Free, John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet, Jon Cowherd Mercy Project, and Adam Nussbaum Lead Belly Project. He has also performed regularly with such diverse artists as Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Eliane Elias and has toured extensively performing at countless international music festivals, theaters and clubs.
Steve has six recordings as a leader, as well as appearing as a sideman on over one hundred recordings. His recently released album, “Blue Has A Range,” is on Sunnyside Records.
Additionally, Steve is on faculty at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary in New York since 2007.
Adam Kolker is a multi-talented performer, composer and arranger. He performed and recorded with latin-jazz artist Ray Barretto from 1994 through 2002 (with whom he received two GRAMMY nominations). He also appears in New York City with groups including the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Fred Hersch's "My Coma Dreams," the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bruce Barth, Judi Silvano, Lucia Pulido, and his own groups with John Abercombie and Billy Hart.
Adam has recorded seven records as a leader and has appeared on countless others as a sideman. ”Beckon" (Sunnyside Records 2017) features his trio of Steve Cardenas on guitar and Billy Mintz on drums, accompanied by a woodwind trio of Lawrence Feldman (flutes), David Gould (clarinets) and Jackie Henderson (bassoon).
Adam is also a member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, was a full time Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst from 1999-2008 and currently teaches at Kutztown University and Prinz Claus Conservatory in the Netherlands.
Billy Mintz was born in Queens, New York. By the age of 15 he was playing in the show bands of the Catskill Mountain resorts developing his musicianship.
In his twenties, while living in New York City, he played and recorded with the Lee Konitz Nonet (1978), Kundalini with Perry Robinson and Badal Roy, the Eddie Daniels Quartet and the Harold Danko Quartet.
In 1981, Mr. Mintz relocated to Los Angeles where he was a member of the Mike Garson Trio with Stanley Clarke and the Bobby Shew Quintet among many others . He also performed several times with the Mose Allison Trio, Mark Murphy, as well as a stint with the Merv Griffin Show band.
In LA, Mr. Mintz was the drummer for the Bill Mays Quartet and in 1988 toured Europe with saxophonist Charles Lloyd's band. Throughout the 1980's he performed and recorded with Bill Perkins, Frank Strazzeri, and Pete Christlieb.
Throughout his life Mr. Mintz has taught privately and done clinics at schools around the world, including the Berklee School of Music, NYU, California Institute of the Arts, North Texas State University the Dick Grove School of Music.
Mr. Mintz currently lives in New York, where he performs with the Alan Broadbent Trio, Roberta Piket Trio, Russ Lossing Trio, and Tony Malaby among others.
Billy has three CDs as a leader, his most recent is Ugly Beautiful, on Thirteenth Note Records.