Bassist Samuel Harris is one of Pittsburgh’s hidden musical treasures — join us for a night of celebration in honor of his mentors and friends, featuring the great Roger Humphries, John Swana, and others. This very special concert will be recorded live, so you won’t want to miss it!
About the Artisits:
Sam Harris:
High levels of musical awareness, a deep understanding of his instrument, and an unyielding groove have marked Samuel Harris as one of the premiere musicians and bass players of his generation. Originally born in Toledo, Ohio, Samuel’s artistry is the culmination of mentorship and training under musicians from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Santiago de Cuba. He holds two degrees from Temple University; a undergraduate degree in Jazz Performance, earned in 2016, and a master’s degree in Classical Performance, earned in 2019. His presence onstage is immediately recognizable; not only does he demonstrate the fundamentals and nuances of bass playing that were taught to him by his musical forbearers, he also blends in his unique experiences with Cuban music and culture to create an approach to the bass that is rich with tradition, rhythmically liberated, and spiritually saturated. Samuel has shared the stage with some of the most important names in music, including Roger Humphries, James Johnson III, George Heid III, Byron Landham, Justin Faulkner, Raudelis Quiala Cisneros, David Throckmorton, Anwar Marshall, Craig McIver, Arturo Stable, Wayne Smith Jr., Thomas Wendt, Steve Fidyk, Aaron Graves, George Burton, Dave Posmontier, Ariacne Trujillo Durand, Therron Brown, Tom Lawton, Larry McKenna, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, Dick Oatts, James Moore, John Swana, Danny Jonokuchi and many others.
Roger Humphries
Music critics rate Roger Humphries as one of the most exciting percussionists in the business. He has provided the rhythmic beat for such greats as Ray Charles, Horace Silver, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Stanley Turrentine, James Moody, Lee Morgan, Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Green, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry, J.J. Johnson, Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, Randy Brecker, Joe Williams, Milton Jackson, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Witherspoon, Nathan Davis, Pete Henderson, Don Patterson, Gene Harris, Grant Green, George Harris, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Dogget, Jack McDuff, and a list of great musicians that goes on and on and on.
Roger Humphries has performed with various groups at Carnegie Music Hall, the Village Gate, and the Apollo Theatre in New York. He has also played at the Bohemian Caverns and Shelly Manne's Manhole in Los Angeles; the Penthouse in Seattle, Wash.; Pep's Lounge and Showboat, Philadelphia; the Jazz Workshop, Boston; Ronny Scott's in London, and many other places.
Silas Irvine:
Silas Irvine is a Philadelphia based Jazz pianist who has established himself as one of the city’s highly sought after sidemen. As a graduate of Temple University, he studied with notable musicians and educators including Bruce Barth, David Wong, Terell Stafford, Josh Richman, Tom Lawton, and Dick Oatts. While in the Temple University Jazz Band, under direction of Terell Stafford, he has performed alongside notable artists including Wycliffe Gordon, Dick Oatts, Rene Marie, and Ann Hampton Calloway. He regularly performs with notable Philadelphian groups including Chelsea Reed and the Fairweather Five, Josh Lee and the Family, and Hailey Brinnel, among many others.
Josh Lee:
Grammy nominated Saxophonist, bandleader, and Managing and Co-Artistic Director of Jazz Lives Philadelphia, Joshua Lee is fully dedicated to the advancement of the Philadelphia jazz community. The Philadelphia native graduated from Temple University in 2016 and 2019 with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Jazz Performance. He has had the fortune of mentorship from musicians like Dick Oatts, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Barry Harris, Jason Marshall and Gary Smulyan on both the Philadelphia and New York scenes.
As a result, Joshua joined the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra in June of 2018 and performs with them around the world while also serving as a regular substitute with the likes of the Vanguard Jazz orchestra, the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Mingus Bigband, Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Jazz Orchestra, and Terell Stafford’s Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya, the Eyal Vilner Jazz Orchestra, Igmar Thomas and the Revive Bigband, Chelsea Reed and the Fairweather Nine, and Danny Jonokuchi and the Revisionists.
Joshua joined the Jazz Faculty at Temple University in the fall of 2019, was awarded as one of Temple University’s 30 Under 30 in 2020 and became an on-air radio host at Philadelphia’s WRTI in 2021. He leads his own band, The Extended Family, that is dedicated to performing the swing era music of Count Baise, Jimmie Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson and more.
Joshua is a P. Mauriat artist and plays on the 302 Baritone Saxophone.
John Swana:
John Swana was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and began studying trumpet at the age of 11. He was drawn to jazz at the age of 17 after hearing Dizzy Gillespie, and the interest developed into a passion while he was in collage, where he began transcribing the solos of Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, and Tom Harrell. Swana has performed and/or toured with the Mingus Big Band, and the Dave Holland Big Band, and has also played with well known jazz names such as Don Patterson, Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, Stanley Turrentine, Harold Mabern, Cecil Payne, Johnny Coles, Ralph Peterson, Charles Fambrough, Bobby Watson, Craig Handy, Chris Potter, Stephen Scott, Tim Warfield, Eric Alexander, Sam Newsome, Brad Mehldau,Vincent Herring, Uri Caine, Tim Armacost, Peter Leitch, Peter Bernstein, Mark Turner, Jon Gordon, Donny McCaslin, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Bowen, Greg Hutchinson, Ari Hoenig, Seamus Blake, and Robin Eubanks. He has also been heard with Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods, Ronnie Cuber, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Clark Terry, Frank Foster, John Faddis, Slide Hampton, J.J. Johnson, Bob Minzer, and Charlie Persip.
John can be heard on recordings with: Benny Golson, Grover Washington Jr., Chris Potter, Ralph Bowen, Donny McCaslin, John Patitucci, Eric Alexander, Charles Fambrough, Craig Handy, Tito Puente, Bill O’Connell, Lenny White, Ricky Sabastian, Eric Harland, Greg Hutchinson, Marlon Simon, Ed Simon, Dave Valentin, Cafe’, Art Webb, Adam Holtzman, Ron Blake, Peter Bernstein, Carl Allen, Mulgrew Miller, Benny Green, Kenny Barron, Tim Warfield, Lewis Nash, Clarence Penn, Kevin Hays, Chris McBride, Uri Caine, Peter Leitch, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Ralph Peterson, Bobby Zankel, and Tom Harrell.