Debussy, Ravel, and The Jazz Age

Rob Thomas is a highly regarded jazz violinist, bassist and educator. He is a member of The String Trio of New York, recently setting the record for longest occupancy of the violin chair in the venerable jazz chamber ensemble. He is also a Professor at the Berklee College of Music.

In addition to critically acclaimed recordings by the String Trio, Rob’s discography includes work with The Mahavishnu Project, The Jazz Passengers, Andy Summers, and Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge big band.

As a bassist, Rob has played with a number of jazz luminaries, including Joe Henderson, Eddie Harris, Charlie Rouse, Mose Allison, Diane Schur, Nancy King, and The New York Voices.

Sunghae Anna Lim is a devoted chamber musician and member of the Manhattan String Quartet. She was a founding member of the Laurel Piano Trio, winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition, and violinist of the Naumburg Award-winning New Millennium Ensemble. As a teacher of violin and chamber music, Ms. Lim has been on the faculty of Princeton University since 2000.

Ms. Lim is dedicated to performing the music of living composers has premiered and recorded numerous new works with such groups as Talea Ensemble, New York New Music Ensemble, ISCM, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. Festival appearances include the Portland Chamber Music Festival, Maine Chamber Music Seminar, Prussia Cove (UK), Marlboro Music Festival, the Weekend of Chamber Music and White Mountains Music Festival. She serves on the advisory board for the Trenton Music Makers, an El-Sistema inspired program for children in Trenton, NJ and is the faculty advisor for Princeton University’s Trenton Youth Orchestra. She was named a Dudamel Foundation Mentor in 2020 for her work on teaching practices during the pandemic. Ms. Lim received a BA from Harvard University in History and Literature and completed her Diplom at the Mozarteum under violinist Sandor Vegh.

Bassist Melissa Slocum has been performing worldwide since 1982 and has worked with such legends as Art Blakey, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw and Hank Jones. Comfortable in genres ranging from duo to big band, traditional to avant garde, she has  performed and recorded with Charli Persip and Superband, Ralph Peterson and the Fo’tet, Avery Brooks with Craig Harris, Howard Johnson and Gravity, Dakota Staton, Kevin Mahogany, the Firey String Sistas and the all woman big band DIVA, among many others. She has worked with bandleaders Eddie Chamblee, David “Fathead” Newman, Frank Wess, Hamiet Bluiett, Don Byron, Jay Rodriguez, Frank Lacy and Nioka Workman; pianists Walter Davis, Jr., James Williams, John Hicks, Kirk Lightsey, Cyrus Chestnut, Roy Merriwether, Henry Butler, James Weidman and Darrel Grant to name a few. She has played for numerous vocalists including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nnenna  Freelon, Michelle Lee, Maurice Hines, Jeannie  Bryson, Leon Thomas, Jon Hendricks, Michelle Hendricks, Ann Hampton Callaway and Dianne Reeves. Television appearances include Newport Jazz Festival 1999, Kennedy Center 25th Anniversary Gala,  BET Interview, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN with the Kevin Mahogany Quintet and CBS News with Lionel Hampton.  Ms. Slocum holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Manhattan School of Music. She studied jazz bass with Lisle Atkinson, Stafford James, Milt Hinton, Rufus Reid and Ron Carter.  She received an NEA grant for jazz study in 1986.

Pianist Carlton Holmes is sought after by some of the world’s top musicians, including the late Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Garrett, Branford Marsalis, Max Roach, Stevie Wonder, Diane Reeves, Regina Belle, Donald Byrd, Terumasa Hino, Charli Persip, Howard Johnson and many others. Recording dates and performances with drum sensation Cindy Blackman have garnered him the following revelation: “…most memorable musical experience? It was with a piano player, Carlton Holmes…we went through different motions, different moods and different movements. That was one of the best musical experiences I’ve ever had.’’ In addition to leading his own bands, Carlton’s performing and recording dates include saxophone great Carlos Garnett and guitarist Ronny Jordan. For what was almost 20 years, Carlton maintained a memorable collaboration with Master Drummer Michael Carvin, culminating in several recordings and musical projects.

As an active educator, Carlton Holmes has conducted workshops and master classes around the world.

Noted for “an extraordinary range of colour” (Montreal Gazette),and “poetic brilliance” (Toronto Star), pianist Francine Kay is acclaimed for her beauty of sound and for the intensity and depth of her interpretations.  

Since making her debut at the Carnegie Recital Hall as winner of the New York Pro Piano Competition, Francine Kay has been a regular guest at international festivals, such as Music Mountain, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Chopin Festival in Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic, the Nowy Sącz International Music Festival (Poland), and the Zodiac Academy and Festival in France. 

Ms. Kay has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall, the Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio, Salle Gaveau in Paris, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. She has also appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts and the Bargemusic series in New York City, and she has been a soloist with orchestras across Canada and the United States.

Ms. Kay’s recordings have received international accolades. Her Debussy recording was nominated for a Juno award and was chosen as Disc of the Month by the German publication Fono Forum. Her performances are broadcast frequently on CBC, NPR, the BBC, WFMT, Radio France, and the EBU.

Francine Kay is a member of the piano faculty at Princeton University.  

Her newest recording, Things Lived and Dreamt will be released on the Analekta label in January 2023.