Will Bernard, guitar
Raffi Garabedian, saxophone
Sam Bevan, bass
Deszon Claiborne, drums
Although currently a New Yorker, guitarist Will Bernard's unique voice was formed for the most part from the rich cultural roots of the San Francisco Bay Area. Along the way he studied classical music, jazz, played in basements and coliseums, and absorbed the Bay Area Multi-Kultii, the New York downtown edge, and the loose funk of New Orleans. He has performed or recorded with Charlie Hunter, Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, John Medeski, Dr Lonnie Smith, Ben Sidran, Peter Apfelbaum, Jai Uttal, Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Dr. John and a lot of other known and unknowns. Will can be seen working in a chameleon-like way to fit into his current habitat. His 2007 CD, "Party Hats," as well as his 1997 collaborative project, T.J. Kirk's If Four Was One, were both nominated for Grammys, and he is nominated yearly in Downbeat Magazine's Critics Poll for "Best Rising Star" Guitar Player. Will is a regular fixture at New Orleans Jazz fest, Jam Cruise and other similar events, and has toured extensively in the US and Europe. Currently, Will performs with John Medeski's Mad Skillet, Peter Apfelbaum's Sparkler, Frequinox with Stanton Moore and Robert Walter, Club D’Elf, Brian Charette's Mighty Grinders, Club Foot Orchestra, TJ Kirk spinoff Damn Skippy and the Will Bernard ’s Freelance Subversives and Pond Life. Will’s 11th record as a leader was released in 2022 on Dreck to Disk records and was on many best of 2022 lists. In 2023, Will released a duo record with SF clarinetist Beth Custer.
Raffi Garabedian was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, from which he received a BFA in Jazz Performance. He has toured extensively—both at the helm of his own projects, and as a member of other groups—and has played and recorded with luminaries such as Jorge Rossy, Ben Street, Dayna Stephens, and Johnny Talbot. Garabedian also plays in several projects in and around the Bay Area, including Insect Life—a group focusing on collective improvisation, with Ben Goldberg (clarinet), Danny Lubin-Laden (trombone), Ben Davis (cello), and Gerald Cleaver (drums)—and Sticklerphonics, again with Lubin-Laden, and Scott Amendola (drums).
In addition to his music practice, Garabedian is a seasoned educator, and is on the jazz saxophone faculty at Sonoma State University, while teaching at Berkeley High School. He has taught regularly at the California Jazz Conservatory, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and works with private students.
Born in Oakland, CA and growing up in Salt Lake City, Sam Bevan had classical piano lessons from the age of four, sang and played piano professionally and earned a BA in French before dedicating himself to bass, arranging and composing. Greatly in demand after moving back to Northern California in 1999, Bevan’s versatility and creativity while performing jazz, funk, folk and Afro-Cuban music kept him constantly busy with stimulating projects. He has since repeated his success since moving to New York in 2016. He has three CDs as a leader with Emergence being the most recent to date.
Throughout his professional life, Sam has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of artists including: David Grisman, Zigaboo Modeliste, Joshua Redman, Roswell Rudd, Houston Person, Stacey Kent, Kenny Washington, New York Voices, Joe Locke, Michael Wolff, Monk's Music Trio, Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur, Meklit Hadero, Jesus Diaz & QBA, Fito Reinoso, Louie Romero, Karl Perazzo, The VNote Ensemble, Marco Granados, Bjorkestra, Mamadou Sidibe, Matt Flinner, the New Pickle Family Circus and the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
A native of the Bay Area, Deszon Claiborne began his musical career at the early age of ten. Virtually self taught in the beginning, he went on to study with world-renowned drummers such as Richard Peterson, Rick Quintinel (Chuck Brown school of Drumming), James Levi, Billy Cobham and Kenneth Nash , an experience which provided him with a strong foundation in jazz, rhythm & blues and world music. He has had the pleasure to perform or record with the following artists: Peter Apfelbaum, Don Cherry, Charles brown, Angela Bofill, Les McCann, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Robin Ford, Boz Scaggs, Greg Howe, Henry Butler, Giovani Hildalgo, Kai Eckhardt, John Handy, Taj Mahal, Donald Harrison, Rodney Franklin, and may others.
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