Pamela Williams, saxes, flute - In a field dominated by men, Pamela Williams' name appears alongside chart-topping players like Dave Koz, Kenny G, Najee, and Boney James. Pamela Williams has shared the stage with Patti Labelle, Teena Marie, Babyface, Sheila E., and has recorded with R. Kelly on LaFace Records. She has no doubt found her own voice and proven that Pamela Williams can hang with the best of the boys.

A Philadelphia native, Pamela Williams trained with the legendary Grover Washington, Jr. Pamela Williams made her recording debut, Saxtress, in 1996 which found a home on the Billboard charts for five months. The cd also earned her a nomination for the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and the title of Best Female Contemporary Jazz Artist of 1996. Her follow up recordings include Eight Days of Ecstasy, Evolution, The Perfect Love, and her newest release on Shanachie Records, Sweet Saxations.

Also a talented writer and producer, the multi-talented Pamela Williams strikes a harmonious chord. In her debut album with Shanachie Records, Pamela Williams collaborates with hit-making producers, Kim Waters and David Mann, to create 10 urban-flavored Smooth Jazz classics -- irresistible grooves, funky dance tracks, and sensual R&B flavored ballads.

Pamela Williams has always exhibited many diverse musical elements in her repertoire from Jazz to Funk, R&B, House, Latin and Pop. She co-wrote and produced Funk jam, 'Honey Call', with Teena Marie and is featured on sax and flute on Teena Marie's latest release, La Dona. In addition to Jessica Knox, Pamela Williams is also currently producing upcoming artist, DeDe O'Neal (a.k.a. Demetrice O'Neal), a power house vocalist featured in soundtracks for 'Deliver Us from Eva (2003)'and 'Hoodlum (1997)', and the song 'Playing For Keeps' on Pamela Williams' Sweet Saxations' cd.

Visit her Web site at pamelawilliamsthesaxtress.com

Jon Otis, drums - Jon was born June 12th 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He grew up in the San Francisco bay area and worked since the age of 15 as a musician. From the late 1960's Jon played with a large variety of artists, groups and musical projects with styles ranging from Pop, Rock, R&B, Blues and Funk to African, Brazilian, Latin, New Age, World and Jazz. His talents include: drums, percussion, vocals, composer, producer, teacher.

In his early twenties Jon's work with his legendary father's group The Johnny Otis Show and other groups from the Bay Area laid a solid rhythmic foundation for his future work. Jon's love for African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms and his strong Rhythm & Blues roots create a unique musical style. Jon has been living in Europe since the early 1980's and has been engaged by various well-known artists worldwide on†stage and in recording studios. Since 2000, Jon has been spending more time again in the U.S.A.

He recorded his first solo album, 'DOUBLE AGENT' in Switzerland in 1985 and his first solo CD, 'THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS' also in Europe in 1993. In 1995 he released a CD of rhythms for dance and movement called 'JODIWA'. Besides being an instrumentalist and singer Jon has composed music for film, dance, theatre, movie and TV commercials and other artists. In the last 15 years he has concentrated more on composing and has written numerous songs. Following is a list of some of the artists, groups and projects that Jon has worked with.

Recording Artists -- Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis, Nicky Otis, Lucky Otis, Solomon Burke, James Cotten, Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson, Jorge Santana, Sheila E, Ismael Miranda, Cal Tjader, Mustapha Tetty Addy, Pharaoh Saunders, Country Joe And The Fish, Elvin Bishop, Malo, Steel Pulse, Azteca, Michael Bloomfield, Bill Summers, Darnell Summers, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, George Duke, Manu Dibango, Klaus Lage, Alfredo Rodriguez, Henri Guedon, Nena, Double, Yello, Bernard Allison, Max Laesser, Büedi Siebert, Ralf Illenberger, Anthony Quinn, Andreas Vollenweider, Phil Manzanera, Foreigner, Roy Hargrove, Mikal Urbaniak, Les McCann, Monty Alexander, Anita Kerr, Steve Turre, The Pyramids, Pete Escovedo, Ed Kelly, Armando Peraza, Ayub Ogada, Xavier Naidoo, Catarina Valente, Michael Koschorreck, Didier Lockwood, Luis Gazca, Gary Bartz, Sugar Blue, The Rubinoos, Purple Earthquake, Idris Ackamoor, Andy Narell, Jeff Narell, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Junior Edwards, Leon "Mandela" Duncan, Carlos Federico, Roberto Borrell, Billy Cobham, Tower Of Power, etc.

Dance-Theatre -- Stuttgart Ballet, Vienna Dance Intensive, Katherine Dunham, Gwen Lewis, Deborah Vaughn, Rakassa Dance Theatre, Saskia Mboyo, Chritina Shilling, etc.

Movie and TV commercials -- Raider, Mars, Adia, Swatch, Nestle, Select, Swissair, Nissan, Voegeli, Maggi, City Disk, Chokito, Swiss PTT, Migros, Film Soundtrack for the Documentary 'Harrison Avenue-Street Of Dreams,' etc.

Jon's Percussion sounds are sampled in Technics Keyboards.

Dave Mac Nab, guitar - Dave Mac Nab has been performing and composing music for over 15 years. Born in New York, raised in Los Angeles, he has made his home in the San Francisco Bay area, drawing inspiration from the abundance of creative talent and the area's natural beauty. Mac Nab has worked with many of the Bay Area's finest musicians, in a wide range of settings and styles. While he's well versed in the language of Jazz, his playing equally draws from rock, funk, latin, and blues influences, creating a soulful, intelligent sound driven by a strong rhythmic force.

Dave Mac Nab has toured internationally with artists such as Shelby Lynne and Bob Weir and has gigged with jazzers such as Larry Goldings, Paul McCandless, Scott Amendola and Art Lande. He's also played with touring Broadway shows such as 'Rent', 'The Lion King', 'Wicked' and many others. TV and Radio credits include Letterman, Leno, Conan, Rosie, Fresh Air, Austin City Limits and many others. Mac Nab has taught at Universities, music schools and conducted clinics throughout the Bay Area, as well as writing instructional articles for 'Guitar Player' magazine. He also has a composition published in Chuck Sher's 'All Jazz Real Book'.

Eric Crystal, saxes and flute - Saxophonist and composer Eric Crystal has been a stalwart of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for 16 years. An immensely innovative, versatile and melodic improviser, Crystal has been featured at festivals and clubs throughout the US, Europe and Asia. Highly in demand as a studio musician, he has also been featured on over 20 recordings.

Upon his return to San Francisco from Berklee College of Music, Crystal began working as musician and musical director for the Obie and Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. He co-founded the improvising collective FRAME which released a CD in 1996, and released his first CD as a leader, Dark Matter, on Red Giant Records in 1998. In recent years he has toured with award-winning vocalist Kitty Margolis, Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, drummer/composer Scott Amendola, and master drummer E.W. Wainwright. Crystal is also featured on a new recording of jazz standards with the legendary Boz Scaggs. The album But Beautiful - Standards Vol 1 debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. Visit his Web site at ericcrystal.com

Art Hirahara, piano, keyboards - Art Hirahara is a jazz pianist/composer, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, now living in Brooklyn, NY. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in jazz piano performance at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA and a Bachelor of Music degree in Electronic and Computer Music from the Oberlin College Conservatory in Oberlin, OH.

In the fall of 1996, he was selected by the Arts America office of the U.S. Information Agency to serve as a "Jazz Ambassador" on a seven week tour in Qatar, Yemen, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where he performed, lectured and conducted workshops with local musicians.

Art has performed regularly as a freelance musician at public performances, festivals, private events and at venues on the West and East Coasts, including Yoshi's in Oakland, CA and Birdland in New York City. He has performed with notable musicians such as Dave Douglas, Vincent Herring, Akira Tana, Rufus Reid, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Scott Amendola, Todd Sickafoose, Hafez Modirzadeh, royal hartigan, Anton Schwartz, Marcus Shelby, Ray Sandoval, Anthony Brown and the Asian American Orchestra, E.W. Wainwright, Eric Crystal, Bob Kenmotsu, Mike Zilber, Michael Aragon, Chuck Sher, San Jose Taiko, Walter Savage, Helcio Milito and Arlee Leonard.

Art has performed at major festivals including the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle and the Jazz Ost-West Festival in Nuremburg, Germany. He performed with his sextet at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2001. He has also appeared at many festivals in the Bay Area including the Stanford Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Jazz on the River (Russian River) and Jazz on the Hill (San Mateo). Art has also played in Japan at venues in Kyoto, Yokohama and Kyoto. He has also performed in Beijing, China.

He has composed music for the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors, a San Francisco-based comedy/theater group, as well as for the Asian American Theater Company. He is a founding member and co-artistic director of the pan-Asian percussion group, Asian Crisis.

Art has studied performance and composition with Dave Douglas, Charlie Haden, Joe La Barbera, Neal Creque, Jimmy Owens, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith and David Roitstein.

His CD entitled "Edge of This Earth" was self-released in August of 2000. Visit his Web site at www.arthirahara.com

Andrew Higgins, bass - Beginning his career in 1991, Andrew Higgins has performed on upright and electric bass for many local jazz, avant-garde, metal, rock, Latin, swing, fusion, and house-music groups. Higgins is at home in virtually any musical style, from straight ahead jazz, rock and pop to urban house, country, and eastern European styles. Clubs, musicals, and studio situations all benefit from his awesome musicianship and musicality.

Andrew Higgins has appeared on numerous local recordings, jingles, house music, independent film scores, and in orchestras for Broadway plays like 'The Lion King'. Featured on Emily Bezar's progressive rock release of Four Walls Bending and Moon in Grenadine on DemiVox Records, on Tor Hyams' Eye to Eye album, on Damien Masterson's Blue World Order album, and in the Betty Fu Quintet, Andrew Higgins demonstrates both a penchant for dynamic bass technique and an ear for clarity. Among others, he has played with guitarist, Bruno Sappadina, and sax players, Anton Schwartz and Alex Budman. Higgins has been an instructor with the Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop supported by the Generations in Jazz Foundation.