The Chris Byars Octet: The Real Underground

A bebop-influenced tenor saxophonist, Chris Byars' inspirators are Lucky Thompson, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves and Don Byas; the writers of that period are equally influential, including Tadd Dameron, Duke Ellington and Gigi Gryce. He has performed with the Vanguard Jazz, American Jazz, Bob Wilber, Harry James, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, and Stan Rubin Orchestras, toured as a featured soloist in Egypt, Portugal, Chile, the Philippines, and Armenia and recorded with GRP, Criss Cross, and Smalls Records. He was an artist-in-residence for the Westchester Philharmonic in April 2000, and composed a work for Symphony orchestra and jazz tenor saxophone called "Centrism". He leads groups of all sizes and have a significant amount of material arranged for quartet, quintet, sextet, septet and octet.

The Chris Byars Octet recorded two CDs for Smalls Records in 2002, "Night Owls" and "Detour Ahead", the latter featuring vocalist Sasha Dobson. His most recent work is a jazz/classical hybrid suite called W.W.W. (World Without War) for clarinet, jazz bass, drums/marimba, and string quartet, to be played in a clarinet recital by his mother, Janita Byars in April 2003.

Neal Miner Sextet: The Evening Sound

Born and raised in Manhattan, Neal Miner was introduced to the world of jazz by his first and foremost teacher, his father. A preeminent jazz record collector and discographer, Bill Miner elicited a passion in his young son for jazz by exposing him to his vast record collection as well as taking him to clubs and concerts.

He started working in the New York City jazz scene with contemporaries such as Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Ryan Kisor, Brad Meldhau, and eric Alexander, all of whom have gone on to garner critical acclaim. As well as playing the bass, Neal has also applied his energies to composition and has also led his own groups since he was in his teens. This perhaps best came together when he appeared at Smalls in New York City, where he performed a weekly engagement for over two years, leading various groups playing his own compositions.

He has performed and recorded with Annie Ross, Doug White, Ann Hampton Callaway, James Moody, Bob Dorough, Andy Bey, Chris Bergson, Mark Elf, and Loston Harris, and held down the bass chair in large groups such as the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra. Currently, Neal appears at major clubs and festivals around the world as the bassist in the Jon Hendricks Group.

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