Jazz Festival

Matthew Whitaker’s musical journey began at age three with a keyboard gift from his grandfather. He is now a celebrated artist, captivating audiences globally and appearing on notable television shows like Showtime at the Apollo, The Today Show, Ellen, and a feature on 60 Minutes. 

Whitaker is a versatile artist; he produced, scored, and starred in the All-Arts Emmy-nominated documentary About Tomorrow, and he scored the film Starkeisha, which is currently streaming on Hulu. He also appeared in and contributed music to the Emmy-winning Apple TV commercial The Greatest. Whitaker made his director debut for the award-winning musical Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, on the life of pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn, which premiered in Pittsburgh, PA in 2023. Whitaker has appeared as guest soloist with Aspen Chamber Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor, Marin Alsop, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, CN, under Alexander Shelley. He also composed a song for the 82-piece Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, in Sofia, Bulgaria, which was included in the documentary About Tomorrow. 

Whitaker believes that music connects us all and that every child should have access to music education. Beyond music, he advocates for persons with disabilities, consulting with companies to improve accessibility features. 

He is a three-time ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award winner, with three studio albums as a leader: Outta The Box, Now Hear This, and Connections. His fourth recording, On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute, an homage to some of Whitaker’s heroes on the instrument, will debut in early Summer 2024. He has collaborated with industry greats like bassist, composer, and producer Derrick Hodge; pianist, composer, and musical director Ray Chew; pianist, multiple Grammy-winning composer, vocalist, and band leader Jon Batiste; Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride; and NEA Jazz Master, violinist Regina Carter. 

To learn more about Matthew Whitaker, please visit his website.  

Equally at home in an orchestra or a jazz club, Boston-based harpist Charles Overton aims to create a musical environment that is accessible, exciting and resonates deeply with audiences.  

Originally from Richmond, VA, he began his musical journey with formative experiences with the American Youth Harp Ensemble and the Interlochen Arts Academy before moving to Boston in 2012 to expand his musical horizons at the Berklee College of Music.  During his studies he became immersed in the world of jazz and improvised music, owing much of his outlook on music to lessons from the renowned artist-faculty of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.

Overton performs frequently with the Boston Symphony as both a second and substitute harpist, and highlights in chamber music include concerts with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, and several summers performing at the Yellow Barn Summer Music Festival.  An avid jazz musician, he performs regularly in venues across the northeast as a band leader and internationally in collaboration with such artists as Shabaka Hutchings, Ganavya Doraiswamy, and Esperanza Spalding 

Overton serves on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Italian jazz pianist and singer Francesca Tandoi has been hailed by critics and peers as a rising jazz star and one of the most enthralling young talents on the international jazz scene. She studied jazz piano and singing at the prestigious Royal Conservatory of The Hague, graduating cum laude and with a special mention from the committee and later on she earned her master’s degree from Codarts Conservatory and the University of Arts in Rotterdam.

In just a few short years, she has earned international acclaim as a world-class pianist and vocalist. She has performed with some of the finest international jazz musicians, to name a few: Scott Hamilton, Philip Harper, Owen Hart Jr., Joe Cohn, Anthony Pinciotti, Jason Brown, Daryll Hall, Lee Pearson, Darius Brubeck, Dave Blankhorn, Florin Nicolescu, Marjorie Barnes, Sergey Manukyan and many more. 

She got invited by Micheal League to join the “Snarky Puppy” during their concert at Umbria Jazz 2023. She has toured and performed at some of the most noteworthy theatres, jazz festivals, and clubs around the world like The North Sea Jazz Festival,  Umbria Jazz,  Cork Jazz, Bosendorfer piano gala, Breda Jazz,  Amsterdam Arena Stadium, and many others in USA, Japan, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Israel and literally everywhere in Europe. 

Tandoi’s trio’s performances have been warmly received by audiences and the press. Her stage presence is praised time and again as an explosion of swing, strong and sophisticated. Jazz journalist David Alston of South Africa said, “She has a flawless technique and the ability to swing like the greats. The audience is simply knocked out by her playing.”

“Francesca Tandoi has truly impressive piano skills,” raved Dutch magazine JazzFlits. “She literally flies over the keyboard. And she’s blessed with a beautiful singing voice full of warmth and sensuality.”

In addition to calling her singing ballads “exemplary, actually unforgettable,” jazz journalist Massimo Tarabelli (Ancona Jazz, IT) places her among the greats: “How many of the world’s young pianists resonate with the greatest virtuoso swinging jazz pianists—Oscar Peterson, Monty Alexander, Gene Harris, Phineas Newborn? Not many. How many of those are women? Very, very few. How many of those are Italian? Probably none. It’s incredible but true that such a person exists, and her name is Francesca Tandoi. She’s a brilliant, superior, and very rare talent.”

Well-known pianists Monty Alexander said, “Francesca Tandoi is a supremely tasteful swinging piano player. Her vocals are exquisite, her compositions are melodic and memorable, and her arrangements are extremely thoughtful.”

She appears in more than 20 recordings as a sideman, three with legendary American saxophonist Scott Hamilton. During the last couple of years, she got invited by Washington University of Music of Saint Louis (USA), Music University of Pretoria (South Africa), Ethics of Jazz in Moscow (Russia) and many other schools and Universities all around Europe and she’s a steady teacher at the Conservatory G.Martini of Bologna (IT)

Ekep Nkwelle, a 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist, has carved her musical path from the vibrant streets of Washington, DC, to the heart of New York City’s jazz scene. Her journey through the esteemed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University, and The Juilliard School has been extraordinary.

The power of her voice has resonated with jazz luminaries such as Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, and Peter Washington, along with young stars like Emmet Cohen and Endea Owens, leading to countless collaborations. Her performances have graced iconic venues nationwide, from the illustrious Radio City Music Hall, where she shared the stage with classical virtuoso Lang Lang in collaboration with Disney, to The Library of Congress, Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Strathmore. Her presence has also illuminated major festivals, including Newport, Montclair, Hudson, and DC jazz festivals.

The year 2023 marked a pinnacle in Ekep’s career as she was honored with the prestigious Juilliard Career Advancement Grant, a testament to her artistry and character, nominated by none other than jazz master trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. This recognition followed her enchanting performance on NPR’s “Tiny Desk,” showcasing her unique arrangement of Geri Allen’s “Timeless Portraits & Dreams” in 2022. Continuing her ascent, Ekep collaborated with the illustrious 3x GRAMMY and Tony award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater during the fourth year of her exclusive, all-women artistic residency, The Woodshed Network.

As one of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s newest rising stars, Ekep Nkwelle is poised to shape the future of jazz. With a burning passion for music, her artistry knows no bounds as she endeavors to share her soulful melodies with audiences worldwide.