iRock Jazz LIVE Archives

Michael Stradford is a 20 year entertainment industry executive whose career has spanned all forms of media: Music, Radio, DVD, Film, Television and Interactive Entertainment. Most recently Michael led the Digital Production and Development team at Sony Pictures where he produced and created over 35 web series with such talent …

Musical Director Ray Chew has performed at the helm of award winning musical events with the world’s most popular artists including Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Prince, Justin Beiber, Aretha Franklin, Lenny Kravitz, Ludacris, Barry Manilow, Queen Latifah, James Taylor, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Jennifer Hudson and Quincy Jones. Now in his second …

With her own unique flair and infectious sense of humor, Issa Rae’s content has garnered over 25 million views and close to 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. In addition to making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list twice and winning the 2012 Short Award for Best Web Show for her hit …

Warren Shadd is a second generation piano technician and third generation musician. He has per formed and toured worldwide in every aspect of live and recorded musc with hundreds of celebrities in the entertainment industry. On drums, at the early age of four, he played his first of many jazz …

Ruth E. Carter is an African-American costume designer. She is best known for her work on the films Malcolm X and Amistad, for each of which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. She received a career achievement award from the American Black Film Festival in …

GRAMMY® Award winning pianist, saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and arranger GORDON GOODWIN has been nominated in four different 2015 GRAMMY® categories – Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Arrangement and Best Arrangement Instrumentals and Vocals – as announced by The Recording Academy.  The nominations are both for …

Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian born and Washington D.C. bred poet/writer who was a featured cast member of the National Touring Company of the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam. Not a stranger to the stage, her poetry has also opened shows by Grammy Award winning …

Professional celebrity makeup artist Vonda K. Morris has worked with some the most recognizable names and faces in the entertainment industry of Film, Television and Music. This veteran artist with over 25 years’ experience has worked on award winning television shows such as The Practice (ABC) and The Bernie Mac …

Tirf Alexius hails from the northwest side of Chicago and graduated from Columbia College of Chicago with a B.A in acting. He began his career starring in commercials and films, but even then, Tirf was driven to explore the other side of the camera. He was given that opportunity when …

The winner of the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition is Marquis Hill. Raised on the south side of Chicago, Mr. Hill, 27, is a veteran of that city’s jazz scene and a product of its institutions — he earned a masters degree in jazz pedagogy from DePaul University and …

Florian Flow Fourlin is a saxophonist from Paris, France. Born in a musical family, Flow started playing the saxophone around age 14. He quickly managed to make a name for himself in the European musical landscape by playing and recording with world-renown artists in various genres such as John Legend, …

Every so often, an artist comes along that transcends the norm. An artist who is truly paving her own path with a sound and vibe that is uniquely her own and connects to fans on a deeper level. Such an artist isn’t bound by genre and is intent on creating …