Matthew Whitaker

An extremely accomplished composer, arranger and keyboardist from Hackensack, N.J., Matt possesses a maturity and musical depth well beyond his years. He began playing piano at age 3, and plays the organ and drums, too.

He’s the youngest musician ever endorsed by Hammond Organ Company and the youngest Yahama Piano Artist as well.

A frequent performer at the Apollo, Matt was featured on FOX TV’s Showtime at the Apollo in 2016. In 2013, he won Amateur Night at the Apollo Child Stars of Tomorrow and opened for Stevie Wonder’s induction into the Apollo Hall of Fame.

Matthew has been featured as well on syndicated TV talkshow Ellen, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, and in 2017, he released his debut studio album, Outta the Box, in 2017. 2019 & 2020, Matthew was a winner of the ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award for his original compositions “Emotions & Underground!”

He has already toured both here in the US and abroad, performing before The Youth Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, and on other world renowned stages, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City; SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Florida, and at international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Morocco, and Japan.

Matthew has performed with an array of outstanding musicians: Ray Chew, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rhoda Scott, Cameron Carpenter, Regina Carter, Jon Batiste, Cory Henry, Marc Cary, Arturo O’Farrill, James Carter, Roy Ayers, D.D. Jackson, The New York Pops Orchestra and with Hamiet Bluiett and his Bio-Electric Ensemble.

Alexis Morrast

The youngest of six siblings and winner of Showtime at the Apollo hosted by Steve Harvey, Alexis is only 16 years old and accomplishing more than her age suggests.

The Newark, N.J., native started singing in church at the age of 3 and has since performed at NJPAC, the U.S. Open, the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and the Apollo. Alexis has worked with noteworthy artists such as Ray Chew, Amina Figorova, Alvester Garnett, and Bertha Hope.

She credits influences like Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, Ella Fitzgerald, and family members like her mother, father and Aunt Vernel of the group Koffee Brown.

At 16 she already exudes soulfulness, poise and depth. No doubt this will only push her further into the realm of being a worthy contender with other remarkable artists in the vocal field.

Brandon Goldberg, now 14 years old, has been playing piano and making music since he was three years old.  He found his passion for jazz by listening to his favorite artists including Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.

Brandon has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Litchfield Jazz Festival, Bravo Niagara Festival of the Arts, as well as some of the most prestigious jazz venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s Club, Birdland Theatre, The Blue Note, Mezzrow, The Apollo Theater, The Side Door in Old Lyme, Keystone Korner in Baltimore and the FAENA Theater in Miami,Florida.

Brandon’s debut album, “LET’S PLAY!” was released in April 2019 to rave reviews garnering four stars from Downbeat Magazine and reaching number seven on the Jazz Week charts. “LET’S PLAY!” features veteran musicians Ben Wolfe on bass, Donald Edwards on drums and special guest Marcus Strickland on tenor saxophone. The album has three original compositions and six standards and is imbued with a pure love and joy for the music.

Brandon recently finished recording his second album with legendary drummer Ralph Peterson, Jr., saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trumpet player Josh Evans and the great Luques Curtis on bass.  This album, featuring mostly original music by Brandon will be released sometime in 2021.

Downbeat Magazine, a top Jazz publication, named Brandon the Student Music Awards winner in the Jazz Soloist and Original Composition categories three years in a row (2018, 2019 and 2020). In 2020, Brandon also won the Jazz Arrangement category for his arrangement of “Blackbird”.

Brandon had some break-through moments at a young age when he appeared on National television in two seasons of NBC’s Little Big Shots, followed by the Steve Harvey Show and the Harry Connick Jr. Show.

In his home town of Miami, FL, Brandon has been a featured performer with The Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO) and the Jazz Roots Series at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts under the direction of Shelly Berg.  Brandon has been part of the Fine Arts Concert Series at WDNA Radio and has performed at the WDNA Miami Downtown Jazz Festival and the FAENA Summer Jazz Series.

Brandon works closely with the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) and performed at the JFA annual Gala – A Great Night in Harlem at the famous Apollo Theater in New York, where he presented McCoy Tyner with his Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Joey Alexander

Born on June 25, 2003 on the island of Bali, pianist Joey Alexander originally learned about jazz from his dad, and, by the age of six, he was teaching himself piano. At age eight, Joey played solo at a UNESCO concert for an elated Herbie Hancock during the piano great’s visit to Indonesia. Three years later, Joey presented Herbie with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jazz Foundation’s 2014 “A Great Night in Harlem” gala, remarking, “You told me that you believed in me, and that was the day I decided to dedicate my childhood to jazz.”

Over the past four years, Joey has experienced an astonishing rise. He made his U.S. debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2014 and headlined the Newport Jazz Festival the following year. He has released three chart-topping albums on Motéma Music, becoming the youngest jazz artist ever nominated for a GRAMMY and earning a total of three GRAMMY nominations. His musical adroitness has earned him appearances on the GRAMMY Awards, The Today Show, CNN, as well as CBS 60 Minutes profile by Anderson Cooper, fueling a rare level of acclaim both within the jazz community and among the public at large.