Jeff Stabley

Drums

Jeff Stabley teaches Jazz Studies at York College of Pennsylvania where he directs the Jazz Ensemble and Groove Ensemble. He has also been a music teacher at Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 for over 30 years.
For over twenty years, Jeff has been the music director of First Presbyterian Church of York's popular Jazz Vespers Concert that honors Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This concert has featured many acclaimed musicians including Diane Wilson-Bedford, Ron Waters, Chris Bacas and Tim Warfield.

Locally, Jeff can be heard drumming with Kirk Reese, Tim Warfield, Jimmy Wood and his own bands. He also plays keyboard with the hip-hop jazz group – Compound. Jeff has been the artistic director for “Jazz In The City” for seven years and running. This First Friday event is hosted by the Appell Center Studio. It runs every first Friday from October to June 5:00 to 7:00.

Jeff Stabley has twice received York City's artist of the month award and in 2016 was inducted into the York City Hall of Fame for his contributions as a jazz artist. The Jeff Stabley Trio featuring Kirk Reese and Steve Meashey released a CD entitled, “Music To Listen To Music To” which is available on Amazon and iTunes and all streaming services. He can also be heard on Kirk Reese's 2015 releases“Impressions” and his 2017 release “Second Course”.

Jimmy Wood

Piano

Pianist, composer, arranger Born in Philadelphia and reared in Harrisburg, Byron "Jimmy" Wood's destiny as a musician was plotted in his youth. In the 1940s and '50s, his mother, the pianist Marjorie Wood (Marj and the Majors), was a pioneer bandleader and music director, one of whose ensembles included Philly Joe Jones. Another of Mrs. Wood's side persons was trumpeter Ron Waters, who would become Jim's lifelong friend, teacher, and collaborator. Before settling down in Harrisburg, Jim traveled and performed in Europe and North Africa with fellow Air Force musicians.

A member of Ron Waters's renowned Latent Image, Wood has been performing as leader and sideman for more than 40 years. He played with the late cornetist Nat Adderly; the trumpeters Cecil Bridgewater, Valery Ponomarev, and Donald Byrd; and the saxophonists Nathan Davis and Odean Pope. Jim and his trio also collaborated with the Harrisburg Symphony, under the direction of Larry Newland, in the symphony's first Pops concert, featuring the works of George Gershwin. Jim was music director for Open Stage of Harrisburg's production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, with bassist Keith Mohler, saxophonist Tim Warfield, and singer Andrea Pinkett. Jim entered the CPFJ Hall of Fame in 2003 and received the 2005 “Spectrum Award for Excellence in the Arts”.

Hassan J.J. Shakur

Bass

Hassan J.J. Shakur, son of pianist Gerald Wiggins, Sr., was born April 15, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. He learned to play bass at age four (standing on a chair) and with his father as a guide, developed a high sensitivity and wide range of expression in jazz. At age twelve (12) he became the bassist for the Craig Hundley Trio, appearing on television shows such as the Today show, Johnny Carson, Jonathan Winters, Ted Mack Amateur Hour and the Della Reese show. The Trio also recorded an album for World Pacific Records. At age eighteen (18), Hassan joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington. He continues to perform with the Orchestra.

In addition to performing with hisfather, Gerald Wiggins, Sr., he has performed with numerous other artists such as: Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Loretta Devine, Billy Eckstein, Al Grey, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Herb Ellis and many others. Hassan also performed on an USO Tour with Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson entertaining the troops in the Persian Gulf. He was bassist for the Broadway show “Me and Bessie” with Linda Hopkins and “Black and Blue” with Ruth Brown and Linda Hopkins. He was also the bassist for the Duke Ellington shows “Sophisticated Ladies” and “Queenie Pie”. Hassan is a longtime member of the Bill Easley Quartet, which has recorded several albums. Hassan also performs regularly with Monty Alexander on tours in the United States, Europe and Japan. He is on a Grammy album with the Duke Ellington Orchestra called 22 Cent Stamp. And also on a Grammy nominated album with Monty Alexander called Harlem Kingston Express Live.

Additionally his music credits also include appearances at Carnegie Hall, and on cruise ships such as S.S. Rotterdam, S.S. Norway, The Queen Elizabeth 2, and the Royal Viking cruise lines. He has performed in many of the Jazz Festivals including the Kool Jazz, Montreux, North Sea, Nice, Concord, Hollywood Bowl, Saratoga and many others. Though adept at playing several instruments, Hassan’s remarkable skills are with his first instrument the bass violin. He displays a remarkable technique demonstrating skill, flexibility, and talent creating improvisational styles that are uniquely identifiable with him as a musician.

Tim Warfield

Saxophone

Saxophonist, recording artist and educator Tim Warfield, began his tenure on the saxophone at age nine. He attended William Penn Sr. High School in York, Pennsylvania, where he participated in various music ensembles winning numerous awards.

He attended Howard University for two years, before going on to lead and co- lead groups in the MidAtlantic and Central Pennsylvania regions. Tim received his big break in 1990, when he was invited to join trumpeter and Sony recording artist, Marlon Jordan's Quintet. The continuation of his musical journey includes recording "Tough Young Tenors,” a recording listed as one of the top ten recordings of the year by the New York Times, ultimately rising to number five on the Billboard Top 100 Jazz charts.

Tim was also selected to be a member of Jazz Futures, a world touring group assembled in 1991 by impresario George Wein, showcasing some of the world’s brightest young stars in jazz which included, Christian McBride, Benny Green, Mark Whitfield, Carl Allen, Marlon Jordan, Antonio Hart, and Roy Hargrove.

In 1991, Warfield placed third in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition held at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. His recording and performing career has included performing alongside such artists as Donald Byrd, Michelle Rosewoman, Marcus Miller, James Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Isaac Hayes, Peter Nero, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Trudy Pitts, Billy Paul, Kenny Barron, Charles Fambrough, Eric Reed, Carl Allen, Orrin Evans, the Newport Millennium All Stars, Joey Defrancesco, and many others. He’s also had longtime associations in bands led by Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Stefon Harris, and Terell Stafford.

Warfield has appeared on several GRAMMY-nominated recordings such as Stefon Harris' "The Grand Unification Theory" as well as "Dear Louis" and "Sonic Trance," both under the leadership of trumpeter and New Orleans native, Nicholas Payton. As an arts advocate, Tim serves as a board member and Artistic Director for the nonprofit organization, The Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz. He was also appointed to be a council member for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in 2018, by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.

Tim is currently an Artist in Residence at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA. He has recently been appointed Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Jazz Masters of Music Graduate Program at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. As a leader, Tim has recorded a total of 11 albums, all to critical acclaim. His current release “Jazzland,” on the Criss Cross Jazz label, features trumpeter Terell Stafford, organist Pat Bianchi, drummer Byron Landham and percussionist Daniel Sadownick. The recording was listed in the Sirius XM’s “Real Jazz” year end review, ranking #7, in their “Top 10 New Album Requests and Inquiries” for 2018.