A native of Santa Barbara, Tariqh studied contemporary classical composition at the University of California at San Diego before deciding to pursue performance at the Berklee College of Music. A highlight of his experience during his years at Berklee was his private studies with jazz luminaries Jerry Bergonzi and Rick Peckham. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1997, Tariqh has amassed an extensive and eclectic resume. He has worked with such distinguished artists as: country singers LeAnn Rimes and Lee Ann Womack; jazz icons George Duke, Tom Scott and Bobby Watson; pop artists Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera and the Backstreet Boys; and classical artist Josh Groban. He has also appeared with a host of greats including Babyface, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and Luther Vandross. He has toured nationally and internationally, most recently as the Musical Director and Conductor for Josh Groban. Please visit www.tariqh.com for more info.

Andy Abad is best known for his passionate guitar playing while on tour with Clay Aiken, Marc Anthony and the Backstreet Boys, as well as his equally impressive recordings with Bonnie Raitt, Marc Anthony, and Ricky Martin. Andy is currently composing music for TV as well as working on a solo project. Please visit www.andyabad.com for more info.

Ross Bolton, based in Southern California, is currently a regular member of Al Jarreau's band and has recorded or performed with Rick Braun, Yolanda Adams, Cassandra Wilson, Dave Koz, Anastacia, Warren Hill, David Benoit, The Beach Boys, Sheena Easton, Jeffrey Osborne, Nell Carter, Donny Osmond, and many others. A few of Ross' TV and movies credits include The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Everybody loves Raymond, The Larry Sanders Show, Fridays, Two Guys, A Girl & A Pizza Place, Casper, Switch, and The Jeff Foxworthy Show. Ross has been on staff with the LA Music Academy for many years and has conducted seminars and clinics around the world. His popular DVD on Funk guitar and CD are sold internationally, receiving praise from many major trade publications. Guitar Player magazine has regularly featured Ross as a guest columnist. Please visit www.rossbolton.com for more info.

Jody Fisher grew up studying guitar with his uncle, jazz guitarist Sid Fisher, who had spent many years as an RCA recording artist. After moving to the West Coast as a teenager, Jody continued taking lessons with some of the top players living in the Los Angeles area, including Herb Ellis, John Collins, and Louis Speigner. Today, he is primarily known as a jazz artist living in the Southern California area and has recently worked all over the United States, Canada, England and Germany. His newest CD Impromptu has received critical acclaim. Jody has published over twenty instructional books about jazz guitar with Alfred Publishing, Workshop Arts Publications, and Mel Bay Publications. Four of his books have appeared in the Smithsonian Institute's Folkways Exhibition in Washington, DC. Jody has also written for most of the major guitar magazines, including Guitar Player, Just Jazz Guitar and Finger Style Guitar. As an educator, Jody has held the positions of Professor of Jazz and Studio Guitar at the University of Redlands, in Redlands, CA, the University of La Verne, in La Verne, CA, and the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA), in Idyllwild, CA. He has performed with Alphonso Johnson, Betty White, Big Joe Turner, Bo Diddley, Bobby Troupe, Brandon Fields, The Coasters, Dennis Miller, Don Rickles, The Drifters, Harry Connick Jr., Jan and Dean, Joe Diorio, John Abercrombie, John Williams, Mike Stern, Rosemary Clooney, The Shirelles, The Spinners, and many others. Check out www.jodyfisher.com for more information.

Bill Fowler was part of a world tour backing Raquel Welch, and subsequently toured for 3 years with the Pointer Sisters, performing at venues such as The Universal Amphitheater, The Greek Theatre, LA Sports Arena, on television appearances including The Tonight Show, The Midnight Special, The Tomorrow Show, and a tour of New Zealand and Australia. He later spent 10 years as part of Ben Vereen's touring band, performing in both self-contained, 5-piece band contexts as well as Pops concert configurations with symphony orchestras. A highlight of this association was an appearance with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Other credits include television appearances with Jermaine Jackson and concert appearances with Lou Rawls, Marilyn McCoo, Lainie Kazan, Willie Bobo, Marvin Hamlisch, Anthony Newley, Nell Carter and Suzanne Somers. His work has been heard on TV and feature film soundtracks composed by Gil Melle as well as on albums by Ray Charles and Johnny Halliday (the French Elvis!) respectively. He has appeared with the Jazz Tap Ensemble the last 3 years as part of their Christmas performance broadcast live on KCET. He began teaching guitar both one-on-one and in classes over 20 years ago and has been associated with the LA Music Academy since 1996.

Steve Gregory began playing the guitar in bars and for private events at the age of seventeen. While a student at California State University, Northridge, he was the recipient of the Shelley Manne Memorial New Talent Award from the Los Angeles Jazz Society and began performing around Los Angeles with his own band. Steve soon began touring the world with artists such as Ray Charles, Frankie Valli and Anjani. He has performed and/or recorded with Thelma Houston, Brian McKnight, Michael Buble, Dianne Reeves, Patti Austin, Marilyn McCoo, Stacy Orrico, Leonard Cohen, Alphonse Mouzon, Macy Gray and many others. Steve is currently very active as a studio guitarist and has recorded for a number of TV shows, films and DVD's. Check out www.stevegregory.net for more information.

Dave Hill, originally from Washington State, began his serious music studies while attending the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle. Over the years he has worked with Chick Corea bassist Jimmy Earl, the legendary, "Three Dog Night", smooth Jazz recording artist, Gregg Karukas and fusion extraordinaire Frank Gambale, as well as many others. In addition to his live performances, he has also worked as a staff transcriber for REH Instructional Videos. He has also been featured in Guitar Player magazine in the "Sessions" column. Look for his original contemporary Jazz group "The Dave Hill Quartet", playing around the greater LA area. Finally, Dave's first book for Hal Leonard publishing, "The Licktionary" is on the shelves now. Please visit www.davehillmusic.com for more info.

Art Renshaw was born the only child to two successful fine artists. Musical education: University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Art is currently a solo artist on Rocket City Records, with his latest CD Dreamtime receiving critical acclaim in Jazz Life Magazine as a "groundbreaking solo electric" record. He is a touring artist in Europe and Japan and has performed his music to enthusiastic crowds on four continents. Art has played alongside some of the greatest musicians the industry has to offer, including jazz legends Joe Pass and Lenny Breau. He has appeared on educational videos by Warner Bros. and REH, including Chop Builder with Frank Gambale. Art is an endorser for Gibson guitars and regularly performs at the jazz club Tournesol in Los Angeles.

Jamie Rosenn studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Music studying with jazz luminaries Jimmy Giuffre, Ran Blake, Mick Goodrick, George Russell and Bob Moses. After completing his studies in Boston, Jamie moved to California where he attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia. At CalArts, Jamie studied with Charlie Haden, Leo Smith and Joe LaBarbera and was a featured performer and composer on the '94 and '95 CalArts Jazz CDs. Since receiving his Master’s Degree from CalArts, Jamie has been an active member of the Los Angeles jazz scene. In 1996, Jamie was chosen by the United States Information Agency to be an artistic ambassador and perform in a duo that took part in a seven week tour of the Middle East and South Asia. Jamie currently performs as a member of the trio JoE-LeSs shOe with Jason Harnell and Matt Otto, who released their self titled CD in 2007. Additionally, Jamie co-leads the organ trio Option 3 with Joe Bagg and Mark Ferber, who released their debut CD Points Subtracted in early 2008. Check out www.jamierosenn.com for more info.

As a composer, performer and educator, German has participated in various music projects from musicals to a funk band, his own solo projects, teaching at Berklee College of Music, and writing articles for MelBay. He has also developed an advanced Rock Guitar course on Shredding Techniques for the National Guitar Workshop’s online school WorkshopLive.com. As an endorser of Parker Guitars, Laney Amplifiers, DiMarzio, DR Strings Maxon, Rocktron, PreSonus, Jim Dunlop, Native Instruments and Morley, German plays clinics and concerts at international music fair and trade shows such as Musikmesse Frankfurt, the NAMM Show, and other shows around the world. From 2004-2007, he was awarded the ASCAP Plu$ Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The July 2008 Issue of Guitar World Magazine has listed German as one of the fastest guitarists of all time. Check out www.germanschauss.com for more info.

Ken Song, who holds a Master of Music in Guitar Performance, graduated with honors from USC in 1998. He has studied jazz guitar with Joe Diorio and Larry Koonse and classical guitar with William Kanengiser. Since college, Ken has been working steadily in the Los Angeles music scene, playing sessions on motion pictures, TV commercials and audio recordings. In 2005, Ken was a featured performer at the Santa Barbara Jazz Festival. Ken also plays in local clubs and restaurants with his own trio. Notable artists that Ken has played with include Bruce Eskovitz, Bill Churchville, Randy Drake, the Dick Grove Orchestra, Ricky Lawson, Gregg Bissonette, John Ferraro and Todd Johnson. In late 2005, Ken recorded his first solo album Goin' Wes, which was released in early 2006 on the Primrose Lane Music label and features Luther Hughes, Paul Kreibich and Llew Matthews. Check out www.kensong.net for more info.

Carl Verheyen is an LA-based session guitarist. In addition to being a member of Supertramp and playing with his own band called the Carl Verheyen Band, Carl is the author of many instructional books, including Improvising Without Scales. He also wrote Studio City, a collection of articles written for the magazine Guitar for the Practicing Musician from 1996-1999. In 1996, Carl won the prestigious LA Music Awards category for Best Guitarist, while Guitar Magazine called him "One of the top undiscovered guitar players in the world.” Carl is one of the top session guitarists in Los Angeles, known as being a versatile performer of many musical styles, racking up album credits with Richard Elliot, the Bee Gees, Cher, Robben Ford, Stanley Clarke, Dave Grusin, Little Richard, Tiffany, Joe Farrell, Christina Aguilera, LeAnn Rimes, Glenn Frey, and many more. He has also played on many TV/movie soundtracks including Happy Days, Ratatouille, Lost, Scrubs, The Crow, and The Usual Suspects. Check out www.carlverheyen.com for more info.

Originally from Israel, Oz Noy moved to New York in 1996 and has made a big impact on the local music scene with his unique sound, compositions and style, bringing a mixture of pop, rock, blues, funk, and jazz into a cohesive and intoxicating groove. Oz has performed, toured and recorded with well-established artists such as Richard Bona, Chris Botti, Mike Clark, Jeff 'Tain" Watts, Harry Belafonte, Toni Braxton, Phoebe Snow, Gavin Degraw, Neil Rogers, Roger Glover, Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, and Akiko Yano. He has played on numerous commercials and movie soundtracks and recently wrote the soundtrack for the highly acclaimed documentary A/K/A Tommy Chong. Oz has released four CDs, which include an all-star roster of musicians such as Anton Fig, Keith Carlock, Will Lee, James Genus, Mike Stern, George Whitty, Shai Bachar, Reggie Washington, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Johnson, Jim Beard, Dave Weckl, Steve Lukather, Ricky Peterson, and Chris Palmaro.

John was born into a musical household and raised in San Gabriel, California. He began playing guitar at six and bass at sixteen. John cut short his musical studies at East L.A. College to tour with El Chicano and soon found himself on tour opening for Santana. John later toured with jazz vocalist Randy Crawford, and, in 1981, he co-founded Food For Feet. He then joined New Wave band Oingo Boingo in 1984, who he played with until 1995. During his tenure with Oingo Boingo, John co-produced four full-length releases with Danny Elfman and Steve Bartek. Since 1995, John has run his own recording studio called Brando’s Paradise, producing bands such as Reel Big Fish, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Quetzal, and Robbie Krieger. During this time, he also played bass on recordings by Steve Vai and the Stewart Copeland Orchestra. He also sang lead vocals on Disney’s Another Goofy Movie.

A native of Southern California, Jeff studied privately at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts while still in high school and then went on to the University of Miami School of Music. Jeff’s diverse list of gigs ranges from James Taylor, Robben Ford, Shelby Lynne, Julio Iglesias, and Larry Carlton to shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live (as keyboardist/arranger) and The Drew Carey Show to film scores for movies such as The 40 Year Old Virgin, Garden State, and Super Bad. He also has his own solo project with albums that feature the likes of Vinnie Colaiuta, David Fiuczynski, Toss Panos, Jeff Coffin, and Mike Landau. Visit www.jeffbabko.com for more info.

After studying classical music at the Conservatory of Music (University of the Pacific in Stockton, California), the Northern California native moved to Los Angeles. Kacee recorded her debut CD Seeing Red in 1996 and her sophomore effort Mama Came to Sing in 2008. In the summer of 2001, Kacee was cast in the role of playing the lead in the extreme rock musical Love, Janis, a journey into the mind and music of the legendary Janis Joplin. In early 2002, she was asked to join Big Brother & The Holding Co., Janis Joplin's original San Francisco-based band, as their lead vocalist. In 2005, she joined forces with the legendary Joe Cocker as a background singer on his Heart & Soul world tour and continued in that capacity through the Hymn For My Soul world tour, which ended at the top of 2008. Kacee also began touring with Luis Miguel extensively during his Complices tour in 2008. For more info, please visit Kacee's website at www.kacee.info.

Native New Yorker, long-time studio musician, and session guitarist Chris Juergensen is in constant demand as a sideman, frontman and clinician. He has played sold-out venues as intimate as the worldfamous Blue Note and as large as the Long Beach Auditorium. After teaching guitar for six years at the prestigious Musicians Institute in Los Angeles alongside Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Scott Henderson and Joe Diorio, Chris left the states to become the Director of Education at Tokyo School of Music in Japan where he resided for fifteen years. He currently divides his time between Tokyo and Los Angeles where he continues to write, record, play and teach. His first solo CD Prospects was critically acclaimed worldwide and his second release Big Bad Sun painted a completely new portrait of him, showcasing his singing talent as well as his guitar playing. The opening song "Sweet Melissa" was used by Australian filmmaker Sean King in his short film Regrets. His newest CD Strange Phenomena was released in early 2008.

Dave Pozzi has been a Los Angeles based free-lance artist since 1979, recording and playing with artists like: Henry Mancini, Mel Torme, Celine Dion, David Foster, Johnny Mathis, Jeff Hamilton, Rich Little, Charlie Shoemake, Melissa Manchester, Marvin Stamm, Bobby Shew, Pete Christlieb, Don Menza, Roy McCurdy, Bob Cooper, Jeff Berlin, Diana Krall, Billy Childs, and others. Big band credits include Ray Anthony, Bob Crosby, Bill Watrous, Louie Bellson, Bob Florence, and Doc Severinsen. Dave is featured as a soloist on recordings with John Patitucci, Nick Brignola, Dick Berk, Bob Magnusson, Ray Pizzi, and Milcho Leviev. Other recording work includes radio and TV commercials, TV shows like The Osbournes, and numerous demos and record dates.

After receiving a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music, Howie moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a musician/composer/arranger. He soon took a slight detour to go on the road where he played lead trumpet with the Woody Herman Orchestra. After two years, he moved back to LA, and has since performed on countless TV and movie soundtracks, commercials, Broadway shows and recordings. Howie has performed with Tony Bennett, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Natalie Cole, Linda Ronstadt, and Mel Torme, to name a few. In addition to performing, Howie has been an active composer/arranger/orchestrator getting his first big break as the musical arranger for the Joan Rivers late night talk show, where he composed for a 16-piece big band 5 nights a week. Howie has also scored several movies. He received his doctorate in music from the University of Southern California in 2002.