Cory Cox

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Drummer Cory Cox is a native of Houston, TX. Inspired by his family’s passion for music, he studied privately and worked with the youth choir at his church at age eight. Developing an interest in music, he enrolled into the arts program at Johnston Middle School and The High School for The Performing and Visual Arts. Working with various ensembles and mentors that introduced him to jazz and world music, he was inspired to pursue a music career that would take him around the world. While Cory was in high school, he was selected to become a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the Gibson Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble where he performed with the High School Grammy Jazz Choir.

Gaining exposure to various music programs around the country lead to Cory receiving a scholarship from Blue Note recording artist Jason Moran to attend college and he was selected as a 2006-08 Brubeck Institute Fellow at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. As a Brubeck Fellow, he received ensemble coaching from mentors Dave Brubeck, Joe Gilman, Fred Hersch, Robert Glasper, Bob Hurst, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Eric Harland, Freddie Hubbard, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon and Joshua Redman. Cory credits the Brubeck institute as one the most insightful musical experiences.

After completing the two-year fellowship program, Cory moved to NYC to finish his undergrad studies at the New School University. Since moving to NY, Cory has performed and toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Reggie Workman, the Ben Flocks Quartet, John Ellis, Joel Frahm, Javier Vercher, Marcus Strickland, Jimmy Owens, John Raymond, the Hironobu Saito Group, Thana Pavelic, Lorenzo Conte and many others throughout the U.S, Europe, Switzerland, Croatia and Japan. Cory currently teaches privately and lead ensemble workshops at Stanford Jazz in California and Litchfield Jazz in Connecticut. He credits Jesus, his family, Keith Sanders, Sebastian Whittaker, Craig Green, Conrad Johnson, Warren Sneed and his peers as his greatest inspiration.

Christopher Sullivan

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Dr. Christopher Sullivan is an indispensable member of the SJW family, having been head counsellor at Jazz Camp and Jazz Institute for many years, as well as a frequent performer at SJW jams and noon concerts.

He recently returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area to put his talents as a saxophonist, composer, and educator to work. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Performance and Music Education from the University of Southern California. While pursuing his D.M.A., Chris worked as a teaching assistant for director Bob Mintzer, leading undergraduate and graduate courses in improvisation, composition, small ensemble, and jazz orchestra. He has studied privately with Roy McCurdy, Rich Perry, Bob Mintzer, Vincent Herring, Bob Sheppard, and Dayna Stephens.

Dr. Sullivan also holds a M.M. from William Paterson University and a B.M. from the California Jazz Conservatory. Chris also teaches at the Glendale Community College, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and currently serves as Chair of the Musicianship Department at the California Jazz Conservatory, where he teaches ear training, improvisation, and private lessons. He is active in the Los Angeles and San Francisco music scenes, appearing on several albums currently in circulation, including Michael Buble’s most recent album, “Love.”

Christina Galisatus

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Pianist and composer Christina Galisatus is an SJW family member, having practically grown up in SJW’s summer and after-school programs. Her development into a composer and recording artist has made her an even more popular faculty member than she already was — and she was already one of the favorites!

After the release of her debut single “Root” featuring Jeff Parker, Christina Galisatus has quickly established herself as an up-and-coming artist and composer. Following the success of six more singles, she released her debut album Without Night in 2023. Christina has developed a strong compositional voice, with songs that blur the lines between genres and feature lyrical melodies, all emphasized with her ability to express herself as a pianist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a musical family, Christina graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Jazz Piano Performance. Christina is now based in Los Angeles where she writes, performs, records, and teaches music in a variety of settings.

Caroline Davis

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Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, saxophonist, and educator Caroline Davis now lives in Brooklyn, New York. After making her mark on the Chicago jazz community during her 8-year stint, she moved to New York in 2013, and has proven to be an active leader and sidewoman in the national jazz scene.

She has shared musical moments with a diverse group of musicians, from jazz to mainstream, including Matt Wilson, Ellis Marsalis, Matt Mitchell, Randy Brecker, Bobby Broom, Greg Saunier, Ron Miles, Dennis Carroll, Erin McKeown, Allison Miller, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Billy Kaye. Aside from her own quintet, she collaborates regularly with R&B indie band, Maitri, and has been a regular member of many outfits including Whirlpool, Fatbook, Deep Fayed, Matt Mitchell’s Sprees, Billy Kaye Quintet, Paul Bedal Quintet, Orso, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Caili O’Doherty Group, Dion Kerr Group, Elliot Ross, and Materials and Their Destiny.

Today, Caroline’s music covers a wide range of styles, owed to this shifting environment. As a leader, she has released eight albums: Live Work & Play (2012), Doors: Chicago Storylines (2015), Heart Tonic (2018), Alula (2019), Anthems (2019), Portals, Vol. 1: Mourning (2021), Alula: Captivity (2023), and Portals, Vol.2: Returning (2024). Her active projects include jazz-leaning Portals, experimental R&B My Tree, and protest band Alula. She has won Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll Rising Star Alto-Saxophonist (2018) and has been included in numerous Reader and Critics Polls. Her work has garnered much praise from NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Wire, DownBeat, and many international publications.

As an educator, Caroline brings her unique knowledge of music and psychology to her teaching, as she acquired a Ph.D. in Music Cognition at Northwestern University in 2010. She has been on the faculty at Litchfield Jazz Camp for the past 10 years, and has been a guest educator at Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, St. Xavier University, Columbia College, DePaul University, University of Texas at Arlington, Loyola University, Texas Tech, New Trier High School, Evanston Township High School, Denver School of the Arts, Newman Smith High School, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has also participated in several jazz mentorship programs, including IAJE’s Sisters in Jazz and the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program.

Caili O’Doherty

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New York-based pianist, composer, arranger and educator, Caili O’Doherty is known for integrating structures of language in both her compositions and her approach to improvisation. Her recent music focuses on the celebration, preservation, and expansion upon the achievements of jazz’s unsung women heroes. O’Doherty has received national awards for piano performance and composition from the ASCAP Foundation and Downbeat Magazine.

Praised by All About Jazz for its “exquisitely forged, dramatic and darkly hued pieces”, O’Doherty’s debut release Padme (ODO Records, 2015) uses lyrics to give the melodies a natural rhythm of language. Padme was selected as a Downbeat Magazine Editor’s pick and received a 4-star review in All About Jazz. She was invited to write a Woodshed Article for the Keyboard School section of Downbeat Magazine’s September 2015 issue on the topic “Using Language as a Tool for Composing and Improvising”.

Quarantine Dream (Posi-Tone Records, 2022) was O’Doherty’s second release as a leader and featured her quartet, Tamir Shmerling on bass, Cory Cox on drums, and Nicole Glover on tenor saxophone. Quarantine Dream showcases eight original compositions and three influential songs reinterpreted by O’Doherty. The album release was followed by a U.S. CD release tour with support from a Jazz Road grant from South Arts.

Bluer Than Blue (Outside In Music, 2025) is the latest release from O’Doherty, and features her arrangements of compositions by pianist, composer, and vocalist Lil Hardin Armstrong. Bluer Than Blue was recorded live at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and was funded in part by a Presenters Consortium for Jazz grant from Chamber Music America.

The Caili O’Doherty Quintet was selected by the U.S. Department of State as one of ten ensembles to participate in the 2022-23 American Music Abroad U.S. State Department tour to the Republic of Georgia and Canada. Also in 2022, O’Doherty was one of ten artists to receive a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, which funds the creation of a new original work. O’Doherty’s CMA New Jazz Work entitled “Suite for Gearoidin” premiered at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Bar Bayeux, and Birdland Jazz Club and will be released as an album in 2026.

O’Doherty has performed with various jazz groups at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smoke Jazz Club (with saxophonist Antonio Hart), Kimmel Center (opening for pianist Martial Solal), Toronto Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival (opening for the Wayne Shorter Quartet), Portland Jazz Festival, Guinness Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland, Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, MICI International Film Festival in Mexico, Stanford Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and UNESCO First International Jazz Day in Paris, as well as two US State Dept. supported tours to Colombia and Togo and Benin in West Africa. She was also selected as one of five female jazz pianists invited to participate in the inaugural Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artists Workshop held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and to perform at a showcase concert at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival.

Her touring history includes two west coast tours in support of O’Doherty’s album Padme with her NYC quartet, a duo tour in China with saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, a collective tour with saxophonist Caroline Davis throughout the Midwest with the Davis + O’Doherty Quartet, and a tour in Israel with saxophonist Lihi Haruvi.
O’Doherty is currently on the faculty at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Additionally, she is on the faculty at Jazz House Kids and Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy. She is an Artist Instructor for Open Studio Pro, a prestigious online jazz lesson platform, as well as maintaining a robust private teaching studio of her own. O’Doherty has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 2012, as well as faculty at the University of Wisconsin Madison Summer Music Clinic and Litchfield Jazz Camp.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in performance from Berklee College of Music (BM ’13) and a Master of Music in performance from Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (MM ’19).

Beth Schenck

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Beth Schenck is a San Francisco based saxophonist, composer and educator. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2013, Beth has become a distinguished performer in the West Coast jazz, improvised and chamber music scenes. Her current projects as a leader/composer include works for solo saxophone, her saxophone quartet Social Stutter (Kasey Knudsen, Phillip Greenlief, Cory Wright),  Beth Schenck Quintet (with Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel, Lisa Mezzacappa, and Jordan Glenn) and House of Faern (Jenny Scheinman, Matthew Wrobel and John Wood). Each of these projects showcase Beth’s versatility and commitment to pushing musical boundaries.

As a composer, Beth has written music for the Sunset Jazz Festival (Nagasaki, Japan), Women’s Work Festival (New York City), Outsound Summit (SF), Silla Festival (Korea) and schools in NYC, LA and SF. Beth’s music has been described by critics as “frank and beautiful” (Greg Burk), “reliably enthralling” and “transporting” (Andrew Gilbert). “Above and Below”, Beth’s solo album, is out now on Innova Records.

In addition to her performance and composition career, Beth is the Director of Performing Arts at the San Francisco Day School, where she also leads the jazz band. Her dedication to jazz education extends to her role as the middle school representative for the California Alliance for Jazz, where she advocates for jazz education statewide.

For more about Beth’s projects and performances, visit bethschenck.com.

Bennett Paster

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For over 30 years, pianist Bennett Paster has been a fixture on the faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, where he brings his vast experience as a composer, arranger, performer, and educator available to all SJW jazz campers. In New York City, Bennett is very busy as a keyboardist, arranger, composer, bandleader, producer, recording and mixing engineer, and as the owner of his own studio.

Bennett has performed with a wide array of great jazz artists, including Wallace Roney, Keb’ Mo’, Robben Ford, Kurt Elling, Bill Stewart, Peter Erskine, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Yosvany Terry, and Curtis Stigers. He has also performed with musical theater and cabaret stars Christine Ebersole, Ann Hampton Calloway, and Michael Cerveris. He has performed original music at clubs, concerts, and festivals in the United States, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Central and South Asia, and throughout Europe.

Fluent in a variety of different styles and musical idioms, and equally talented on piano, organ, and electric keyboards, Paster has released eight recordings as a leader or co-leader. His newest funky jazz album Indivisible (2019) features ten originals, each exploring a different rhythmic feel, but unified by a singular focus on groove. He currently gigs regularly around NYC and works as a producer and engineer at his studio, Benny’s Wash & Dry, in Brooklyn, NY.

Ben Flocks

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Saxophonist and educator Ben Flocks captivates audiences around the world with his soulful sound. Born in Santa Cruz, California and residing in Los Angeles, Ben leads his own group and plays as a sideman in a variety of musical settings.

Ben has led his band at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and has had the honor to perform with Joshua Redman’s Trio, with Dave Brubeck as a Brubeck Institute Fellow, with Thana Alexa’s Quintet, with Antonio Sanchez and Migration, and with Sammy Miller and the Congregation.

Ben holds a MA in Music Education from San José State University and a BFA from the New School in New York and currently serves on faculty at Glendale Community College and the Harvard-Westlake School. Ben has a passion for music education and teaches saxophone lessons, improvisation courses, and ensembles utilizing focused listening and peer-mentorship methods. He also leads interactive concerts in schools for all ages tracing the history of jazz.

Anisha Rush

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Born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO, saxophonist, composer, and educator Anisha Rush began playing the saxophone at the age of 10 and went on to study music and psychology, earning a BM in Jazz Studies from the Thompson Jazz Studies Program and a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

As a performer, Anisha’s noteworthy collaborations include performances alongside luminaries such as Makaya McCraven, Ron Miles, Matt Wilson, Dawn Clement, Greg Gisbert, Shane Endsley, Art Lande, and others. Anisha has performed at several festivals including Bonnaroo, DC Jazz Festival, Winter Jazz Fest, Telluride Jazz Festival, and Five Points Jazz Festival.

Anisha actively performs as bandleader of ‘Anisha Rush and the Encounter’, a dynamic ensemble that transcends boundaries and captivates audiences with its unique fusion of genres while still utilizing the improvisational traditions of jazz. The band refuses to be put in a box, and will often play music reminiscent of not only jazz but also soul, R&B, and gospel.

In 2023, Anisha was selected for the Next Jazz Legacy, an apprenticeship program led by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Additionally, Anisha Rush and the Encounter is a recipient of a 2024 grant from Chamber Music America’s Performance Plus program, funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Foundation.

Andrew Stephens

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Andrew Stephens is a trumpeter and educator based in NYC since 2021. He holds a Masters degree from Juilliard, and has performed Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony with the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Andrew has been working outside of school with Kaleidoscope, a group he formed with two fellow students, as well as touring with the Hot Sardines; he also recently recorded an album with Electroveesedstene, a project he co-leads with Ben Goldberg, which features Kenny Wollesen, Ryan Ferreira, Hamir Atwal, Kai Lyons, and Michael Coleman.

Andrew was born in Sacramento and began playing at the age of 10, immediately interested in Louis Armstrong and traditional jazz, which was a strong part of the scene there. He moved to the Bay Area to get his BA in pure mathematics at UC Berkeley, and worked his way into the jazz scene outside of school. He was an instructor at Sonoma State University from 2018 until 2021, where he taught private lessons and led the university’s first early jazz ensemble for 2 semesters. In addition, he has taught at Stanford Jazz, the California Jazz Conservatory summer program, and the Teagarden Jazz Camp. He is the winner of the 2021 Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition, and placed 2nd in the 2019 Carmine Caruso Competition. “