golda Solomon

“A far-ranging singer with a sparkling creative temperament, equally talented as a poet and songwriter,” Andrea Wolper has been lauded as “an audacious artist [who] flouts genre limitations, delivering an inventive, thrilling, appealing musical vision.” Andrea performs in her New York home base and tours in the U.S. and beyond, both as a leader of her own projects and as a sideperson for musicians across jazz genres including William Parker and the late Jay Clayton. Cadence Magazine calls her songwriting “easily superior,” and she has been awarded several composing residencies. Her most recent album, “Wanderlust,” was praised as “magnificent,” “exceptional,” “exquisite.” Her poetry has been published in literary journals, and she has been a guest instructor at ArtSpeak/From Page to Performance. Her non-fiction has appeared in numerous collections and periodicals, and includes the books, “Women’s Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives” (co-editor with Julie S. Peters; Routledge Press) and “The Actor’s City Sourcebook” (Watson-Guptill).

Christopher Dean Sullivan, bassist/jazz griot, garners praise and numerous honors, including the New York State Multiple Congressional, Senate, Assembly Merit, County, Municipal Arts Awards. Proficient across diverse musical genres, Sullivan’s artistry pays homage to legends Slam Stewart and Ray Brown, as recognized by jazz journalist Steve Monroe of the Jazz Journalist Association. Sullivan has solidified his status as an exceptionally versatile musician and spoken word artist. He is an astute sensitive listener to the poet’s words and emotions conveyed and is able to translate with his bass impeccable improvisations. His ability to play and tell tales with a morale adds to the J&PCC’s versatility. He can ‘walk‘ the bass and ‘talk’ the talk.

E.J. Antonio received fellowships in Poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and the Cave Canem Foundation.  She’s appeared as a featured reader and performer at venues in the NY tri-state area, including Why Not Jazz Room; Arts Westchester; The Stone; the Hobart Festival of Women Writers, The Vision Festival, and Langston Hughes House.  Her work has been published in various journals, magazines, and anthologies, including: the Encyclopedia Project, African Voices Literary Magazine, Black Renaissance Noire, The Mom Egg, Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Taint Taint Taint Magazine, About Place Journal, and the arriving at a shoreline anthology.  E.J. is the author of two chapbooks, Every Child Knows (Premier Poets Chapbook Series 2007) and Solstice (Red Glass Books, 2013), and a solo jazzoetry CD Rituals in the marrow: Recipe for a jam session.  E.J. is a founding member of the Jazz & Poetry Choir Collective, which released its debut CD We Were Here in spring 2020, and a founding Board Member of the non-profit Arts organization One Breath Rising. 

Golda Solomon, First Poet Laureate, Yonkers N.Y., Adjunct Assoc., Professor Borough of Manhattan Community College, poet-in-residence Blue Door Art Center and spoken word performer, is the creator of Po’Jazz (Poetry in Partnership with Jazz.) and founding member of The Jazz & Poetry Choir Collective. Golda facilitates, ArtSpeak/From Page To Performance and Make W.A.A.V.E.S(Writing, Art, Activism, Values, Empowerment & Sharing) ekphrastic writing workshops, Co-Editor of the Community Writing Project Journal, bluedoorartcenter.org.

Poets & Writers and ArtsWestchester help with her commitment to effecting change in Yonkers through the arts. Poetry collections include: Flatbush Cowgirl and Medicine Woman of Jazz. CD’s, Po’Jazz: Takin’ It To the Hollow, First Set, Jazz Riffs and We Are Here (J&PCC). Golda creates multimedia collages that include snippets her poetry. She is a vital seasoned in years woman, and active Yonkers resident. She is currently at work on: You Can’t Take Brooklyn Out of the Girl.

The music of Jason Kao Hwang (composer/violin/viola) explores the vibrations of his history. His compositions are often narrative landscapes through which sonic beings embark upon transformational journeys.  His most recent release, Uncharted Faith, has received critical acclaim. Raised during the “melting pot” era of assimilation, Mr. Hwang did not learn Chinese from his immigrant parents, only English. When his parents spoke Chinese to each other, he would listen intently to glean meaning from the inflection, pitch, and rhythm of their phrases.  Mr. Hwang imagines this musical experience of the Chinese language as the foundation of his creative instincts.

Michael TA Thompson was born in Miami, FL, but moved to the US Virgin Islands at the age of nine, where he began to learn to play the drums. After high school, he attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, then headed to NYC. He met trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. who introduced him to like-minded musicians such as William Parker, Kidd Jordan, Joe McPhee, Charles Gayle, Dennis Gonzales, Oliver Lake, Matthew Shipp, Uri Caine, Henry Grimes, Jason Kao Hwang, Ken Filiano, and many others. He played with LA-based multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia and became his drummer of choice for East Coast performances. In addition, he has played with Clypsonians, The Mighty Sparrow, The Shadow, Beckett, reggae artist Owen Gray, and other artists from classical to rap and beyond. He has recorded for television shows such as Blue’s Clues, (Nickelodeon), for commercials, and for film.

Phylisha Villanueva is a Belizean-American cultural worker and performance poet currently serving as the Poet Laureate of Westchester County. An author and educator, her work centers identity, healing, womanhood, and survival—grounded in lineage, ritual, and community care. She is the founder of Literary Lituation and co-founder of The Yonkers Writing Group, with over a decade of facilitating trauma-informed writing workshops across schools and cultural institutions. Known for immersive, PoetryLive performances with musicians, her work lives in the breath and body, shaped by rhythm, sound, and the energy between artist and audience. To encounter her work is not simply to listen, but to witness.

Warren Smith is an American jazz drummer and percussionist, an original member and a contributor to Max Roach’s M’boom ensemble and leader of the Composer’s Workshop Ensemble. His contributions as a member of the J&PCC are “the joint.” He can make percussive sounds from crunching a piece of paper rhythmically. His vibraphone playing adds a dimension to the group’s improvising with poetry. He is our ‘elder statesman’ living keeper of our roots in jazz musically from bebop and beyond. He is also a ‘jazz raconteur’ and poet sharing stories and poems about his growing up and tales of jazz legends- he was there as witness and musician. His career is archived in the September 2023 New York Jazz Record, a monthly publication.