The Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet is a band with a message of mutual understanding across cultures through music.  Rooted in the passion of the blues and the joyful strains of swing and bebop, this New York based group has toured extensively on the Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, a program co-sponsored by The U.S. Department of State and Jazz at Lincoln Center.   They have also performed music from  their CD, You Can’t Buy Swing, at the Obama White House and at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Eli Yamin is artistic director of The Jazz Drama Program and head of instruction at Middle School Jazz Academy and training specialist at Jazz at Lincoln Center.  He is a jazz and blues pianist, singer, composer, educator, bandleader and Steinway artist and has performed and taught at the White House and top concert halls and festivals in the United States, South America, Japan and Europe, and as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State in Mali, India, China, Brazil, Chile and the Balkans.

Zaid Nasser, alto saxophone – Born and raised in New York, Zaid is the son of jazz and blues master Jamil Nasser and learned directly from the legends of jazz themselves. At 19, he returned to Memphis, the birthplace of the blues, playing for two years with Calvin Newborn. Returning to New York, he was a featured soloist with Panama Frances’ “Savoy Sultans”, and with the pioneering jazz organist Bill Doggett. His CDs have been included on many critics’ annual “Top Ten” lists, and he performs regularly in New York City. He has also toured in Europe, The Middle East and throughout Asia as a bandleader and for the U.S. Department of State.

Ari Roland, double bass – A fully professional jazz bassist in New York City at 16, Ari also received classical training for 5 years at The Juilliard School. He has worked with many of the most significant figures in jazz, including Barry Harris, Betty Carter, Lou Donaldson, Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts and Harry Connick Jr., and his three CD’s as a bandleader on Smalls Records have earned wide-spread critical acclaim in the international jazz press. As a “Jazz Ambassador” for the US Department of State, Ari has traveled to 26 different countries for 59 programs in the past four years. He co-directs the ongoing “Bi-Communal Jazz Futures” program for the US Embassy in Cyprus, and the “American Jazz In Syria” program for the US Embassy in Syria.

LaFrae Sci (drummer) works with Eli at Jazz at Lincoln Center and performed with him at the Obama White House.  She brings experience in the fields of pop, hip-hop, jazz, rock and blues to the group and has shared the stage with blues veterans including Pinetop Perkins and Robert Lockwood, Jr. LaFrae is a member of the Black Rock Coalition, toured internationally with the 17-piece female orchestra The Daughters of Nina Simone, leads her own band and writes her own songs.  She believes music can heal the world and is a particular inspiration to young musicians all over the globe.

Master drummer Fukushi Tainaka (alternate for Ms. Sci) is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musicians of his generation and one of the most in-demand drummers on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi has played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists including Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Barry Harris and James Moody.  Fukushi’s recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, and the CD “To My Mother” along with his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama.