Roy Brown, organ
Larry Douglas, trumpet and vibes
Rusty Aceves, drums

Roy Brown was born in Sacramento and exposed to jazz at the age of 5 by his parents. He played viola, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones before realizing the piano was his true calling.

In 1994, Roy released an independently produced CD entitled “Courage” on his own label, Roday Records, featuring the late legendary drummer George Walker, who was a mainstay in the Wes Montgomery group for years. Subsequently, Roy studied composition and theory with internationally acclaimed pianist Mark Levine, and after moving to the Bay Area, was soon working with the likes of pianist and educator Dee Spencer, drummer Babatunde Lea, guitarist Eric Swinderman, drummer Kamau Seitu, alto saxophonist Bishop Norman Williams and singer Frankye Kelly. In July of 2005 Roy performed at the Jazz Las Casas festival in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico and in November 2005 headlined the Festival International de Jazz in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico with Bay Area based singer Frankye Kelly. He has been very active as a member of vibraphone legend Yancie Taylor’s lauded Jazztet, and from February to May of 2006, Roy performed in Shanghai, China with renowned vocalist Frankye Kelly at the prestigious CJW Bund Center and the intimate jazz house CJW Xintiandi.

Roy’s second album was the acclaimed 2005 release “Jazz Is The Music I Play,” featuring bassist Attila Medveczky and drummer Rob Gibson. His newest Roday album, “Continuation,” is an intriguing set of standards and originals and features Yancie Taylor on vibes, saxophonist James Bailey, bassists Aaron Germain and Miles Wick, drummer Rusty Aceves and spoken word artist Julian Carroll. The album has racked up impressive sales around the globe and has been featured regularly on KCSM Jazz 91 in the Bay Area. Most recently, Roy has been pursuing his Masters Degree from San Francisco State while working on his debut organ trio recording and co-leading SF State’s Survey of Jazz course with KCSM radio personality Clifford Brown Jr.

With a tone that the dean of American jazz critics, Leonard Feather, described as “velvety and silky,” Larry Douglas has ruled as one of San Francisco’s top trumpet/flugelhorn players for more than three decades. In addition to leading his own electro-acoustic group, the Larry Douglas Alltet, Douglas has worked with such stellar musicians as Freddie Hubbard, Chuck Berry, Albert Collins, Sun Ra and Rufus and Carla Thomas. As a member of Johnny Otis and His Orchestra, his playing was featured on four albums including the Grammy-nominated Spirit Of The Black Territory Bands.

Larry’s debut solo album “Dedications” released in 1985, received a great response from fans in Europe and the Eastern Bloc. Douglas has collaborated with flute/saxophone player, and director of the jazz program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Dr. Karlton Hester since the late-1970s, playing with Hester’s groups, the Contemporary Jazz Art Movement and the Hesterian Musicism. The recipient of a Bachelors degree in instrumental music education from Florida A&M, and a Masters of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory, Douglas taught at Aptos Middle School from 1981 until 1990, and has taught at Galileo High School of San Francisco, since 1991. He also teaches Black Music: Jazz, Blues, & Popular Music in American Culture, a jazz history course at Vista Community College. Who’s Who Among America’s Teachershonors our nation’s most respected teachers and has placed Larry T. Douglas on its roster for the past 3 years; Editions 7-9, 2002-2005.

A native of Statesboro, Georgia, Douglas found early inspiration in the music of an older brother, Gary, who played trumpet, one of his high school teachers and alto saxophone player, James Blakely. While in college, he and his band, Funk, Incorporated, took first place in the national and international levels of the Budweiser Music Festival competition. He moved to San Francisco, as a member of the United States Army’s Sixth Division Band, in 1975 and continues to make his home in California.

Rusty Aceves was born and raised in Livermore California and is the youngest of three children. He inherited his love of jazz from his father, and began playing alto saxophone in elementary school. He switched to drums in junior high and played drums and percussion throughout junior high and high school.

Rusty studied symphonic percussion, timpani and mallets with Arthur Storch at Cal State Hayward, and holds a BA in Percussion Performance. He studied drumset with John Freixas, Ray Merill, David Garibaldi, Peter Erskine, and Carl Allen. Rusty performs as a freelance jazz drummer and symphonic percussionist throughout the Bay Area, and has worked with artists including Bishop Norman Williams, Dr. Karlton Hester, Eddie Gale, and Joe Lovano.