RIVERWALK JAZZ GUEST PROFILES

Vernel Bagneris
A master of the American vernacular—The Library of Congress

Featured on over a dozen Riverwalk Jazz broadcasts, the award-winning actor and singer Vernel Bagneris has brought leading figures in jazz—including Bunk Johnson, Spencer Williams, Danny Barker and Jelly Roll Morton—to life for radio audiences. Mr. Bagneris wrote, directed and starred in the original Off-Broadway and recent Broadway production of One Mo’ Time and its critically acclaimed sequel Further Mo’. He wrote and starred in Jelly Roll and he starred in the original Broadway production of Cy Coleman’s musical The Life. On film, Mr. Bagneris appeared in Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law, had a starring role in Herbert Ross’ Pennies From Heaven with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters, and choreographed and appeared in the Taylor Hackford biopic on Ray Charles, Ray.

Topsy Chapman
A rich soulful voice…and a New Orleans treasure.

Topsy Chapman can be heard on several Riverwalk Jazz broadcasts including Under a Southern Moon, Butterbeans and Susie, Prez and Lady Day, and Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues. Topsy grew up the youngest of sixteen children in Kentwood, Louisiana, where she started her singing career in the Baptist Church. She gained national and international recognition as an original cast member and vocal arranger on the Off-Broadway hit One Mo' Time. She is a founding member of the gospel group, Solid Harmony, and serves as its arranger. Topsy Chapman is in demand as a featured soloist at jazz festivals around the world.

Rebecca Kilgore
If Benny Goodman were alive today, he'd hire Becky to sing in his band. —Bucky Pizzarelli

Rebecca has appeared on Riverwalk Jazz in tribute to great vocalists such as Maxine Sullivan, in addition to bringing to life the work of classic songwriters Johnny Mercer, Johnny Burke and many others. Rebecca is one of America's leading song stylists and is passionate about preserving the vocal jazz of the 30s and 40s, an era which she feels remains unsurpassed in its high quality songwriting and heartfelt lyrics. Her mission is to learn every song from that era, and to swing in the process. With 32 recordings bearing her name, she is well on her way. Her singing has been enriched through her many associations with jazz greats, especially composer/pianist Dave Frishberg with whom she recorded several Cds in the 1990s. In addition, she has sung at Carnegie Hall at the invitation of Michael Feinstein. She has become a regular at jazz parties, jazz festivals and jazz cruises throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Dick Hyman
The Fred Astaire of the keyboards…

Dick Hyman has made so many appearances on Riverwalk Jazz that he is sometimes called the eighth member of the band. In a busy musical career that began in the early 1950s, Dick Hyman has excelled as a pianist, organist, arranger, conductor, and composer. His versatility in all these areas has resulted in well over one hundred albums recorded under his own name, and many more in support of other artists. Mr. Hyman has investigated the earliest periods of jazz and ragtime and has recorded the music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, and others. He has acted as Artistic Director of the acclaimed Jazz In July series at New York's 92nd Street Y and was inducted into the Jazz Hall Of Fame of Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. Dick Hyman was Music Director for Arthur Godfrey; and served as composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist for many Woody Allen films including Bullets Over Broadway and Mighty Aphrodite. Other film scores have included Moonstruck and Billy Bathgate.

Nina Ferro
A fabulous performer with a knockout voice—Tony Bennett

Recognized as one of the finest jazz vocalists working today, Nina Ferro has appeared with legendary performers including Tony Bennett and Les Paul. Nina is featured on several Riverwalk Jazz broadcasts performing the music of Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Fields and McHugh, Irving Berlin and others. And she can be heard on The Jim Cullum Jazz Band CDs, Deep River and American Love Songs. With a quality of tone and relaxed technique that is rarely heard, Nina Ferro’s unique interpretation of jazz repertoire never fails to impress.

Duke Heitger
He plays hot, he plays sweet—Curt Beard, Jazz Soundings

Trumpeter Duke Heitger landed in New Orleans in 1991 and since then has become one of the most sought-after players on the international scene. As a youngster, he became fascinated with his dad’s record collection, and listened to discs by Louis Armstrong, Bunny Berrigan, Roy Eldridge, Red Allen, Bobby Hackett, and Bix Beiderbecke. Duke started playing professional jobs at age twelve and was touring while still in his teens. Now leading his own ensemble, and working with bands led by such classic jazz stalwarts as Dick Hyman, James Dapogny and Butch Thompson, Duke Heitger has been featured numerous times on Riverwalk Jazz and on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion.