The Elders – MOCUS Jazz Legends CD & DVD Release Concert

George Caldwell – Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer known for his work with the Count Basie Orchestra and Ella Fitzgerald. A professor of Jazz Studies at the University at Buffalo, George is also a Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 2002.

Sabu Adeyola – Bassist, composer, and jazz historian known for his work with Ahmad Jamal and Betty Carter. He began as a student and substitute for the late Charles Mingus in his band and is mentioned in the Miles Davis autobiography and Chuck Mancuso’s memoirs. A longtime jazz historian, Adeyola has published numerous books and currently teaches university students the art and history of classical jazz. He is a Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 2023.

Abdul Rahman Qadir – Drummer and arranger who began as a child prodigy and is known for his early work with Dizzy Gillespie and Herbie Hancock. He continues to perform with artists both locally and regionally while teaching young musicians the art of jazz theory and its relationship to life.

The recording features guitarist Greg Millar; however, the group will be joined this evening by another legend: Melvin Henderson – Guitarist, producer and educator who has performed and recorded with Al Jarreau, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Randy Brecker, Wycliffe Gordon and others. A Berklee alumnus and bandleader of Rochester’s Grammy-nominated Paradigm Shift, Henderson has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada.

This is the one and only recording ever created by this group, thanks to producer Rishon Odel, who brought these musicians together in the midst of the pandemic. At a time when the world was searching for hope, that hope was found through the music we call jazz.