Farayi Malek
Founder & Creative Director
Teaching Artist
Jazz & Contemporary Vocalist, Composer
Farayi Malek is a jazz and contemporary vocalist, composer, arranger and educator currently residing in Boston, MA. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory of Music in 2017 where she studied with vocalist and composer, Dominique Eade. She completed her Master’s degree in Contemporary Performance at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2018, under the tutelage of world-renowned pianist and composer, Danilo Perez. Her teachers at the Global Jazz Institute, and Berklee included Grammy Award winning artists, Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Peter Eldridge of the New York Voices, and more.
In January of 2018, Farayi was a Berklee Global Jazz Ambassador at the Panama Jazz Festival where she was a performer and instructor of workshops. In May 2018, she was invited to perform in Novosibirsk, Russia with Berklee’s New Spirit Quintet under the direction of the Dean of the Performance Division at Berklee, Ron Savage. In January 2019, Farayi returned to the Panama Jazz Festival as vocalist of Danilo Perez’s Global Messengers, with whom she now tours worldwide. She completed her Post-Master’s Fellowship at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in June of 2019 and, shortly thereafter, was invited to perform with the Ron Savage Trio at the Mindel Summer Jazz Festival in Sao Vicente, Cape Verde.
In addition to her performance ventures, Farayi Malek is a passionate music educator.
Chloe Brisson
Managing Director & Teaching Artist
Jazz & Contemporary Vocalist, Composer
Chloe Brisson is a jazz vocalist, composer, and music educator. Raised by music-loving parents, Chloe fell in love with jazz at the age of 8 and committed to serious study from that point on. As a young musician she was guided by mentors such as Sheila Jordan, Fred Haas, and Matt Wilson. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Voice Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2017, studying primarily with Dominique Eade and John McNeil. While at NEC Chloe won the Downbeat Student Music Award for Best Undergraduate Jazz Vocalist and performed at the Panama Jazz Festival. She then went on to complete a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2018, where she was honored as one of two recipients of the 2019 Fellowship.
During her time at Berklee, Chloe served as the vocalist for Ralph Peterson’s Gen-Next Big Band, performing at various festivals and contributing to two tracks on the album Listen Up!, which won the Rising Star Big Band category in the 68th Annual Downbeat Critics Poll. After finishing her studies, she was selected for the 2019 Arctic Circle Artist Residency in Svalbard, where she spent several weeks creating aboard a tall-ship with 27 other artists.
In addition to performing and composing, Brisson is a passionate music educator who finds great joy in guiding students of all ages and abilities toward their musical goals. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she performs and teaches.
Jan Esbra
Teaching Artist
Improvising Guitarist, Composer & Electronic Musician
Jan Esbra is a Colombian guitarist, composer, and improviser known for “[capturing] emotional warmth within layered textures” (ADSR Collective) while “blurring the lines between a wide range of musical influences” (All About Jazz).
Esbra’s musical world is centered around a playful orientation to improvisational practices; which he combines with elements from ambient, post-rock, shoegaze, and math-rock to create evocative and emotional pieces of music.
Currently based in Brooklyn, Esbra has performed with a variety of artists including Becca Stevens, Don Pardo, Ferro Dormer, Noah Rott, André Sacalxot, and Mike Talento. He has released two electronic albums, the latter in collaboration with Greg Dallas; and released his third record Suspended in a Breath via Phantom Limb in August 2024.
Ryan Sands
Teaching Artist
Jazz & Contemporary Drums
Hailing from Orange, CT/New Haven County, Ryan Sands has worked his way up to become one of the top young drummers in his field. His emphatic playing has landed him performances with Terell Stafford, Geoffrey Keezer, Wayne Escoffrey, Tamir Hendleman, Lucy Yeghiazaryan, and Jason Marsalis. He currently holds the drum chair for Christian Sands and Altus. Ryan has performed in the pit of the Ain’t Misbehavin, under the direction of Jeffrey Page, and worked on music for Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue under the direction of Alphonso Horne.
Ryan’s musical education includes a BA in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory and an MA in Jazz Arts from the Manhattan School of Music. As a professor he has taught for Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT, and iSchool of Music and Art in Shanghai. He currently teaches private drums at Yale University for their Yale Undergrad Jazz Collective and is a professor at Southern Connecticut State University.
Ryan’s recording credits include Christian Sands’ Risin’, Christmas Stories, and his most recent release Embracing Dawn. Altus’ Riot Cycles and Mythos, David Knowles's Blackest Night, and Shihai Li’s Inner Rhythm are also projects Ryan has been instrumental on. As a bandleader Ryan released his debut record, Standing On the Edge of Tomorrow, and recently released his sophomore record, Forest Road: Live at the Side Door, in 2024.
Ryan currently endorses Canopus Drums and Paiste Cymbals.
Aaron Holthus
Teaching Artist
Jazz & Contemporary Bass, Production & Engineering
Aaron Holthus is a professional bassist and producer/engineer with 10+ years of experience. He is the primary producer and co-writer for indie-pop artist Adelide. Holthus has performed and recorded with a diverse roster of artists including the Grammy nominated One O'clock Lab Band. He is at home both on the upright and electric bass, following in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, John Patitucci. When writing, producing, and recording music, Holthus works out of his home studio in Brooklyn, NY, as well as the nearby Figure8 Recording.
Holthus’ first album as a leader was Oak Trio’s Liminality, released in March of 2018, followed in 2021 by Coffee Songs: Vol 1, a solo EP of original jazz compositions by Holthus based on single-origin coffees from around the world. Since 2021 Holthus has focused on collaboration with vocalists and songwriters, producing and recording a slew of single releases from artists like Adelide, Monica Pabelonio and Fernanda Sardaneta, including Witness, Carry Me, and Quedate Aqui.
In addition to playing in a variety of venues in the NYC metro, Holthus has played around the world in festivals like Generations in Jazz (Australia), the Athens Jazz Festival, Chile Jazz por la Paz, the Panama Percussion Festival, FiJazz Costa Rica, and others. Holthus has performed with notable artists such as the One O'clock Lab Band, ERINI, Jas Kayser, Margaux Vranken, Anna Jalkeus, Randal Despommier, Horace Bray, and many others.
Since he started his musical career in Kansas City, Holthus has been consistently recognized as a rising star. He was honored by the faculty at his alma mater the University of North Texas as the single “Outstanding Undergraduate in Jazz Studies,” invited to the Ravinia-Steans jazz composer/performer residency, and awarded full scholarship both for his master’s degree at Berklee College of Music, where he studied with John Patitucci, and his undergraduate at North Texas.
