First international jazz festival to bring music feast to audiences in Nha Trang!

Yoron Israel- Drums

Yoron Israel One of the most gifted and sought out musicians of his generation, Yoron Israel has performed with a long list of major jazz artists such as Sonny Rollins, Ahmad Jamal, Art Farmer, Roy Hargrove, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, and Abbey Lincoln among countless others. Yoron’s drumming, along with his compositional and arranging talents, is spotlighted on his most recent release New Dreams. He currently serves as chair and professor of percussion at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA, and pastor of music and arts at Destiny Life Center International Church in Randolph, Massachusetts. He is pursuing a doctorate degree from Liberty University. Yoron is the author of the acclaimed educational DVD Creative Jazz Improvisation for Drum Set, published by Hal Leonard and Berklee Press.

Alex Minasian- Piano

With two degrees from NYU, Alex Minasian has, at a remarkably young age, established himself as a versatile pianist, educator, and impresario in many different musical genres. . As a pianist, Alex has studied with some of the greatest pianists in jazz history, including Hank Jones, Don Friedman, and James Williams, and has performed in most of the country’s most famous jazz rooms, such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Cafe Carlyle, Yoshi’s, Bohemian Caverns Iridium, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard, and the Apollo Theater.  He has shared the stage with such legends as James Ingram, Arturo Sandoval, QUESTLOVE, Sam Moore, Marylin McCoo, Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, and Clark Terry, and with such jazz greats as Brian Lynch, Billy Pierce, Kenny Washington, Annie Ross, Sheila Jordan, Gary Bartz, and Hugh Masekela. Alex was the last pianist for the late iconic singer and NEA Jazz Master Little Jimmy Scott, and is the pianist and musical director for the renowned jazz singer Mark Murphy, and performs as a pianist and musical director for singer, actor, songwriter, and musical historian Billy Vera and his 18-piece big band. Currently, Alex is the pianist for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Little Anthony and the Imperials..Alex has also headlined such important jazz celebrations as the Rochester Jazz Festival appearing as co-leader of a trio with Canadian bassist Brandi Disterheft..Alex counts among his influences Hank Jones, with whom he enjoyed a special friendship in his later years. To have had this access, and the freedom to ask him musical questions, was invaluable and inspiring In 2013, Minasian, Disterheft, and veteran drummer Steve Williams (Shirley Horn), formed the Hanky Panky Trio to honor Hank Jones. The Hanky Panky trio is featured in Season 2 of the hit Netflix show, ‘Orange Is The New Black’..They have performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival with Sheila Jordan, and as a trio at the Istanbul Jazz Festival. Alex has been featured in Yerevan Magazine, a Los Angeles–based Armenian publication promoting Armenian news and culture.

Bill Pierce- Saxophone

Bill Pierce is a saxophonist and educator. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1972. Over the years, Bill has performed and recorded with numerous jazz legends. He appeared with artists such as The Four Tops and toured with Stevie Wonder’s band. In 1980, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, serving as musical director, and regularly performed with the Freddie Hubbard Quintet. In 1985, Bill joined the Tony Williams Quintet and made five recordings with the group. Since 1999, Bill has been a member of the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, which has released six recordings. For more than 35 years, he has divided his time between academia, performing, and recording under his own name for the Sunnyside label. Bill has released recordings of his own group and has been featured at many major American, Japanese, and European jazz festivals.

Bill was the chairman of the woodwind department at Berklee College of Music. He retired from that position in 2018.

Vince Dupont- Bass

New Hampshire native Vincent Dupont is a young bassist who has just recently made his way onto the New York jazz scene through his enrollment in the Jazz Studies program at William Paterson University. He first began playing electric bass in his early teenage years and picked up the upright bass in high school when he first was exposed to jazz. At age nineteen, he became the full-time bassist for Winard Harper’s band, Jeli Posse. He took part in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of its class of 2016, as well the Ravinia Steans Music Institute in Chicago the same year. Since graduating in 2017, he is rapidly becoming a first-call bassist, performing with people like Russell Malone, Lew Tabackin, Harold Mabern, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and many more. He has had the opportunity to perform in clubs like Washington D.C.’s Blues Alley, Chicago’s Jazz Showcase, and Boston’s Scullers and has played festivals such as the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville, Maryland, and the Staten Island Jazz Festival.