David Caffey

David Caffey is an internationally recognized composer, arranger, conductor, and educator. Caffey's compositions and arrangements have been performed in concerts and festivals around the world and throughout the United States. His compositions and arrangements are available in print from iJazzMusic.com, davidcaffeymusic.com and UNC Jazz Press.

Caffey has appeared as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor at music festivals, conferences, universities and schools throughout the United States, in Canada, and in Europe. He was inducted into the California Jazz Education Hall of Fame in 2011. He is a Founding Member of the ISJAC Board of Directors and a Founding Member of Jazz Education Network (JEN).

David Caffey is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Northern Colorado, where he served as Director of the School of Music from 2005 to 2013. He currently resides in Southern California, in the Los Angeles area.

Jerome Jennings

Jerome Jennings is a drummer, bandleader, sideman, and Emmy Award winning composer.  In the spring of 2007 Jerome earned a MM from the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan NY. He was the Resident Director of The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra from fall 2017 to 2021. 

Jerome is a jazz scholar. Since 2022, he has been a professor of graduate jazz history at Montclair State University. He is a lecturer, professor of jazz drums at Princeton University. Jerome has taught, conducted clinics, designed courses nationally and internationally. Jerome has been an artist-in-residence and has lectured at dozens of Universities and Academic institutions, nationally and internationally, including UNC Greensboro, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University, John Hopkins Peabody Institute, Rutgers University, The Juilliard School, Jazz Music Institute JMI (Brisbane, AU), Sydney Conservatory of Music, Xavier College (Melbourne, AU), The Ohio State University, Aspen Colorado, Brigham Young University, University Of GhanaLegon School Of Performing Arts, Rockport Jazz Workshop, and the Universidad Sergio Arboleda (Bogota Colombia) and The National Taiwan University of The Arts. 

Ollie Liddell

Dr. Liddell received his Bachelor of Science degree from Jackson State University and his Master of Music Degree and his PhD in Music Education from the University of Mississippi.

After stints teaching in Mississippi and at East High School in Memphis, TN, Dr. Liddell took over the responsibilities of Director of Bands at Memphis Central High School. At Central, Dr. Liddell has transformed the band program including recognitions such as being featured on the 2018 fall season of the Lifetime Network series “Bring It;” being a four-time finalist at the Savannah Swing Central Jazz National High School Jazz Band Competition-winning 1st place and the Faircloth Award in 2019; winning the designation of Grand National Champion at the 2017 and 2018 National High Stepping Show Band Competition; winning the designation of Grand National Champion at the 2024 and 2025 US BANDS/STATS Competition; selected as performer for the Tennessee Music Educators Conference in 2022, named a finalist for the 2020, 2021, and 2025 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition in New York, NY—winning first place in 2025.

Francisco Torres

Francisco Torres is a well-respected trombonist, bass trombonist, educator, composer and arranger who hails from Hermosillo, Sonora.  By accident, he discovered jazz trombone while watching the jazz band practice before school. He was hooked.

After graduating from high school, he went on to study with Dr. Tony Mazzaferro and Dr. Greg Woll at Fullerton College, where he played in the jazz band, symphonic band and the symphony orchestra. 

Francisco has emerged as a first-class arranger and composer, particularly in the field of Latin jazz. He has served as musical director, producer and arranger for the Grammy-winning percussionist Poncho Sanchez for 12 years. He is also a member of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, John Beasley’s Monkestra, Bill Cunliffe’s Bachannalia, and has performed or recorded with Arturo Sandoval, Bill Holman, Manhattan Transfer, Joey Defrancesco, Natalie Cole, Doc Severinsen, Sammy Nestico, and Terence Blanchard, as well as Santana, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Mathis, Robbie Williams, and many others. For eight seasons he was first-call sub with the Dancing With the Stars Orchestra, and has appeared with different artists on the Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, The Late Late Show, and Jimmy Kimmel.