John Moulder is a guitarist and composer whose music has evolved from an assimilation of various musical traditions. His most recent release entitled Decade: Memoirs (Origin 2018) features Gwilym Simcock, Tim Garland, Steve Rodby, Paul Wertico and Ernie Adams and features 7 new compositions penned by Moulder that were inspired by meaningful events and people in Moulder’s life. Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit (Origin 2016) features Donny McCaslin, Marquis Hill, Paul Wertico and many other long- time musical companions. Inspired by soulful individuals, it has been described as a contemporary musical narrative. Earthborn Tales was a featured performance for the 2014 Made in Chicago concert series in Millennium Park. John’s compositions and playing are featured on his CDs entitled Awakening (Mo-Tonal Records 1993), Through the Open Door (Igmod/Mo-Tonal Records 1997), Spirit Talk (NAIM 2003), and Trinity (Origin 2006) and Bifrost (Origin 2009) both named one of the ten best jazz CDs of 2006 and 2009 respectively by the Chicago Tribune. On The Eleventh Hour: Live at the Green Mill (Origin 2012), John collaborates with his long time musical companions, Paul Wertico, Larry Gray, Jim Trompeter and Geof Bradfield.
John has been a member of the Paul Wertico Trio for fifteen years. Recordings with Paul include Live in Warsaw (Igmod Records 1998), Don’t Be Scared Anymore (Premonition Records 2000), Stereonucleosis (A440 2004) and The Other Side (NAIM 2006) and is on Impressions of a City (Chicago Sessions 2009) by Paul Wertico’s Mid East and Mid West Alliance.
John is also a member of the Larry Gray Trio and is featured on his recordings on the Chicago Sessions label entitled 1,2,3 and Three Equals One. In addition he has played on recordings by vocalist Jackie Allen such as The Men in My Life (Blue Note 2003), Love is Blue (Blue Note 2004), Tangled (Blue Note 2006), as well as her most recent release with orchestra entitled Starry Night.
Televised feature stories on John and his work have aired on Artbeat (WTTW) and Chicago Tonight (WTTW).He has played nationally and internationally at numerous festivals, clubs and concert halls and has performed with artists such as Eddie Harris, Bob Mintzer, Paul McCandless, Lyle Mays, Paul Wertico, Gary Burton, Niels Orsted Pederson, Arild Anderson, Bendik Hofseth, Kurt Elling and Terry Callier.
John received his Masters degree in music from Northwestern University. As an educator, he is currently a faculty member at Northwestern University, Benedictine University and the College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He has lectured, taught master classes and conducted clinics at universities, high schools, music institutes and other settings.

When it comes to jazz musicians improving with age, the pianist Richie Beirach is a perfect example. With a new recording celebrating his 70th birthday, the pianist-composer demonstrates he’s still at the top of his game alongside his congenial partner of two decades, the Stuttgart-born, New York based violinist Gregor Huebner. Another birthday boy, Huebner is also celebrating a milestone, reaching half a century on May 23rd, the exact same day as Beirach. As a tribute, the leading Munich-based jazz label ACT release a CD featuring highlights recorded in 2012 from their decade long annual week’s ‘live’ residence at the illustrious Birdland in New York, in which they are joined by the high calibre lineup of bassist George Mraz, trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Billy Hart. Big birthdays are though not the only thing the esteemed pair have in common. Both musicians studied independently of each other with the same classical composition teacher, Ludmilla Uhlela at Manhattan School of Music, and both have an eastern European background. Huebner reflects on their enduring creative partnership over 21 years: “Richie always says we still play in the same way today like we played in the first minute in 1996 in his little apartment on Spring Street in NYC and I feel the same way, even though we have incredibly developed our music together. The spirit and the bond between us was already there in the first minute.” It’s through the development of their own uniquely imaginative version of ‘third stream’, the absorption of elements of the European ‘classical’ music tradition into New York’s postbop idioms that they’ve found so much common ground. In the late 1990’s they recorded together for ACT in the late 1990s on titles Round About Bartok,…Monteverdi,…Mompou in trio with George Mraz. A couple of the tracks from these albums are revisited on the new ‘live’ release. ‘Bartok Bagatelle #4’ at first reflects the elegant classicism of Beirach’s mesmerizing solo piano recordings then later his restless, harmonically adventurous artistry that has glimpses of the early influence of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans among other piano modernist giants. As does his solo on ‘Bach (Siciliana)’ with Huebner’s violin adding a bewitching yearning, jazz-inflected mediterranean quality.
I think the music of certain composers is more approachable for improvisation then others,” observes Huebner. “For example Bach was a great improviser and you hear that in his music. In some of the romantic composers you find similar harmonic structures which were used later in jazz and with Bartok and other composers from the 20th century the rhythmic part is very interesting. The mix of the music on the CD is very typical for us, you find classical pieces, our own compositions, a typical jazz standard and a composition by John Coltrane [‘Transition’]. Each piece brings something totally new but everything is connected through improvisation.” Of his originals, one of Beirach’s most popular, a classical-influenced, hauntingly melancholic version of ‘Elm’ is a standout piece. Beirach’s infectious latin vamp on the standard ‘You Don’t Know What Love is’ is associated with Chet Baker and a reminder of Beirach’s tenure in his band early on in his career. Approaching the ripe old age of 70, it’s a moment to consider Richie Beirach’s high level achievements as one of America’s greatest living modernist jazz piano stylists. Originally a sideman of both Stan Getz and the aforementioned Baker, Beirach among others has enjoyed a memorably intimate association with the saxophonist Dave Liebman since the 1970s, in bands (Quest, Lookout Farm) that included the legendary Billy Hart whose explosive presence at times on the new CD eclipses entirely his 76 years on the planet. “For Richie,” Huebner explains, “these are his oldest friends, these are the people he grew up with and these are the people he developed his music together” In jazz that development doesn’t come to an end. It’s testament to the exploratory ‘young at heart’ spirit of the grand jazz masters on Live at Birdland New York that not for a second does anyone rest on their considerable laurels.

Hailed in the press as "One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today", Paul Wertico was born January 5, 1953 in Chicago. He gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During his tenure with Metheny, Wertico played on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on numerous television shows, and frequently toured around the world. He also won seven Grammy Awards (for "Best Jazz Fusion Performance," "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance," and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance"), magazine polls, and received several gold records.

In recent years, Wertico has continued to tour and perform around the world, as well as around the Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the creation of his own band (the Paul Wertico Trio) and collaborations with jazz notables such as Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, and Jeff Berlin. These collaborations enabled Wertico to be featured on group recordings in a variety of musical genres, and also gave him an opportunity to produce records. In 2009, Wertico's trio joined forces with Marbin, which consisted of Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch (saxophone) and Dani Rabin (guitar). The group performed as Paul Wertico's Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, and recorded an album for the Chicago Sessions label that received accolades from publications such as the Chicago Tribune, DRUM!, and Modern Drummer. Wertico's current group is Wertico Cain & Gray, featuring multi-instrumentalists David Cain and Larry Gray. A 2013 recording by Wertico Cain & Gray, entitled Sound Portraits, won "Best Live Performance Album" in the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards (2014).

When not touring, Wertico divides his career doing session work, producing, composing, and leading his own groups, as well as teaching. Among the musicians with whom he has played are Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Sam Rivers, Bob Mintzer, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jay McShann, Herbie Mann, Randy Brecker, Jerry Goodman, Ramsey Lewis, David Bowie, Charlie Haden, George Coleman, Diane Schuur, Nelson Riddle, Sonny Fortune, Ken Nordine, Tierney Sutton, and many others. Wertico is a member of the Larry Coryell Power Trio. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the platinum-record-winning Polish progressive rock band, SBB. He is also the inventor of TUBZ, made by Pro-Mark (who also makes the “Paul Wertico Signature Drum Stick”), as well as a new independently manufactured signature product called “Paul Wertico’s Acousticx”.