An evening of classic Mahavishnu, Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer, and...Frank Zappa! ‍

"What is primary to me is that they are all great musicians. Everyone has to be a good improviser. You have to be able to take them to another place. These guys get there." - Jan Hammer

‍‍Featuring:

GREGG BENDIAN: Drums‍

‍Drummer/composer/producer GREGG BENDIAN founded THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT in 2001, making it the first jazz-rock special repertory ensembles, and the only one to receive the endorsement of guitar wizard Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and all original Mahavishnu members. During Gregg's wide-ranging career he has toured internationally and recorded with Todd Rundgren, Jan Hammer, Keneally-Bendian-Lunn, The Musical Box, John Zorn, Derek Bailey, Nels Cline, Cecil Taylor, Pat Metheny, Ornette Coleman, and Zoot Horn Rollo. Gregg teaches drumming, production, and conceptual composition. In addition to being the producer of The Bottom Line Archive for Grammy-winning Omnivore Recordings, is the chief interviewer at the Yale Oral History of American Music in New Haven CT.‍

MAJID KHALIQ: Violin

Described as having “a unique blend of improvisation, groove, and technical sophistication” by legendary musician Wynton Marsalis, Majid is cut from a different cloth. A violinist, composer, and a bandleader, Majid Khaliq graduated from the Juilliard School with a B.M. and an M.M. in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Mr. Khaliq has shared the stage with such artists as Wynton Marsalis, Mr. Cheeks, Antonio Hart, Craig G, John Blake Jr., Regina Carter, Marcus Miller, Itzhak Perlman, Keith David, Angela Basset, Meryl Streep, Dianne Reeves, Russell Malone, Isaac Stern and Lenny White.
In 2008, Mr. Khaliq was the recipient of the prestigious, Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship Award for composition. In 2011 he released, The Basilisk, his successful debut Jazz recording and has since released two mixtape albums with his hip-hop band Ma*Jid, entitled Sfumato Symphony Volume 1 & 2. Majid has been on Downbeat Magazine’s Rising Violinist list for the since 2015. Majid’s music is an eclectic blend of styles and influences which pull from European classical, jazz & hip-hop.

‍NEIL ALEXANDER: Keys‍

‍Master pianist, synthesist, keyboardist and composer Neil “Nail” Alexander remains passionately involved in performance and production across multiple genres - including jazz, rock, funk, blues, electronica, ambient and contemporary classical. In a career spanning more than 4 decades Neil  has made his mark on the regional and international music scenes. In addition to his long running original music project Neil Alexander & NAIL, he has worked with numerous notable artists and toured worldwide with Pink Floyd Tribute “The​ Machine“, where he was a driving force in the group’s sound and subsequent success.eclectic creative palette.

JONGYOON LEE: Guitar

Jongyoon Lee began playing guitar in middle school and quickly developed a passion for music that led to a career as a professional guitarist. After high school, he joined the military as an Army musician and is currently serving with the prestigious West Point Band and for the last two years, as a member of The Mahavishnu Project. Throughout his military service, Jongyoon has also spent time in South Korea, where he recorded and performed with various groups and worked as a studio session guitarist. His notable performances include appearances at the Lincoln Center in New York City and the Seoul Arts Center in South Korea.

BRIAN MOONEY: Bass‍

‍Bassist, composer, solo artist, Mooney, is also the bandleader and founder of Jazz-Rock fusion group Piktor's Metamorphosis. He performs regularly with Neil Alexander and NAIL, Rob Paparozzi, Glenn Alexander's Jan Hammer/Stretch, Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie, Ritchie "LaBamba" Rosenberg and Mark Pender (Conan O'Brien).