Hannah Mayer & Friends + Robert Gilliam on sax

Hannah Mayer & Friends - April 2024

Robert Gilliam is a Dallas-born saxophonist and composer. He spent his formative years as a classical cellist and picked up jazz saxophone at age 15. Since 15, he has been primarily a saxophone player and music producer, with a passion for the progression of Black American Music. He has toured with both Bobby Watson and Bobby Broom and performed with artists such as Sean Jones, Tim Green, Brandon Woody, Fredrick Sanders, Frank Lacy, Ameen Saleem, Quincy Phillips, Kris Funn, Marshall Gilkes, and Christian McBride.

Robert has been awarded the Stevie Ray Vaughan Scholarship, 1st place in the Ribelin Scale and Etude Competition, participated in the 2017 and 2018 Thelonious Monk Jazz Ambassadors, the Richard Franko Goldman Prize In Performance, performed at the Thelonious Monk Institute’s 2018 Piano Competition, received a full scholarship to the Stockton Helbing Jazz Institute and received 1st place in the combo division of the Next Gen Jazz Festival. 

Robert operates with the idea that all have the right to absorb art and be able to use it as a method of growth and healing. Robert is always experimenting, learning, drawing from different styles of music and experiences for inspiration, and using any trials for the betterment of himself and his art. Utilizing this mindset, Robert hopes to inspire the next line of young artists. 

Hannah Mayer, piano
Jett Lim, trombone
Charlie Reichert Powell, guitar
Aidan B. Taylor, bass
Koleby Royston, drums

Guest Saxophonist Robert Gilliam

Hannah Mayer is a 21-year-old pianist and composer from the San Francisco Bay Area. Hannah has been a member of programs including Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, NYO Jazz and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, and was a YoungArts winner in jazz piano and jazz composition. Hannah has performed alongside Chucho Valdes, Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Etienne Charles, Melissa Aldana, Tim Green, and Sharel Cassity, among others. In 2018, she was the composer and music director for a 30-minute musical adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day,” and loves incorporating music from the Broadway repertoire into an improvisational context. Hannah has also worked as an accompanist for various ballet schools and companies.

Jett Lim is a trombonist from the San Francisco Bay Area. During high school, he was a part of the SFJAZZ high school all-stars and toured Europe and Asia with NYO Jazz, led by Sean Jones. Jett finds interest in many genres of music from jazz, hip hop, to J-pop, which led him to work with other electronic producers and the Soulful Symphony led by Darin Atwater.
 
Charlie Reichert Powell is a Baltimore-based guitarist, producer, and composer. He is embedded in the jazz and RnB scenes, explores free improvisation in various settings, and works regularly as a freelance session musician. As a producer, he works in collaboration with a wide variety of musicians, pivoting between pop, rap, alternative, J-pop, and experimental work on top of freelance commercial work. He has written extensively for his own group and small-group jazz settings, acousmatic/electroacoustic works, and big band charts.
 
Aidan Taylor is a 20-year-old musician from West Palm Beach, Florida. Raised in a musical family, he started playing the violin at age 3 but discovered his passion for the bass at age 10. He began playing under the mentorship of prestigious pianist Stephen Scott. He is a junior at the Peabody Conservatory, where he is studying under renowned bassist Kris Funn. Aidan is a five-time Downbeat Magazine Student Music Award winner, a 2020 and 2021 YoungArts Winner for Jazz Bass, and a Jazz Band of America alumnus. Aidan has had the opportunity to share the bandstand with renowned musicians such as Sean Jones, Walter Smith, Lee Pearson, Tim Green, Warren Wolf, among others. Aidan is also passionate about teaching.

Koleby Royston is a 21-year-old drummer from Denver. Coming from a family of musicians, Royston found his love for drumming at age 15 when he attended the Jazz House Kids Summer Workshop in Montclair, New Jersey. He has worked alongside notable musicians Sean Jones, Allison Miller, Mark Whitfield Jr., Tia Fuller, Mimi Jones, Josh Evans, Julius Tolentino, and others. Royston hopes to continue improving his craft as a Black American musician.

In-person seats: $20/ $10 full-time students with valid ID
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week.
Advance sales end 1 hr before showtime; tickets can be purchased at the door if any remain.
 
Streaming Cost is $15
The link will be revealed to live stream participants 15 minutes before the show
and will remain active for one week