Ruby Laks (@rubylaks) is a multi-talented jazz singer and drummer carving out a distinct artistic path. Originally from Los Angeles, she attended LACHSA and later studied at Oberlin Conservatory under the mentorship of Billy Hart and La Tanya Hall. Her performance experience ranges from intimate jazz clubs to renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Neuehouse Hollywood, and the Monterey Jazz Festival with the Women in Jazz Band. She has performed with artists such as Edmar Colon, Chico Pinheiro, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Gerald Cannon. Now based in New York City, she has cultivated a large online community of audiences and collaborators and is an endorsed artist with Ludwig Drums. Known for her vocal style and ability to accompany herself on drums, her performances draw deeply from the musical theatre repertoire that first sparked her passion for music.

Jacob Smith (@stomp.jw) is a nationally recognized jazz drummer from Massachusetts. A graduate of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, he studied under Steve Rucker, John Yarling, and Chuck Bergeron. He is a two-time YoungArts winner and has performed at the Vail Jazz Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. He has received honors from Jazz at Lincoln Center, UMass Jazz, and Berklee College of Music Now based in New York City, and deeply influenced by the hard bop tradition of Art Blakey, he leads his own groups and recently toured with Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy. He has also performed with Jazzmeia Horn, Curtis Lundy, William Hill III, and Cameron Campbell.

Nathaniel Coben (@neightc) is a Brooklyn-based bassist and bandleader. A graduate of Oberlin College where he worked with Gerald Cannon, he has toured with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, and performed with artist such as Chico Pinheiro, Weedie Braimah, Tyreek McDole, and Harlem Farr. He produces and leads his own projects, drawing inspiration from neo-soul, R&B, gospel, and contemporary jazz, and is an accomplished composer He is a committed community educator, working with the Brooklyn nonprofit RiseBoro Community Partnership to teach accessible instrumental music, choir, and production classes for young students. Coben frequently hosts inclusive, cross-genre jam sessions that Artist Link bring together musicians across generations and scenes.

Maurice Restrepo is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the CUNY Graduate Center, whose research interests include jazz studies, gender and sexuality studies, critical studies in men and masculinities, and Afro-diasporic musical traditions from the Americas and the circum-Caribbean. A Graduate Fellow at the H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music, his work has received support from the Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean among others. Before pursuing graduate studies, Maurice worked in development at prominent non-profit music organizations in New York City, including Jazz at Lincoln Center. He will present his recent paper, “Jam Sessions, Vibing, and Hegemonic Masculinity in the New York City Jazz Scene” and lead this festival’s panel discussion on jam sessions with several musicians and scholars including Dr. John Petrucelli.