bioS  

 Sarah Jane Cion/piano
Sarah jane cion has performed with Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Anita O’Day, Della Griffin, Ralph Lalama, Alan Harris, Carmen Leggio, Dr. Lyn Christie, Bucky Pizzarelli, Don Braden and many other jazz greats. 

She has performed at birdland with the Lew Anderson Big Band and Has accompanied bestselling author/saxophonist James McBride. 

Sarah won 1st Place in the  17th Annual Great American Jazz Piano Competition, judged by Horace Silver, Kenny Barron, Ellis Marsalis, Benny Green and Bill Charlap.  

She performed in Japan at the Fukuoka Blue Note and appeared on the Nationally syndicated NPR radio show “Piano Jazz“ with Marian McPartland. 

her songs “Cat in the Hat” and “Golden Song” were featured  in Warner Bros. "The Mule" and Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Golden Song in "Thor: The Dark World. " 

Her  CD "Moon Song",  released on the Naxos Jazz label, was  4th best selling Modern Jazz album in Japan and reached Number 15 on the U.S. Gavin Reports. 

Sarah  appears often in NYC and area jazz venues.


jennifer vincent/bass

Jennifer Vincent has played, toured and recorded with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, KD Lang, Fantasia, Vanessa Williams, Patti Labelle and the Grammy-nominated, all-female Latin jazz orchestra Cocomama. 

She was bassist in Wynton Marsalis’ "Jazz At Lincoln Center All-Stars" Which was featured in the hit broadway musical revue “After Midnight”.  

Jennifer trained under jazz legends Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Andy Gonzales and in cuba with Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez of Buena Vista Social Club. 

for the past two decades She has been an active force on the jazz and Latin scenes in NYC.



Mary Ann McSweeney/bass


Mary ann McSweeney has accompanied Dizzy Gillespie, Joanne Brackeen, Lee Konitz, Gil Goldstein, Bucky Pizzarelli and has played for conductors Leonard Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin and John Williams. 


She has performed at the White House with the Eli Yamin Quintet and at the Kennedy Center with the Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra. She was musical director/arranger for three shows at Birdland and has played more than 45 Broadway shows.   


Big Band credits include "Maiden Voyage", "Diva",  her own quintet at the Seixal Jazz Festival in Portugal and the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center. 


Her orchestrations can be heard on Chita Rivera’s CD  “Now I Swing” and her version of “Avenue Q Swings” is available on iTunes. 



Other Notable credits: Renee Rosnes, Vic Juris, Ken Peplowski, Dennis Mackrel, Lewis Nash, Larry Goldings And a european tour with David Krakauer’s "Klezmer Madness" and five-time Tony award winning vocalist Audra McDonald. 


Mary Ann's original music can be heard on the documentary  Film “From Allegiance to Broadway. "


Kelly Green/piano/voice

Kelly Green  has appeared at The Kennedy Center. the Blue Note, the DC Jazz Festival the Bahrain International Jazz Festival, And has sold out Dizzy’s Club, Birdland Theater and Timucua Arts Center. 


international tours include performances in Slovenia, Czechia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and Greece She has also given many appearances throughout the U.S. 


In 2025 Kelly and her band were awarded the South Arts/Jazz Roads Touring Grant, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable FoundatioN. 

She has performed and recorded with  Rich Perry, Steve Wilson, Scott Robinson, Christian McBride, George Coleman and Billy Hart, with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.



Jenny Hill/tenor Sax/flute

Jenny Hill has performed at the Blue Note in NYC, the CIVEBRA music conference in  Brazil, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn’s Ethical Cultural Society, the Metrotech concert series, Urban League of Cincinnati Gala, Club Infinu, Clube do Choro, Gates Pub in Brasilia, and many New York jazz venues.

A Berklee graduate, Jenny has been the recipient of multiple honors, including a 2023 "Performance Plus" grant from Chamber Music America, a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Studies grant with Joe Lovano, and the 2023 Arts Alive grant from Westchester Arts Council. 

Jenny was winner of the JAZZIZ Woodwinds On Fire competition and the Lennie Johnson Outstanding Musician scholarship from Berklee College. 

Her band, Liquid horn, has released 5 Cds: "Floating," "Groove Garden," "The Chill Factor," "Planet Sax" and "Liquid Horn. "


Lois Hicks-Wozniak/alto,tenor,baritone Saxes/flute

Lois Hicks-Wozniak Has been broadcast on New York Public Radio and has shared the stage with diverse acts from Manhattan Transfer to Milton Berle. 

She made her new York Recital Debut at Carnegie Hall After winning the Special Presentation Winners Recital Series sponsored by Artists International Presentations.  

Lois has commissioned many new works for saxophone. She was soloist and principal saxophonist with the New Jersey Wind Symphony from 2005-2018.  

She has performed and recorded with the Albany Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Greater Newburgh Symphony, Lawton Philharmonic, the Pone New Music Ensemble and the Dallas Wind Symphony, including their recording "Fiesta!" 

Lois served active duty for eight years in the U.S. Army as saxophonist with the United States Military Academy Band and the West Point Saxophone Quartet. She was featured soloist at the World Saxophone Congress in Montreal with the West Point Concert Band. 

Lois now applies her formidable technique to playing jazz.  She has performs frequently with the Jazzwomen and other groups in the tri state area. 

She also leads own group, "Hot Wrk ensemble." 




janice Friedman/piano

Janice Friedman has been performing, accompanying  and teaching since her early teens. Her Credits include the Buddy Rich Big Band, slide Hampton, Billy Higgins, Ray Drummond and countless others.

She graduated with honors in jazz studies from Indiana University and upon returning to the east coast toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra. 

Janice is an established New York city jazz pianist who has performed in many famed  jazz clubs and establishments. She keeps a non-stop busy schedule throughout the year.

 

  
Ellie Lee/piano 
Ellie Lee grew up in South Korea and is now based in New York and New Jersey.  
After obtaining a degree in classical piano from from Sookmyung University she went on to study at Berklee College of Music. She received a master's degree from William Paterson University and currently teaches jazz piano and theory as adjunct professor at Felician University. 
Ellie is a bold and fiery jazz artist who performs and composes in a variety of styles including Jazz, Classical, Pop, and Gospel. 

Bev Poyerd/piano      
Bev Poyerd appears as a soloist and accompanist in both the jazz and classical genres. 
she began her music training at age five, studying Piano, performance and theory at the Henry Street Settlement School and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in New York City.  
Bev graduated Summa Cum Laude from SUNY New Paltz with a degree in Piano Performance and is a member of the MTNA, NGPT and Suzuki Association of the Americas.
She has performed many times with the jazzwomen, the beacon jazz lab and as soloist at various venues in the hudson valley.


Kim Peralta/drums
Kim Peralta is founder of the jazzwomen and a lifelong musician/bandleader, now fully devoted to jazz drums. 
Kim studied in cuba with drummeR alejandro aguiar rodriguez aT havana music school From 2018 - 2021. 
In 2021 she joined the SUNY Jazz Ensemble under music Director/pianist/composer chris Parker. 
She left the ensemble in 2024 to work on her own projects - the jazzwomen and the blue hearts jazz group.