Guitaist Chris Olson is a jazz educator on the guitar faculty at McNally/Smith College in St. Paul, he also teaches guitar lessons and jazz combos at the MacPhail Center for Music. Chris has performed with Bob Mintzer, Louis Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Ira Sullivan, and Bobby Vinton.
Saxophonist, flautist, composer, and arranger Pete Whitman has performed with Randy Brecker, Jack McDuff, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. Whitman leads his X-Tet, sextet “Departure Point,” and Quintet and works regularly with the Jazz MN Big Band and Laura Caviani Quintet. Whitman also heads the Woodwind and Brass Department at St. Paul’s McNally Smith College. Veteran bassist Terry Burns and drummer David Schmalenberger complete the rhythm section.