Hearing Around Corners

Steve Million is a pianist, composer, and arranger from Chicago, by way of NTSU (Denton, TX), Kansas City and New York. Steve has led countless projects, resulting in recordings as a leader (Million to One, Thanks A Million, Truth Is, Poetic Necessities, Mood Point, Live in Racine, Remembering the Way Home), as well as JazzWords with singer Sarah Marie Young; What I Meant to Say with guitarist Steve Cardenas; and Perfectly Spaced with jazz violinist Mark Feldman. Steve has also performed and recorded locally and abroad with jazz luminaries including Chris Potter, Randy Brecker, Dick Oatts, Seve Cardenas, Michael Moore, Ron Vincent and Mark Feldman.”

Howard Levy, two-time Grammy Award Winner (Pop Music Performance and Instrumental Composition) is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, educator and producer. At the age of 19, he discovered how to play the diatonic harmonica as a fully chromatic instrument by developing techniques on it that had never existed before. This enabled Howard to take the harmonica out of its usual role as a Folk and Blues instrument, and into the worlds of Jazz, Classical, Middle Eastern music, and more. His discovery unlocked infinite possibilities for the harmonica world.

At home in many musical styles, he is a favorite with audiences worldwide and a recording artist sought after by Kenny Loggins, Dolly Parton, Paquito D’Rivera, Styx, Donald Fagen, Paul Simon, and many others. Howard has appeared on hundreds of CD’s and several movie soundtracks, most prominently on A Family Thing with Robert Duval and James Earl Jones.

Howard has released 20 albums under his own name, capturing his versatility and innovation as a musician and composer. His solo album Alone and Together and his trio album Tonight and Tomorrow both received 4-star reviews in DownBeat. Howard also recorded a classical CD featuring his Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica and Orchestra—the first true concerto composed for the instrument. His recent composition, Eastern European Harmonica and Piano Concerto for Single Soloist, is set to premiere in 2026.

As an educator, Howard has taught at leading universities and conservatories, and online for TrueFire/ArtistWorks. His revolutionary technique books “Rhythms of the Breath Vol.1&2” are the first of their kind to apply drum rudiments to harmonica breathing patterns, enlightening players around the world.

Howard tours as a solo artist, with Trio Globo, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and his band, The Howard Levy 4.

Sarah Marie Young is an award winning (Montreux Jazz Competition, Thelonious Monk Competition) singer, songwriter and musician. She has been featured with Postmodern Jukebox, Playing For Change's "Skin Deep" video with Buddy Guy, and has played festivals all over Europe and Brazil. With seven albums out, Sarah also sings with the acoustic group, The Oh Yeahs, and is a songwriter for the Story Jam storytelling series. In 2020, she began producing her own children’s music show, Sarah's Music Room for the National YMCA, and released two children’s EPs in 2021. Her holiday album "The Most Wonderful Time" was released in 2022. Sarah's newest EP, "Drive Across the Country" was released in summer of 2025 coinciding with her Chicago Jazz Festival performance on The Pritzker Pavilion stage. Sarah is also the leader of Chicago's premier event band Rendezvous.

Emma Taylor is a bassist, vocalist, and educator based in Chicago. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Emma studied Jazz Performance under the direction of Larry Gray. Emma has played with renowned musicians such as Brian Lynch, Carl Allen, Derrick Gardner, Gary Smulyan, Tito Carrillo, Troy Roberts, Jim Pugh, Joel Spencer, and Ben Markley. Aside from playing in the US, Emma has also toured in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Mexico—most recently completing a two week-long residency performing and teaching classes in Brazil at the Federal University of Uberlândia.