Diane Monroe has soloed with the philadelphia Orchestra, played with the Uptown String quartet, the Max Roach Quartet, shared the stage with Yo Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Itzhak Perlman, appeared in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall , on the Cosby Show, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sunday Morning on CBS and in the film, Music of the Heart. Although her instincts are classical, and her classical performances are profound and proficient, she is an advocate of new music and has premiered numerous works by living composers. She was the first violinist of the celebrated Uptown String Quartet which showcased her original compositions and improvisations and made her presence felt in the jazz and blues world. She can strum the violin, guitar-like, perform inside-out blues, display an incredible idiomatic range and exhibit amazing technical versatility. She tours with the String Tour of New York and when at home in Philadelphia, performs the Amazing Violin and its Global Repertoire program for advanced string players, high school concerts and workshops.

“Monroe is simply a superlative musician, capable of producing violin passages with crystal clarity or slurring lines for soulful effect, always proving beyond a doubt, that you can swing with the strings if the talent and inclination are there” Austin (TX) American-Statesman

Pianist/composer Jim Ridl is a “fresh individual voice in jazz piano, sure to make among the first indelible marks in the jazz millennium.” (Piano & Keyboard Magazine).

Having performed and recorded on the national and international jazz scene with many jazz artists, including Pat Martino, Dave Liebman and Denis DiBlasio, pianist Jim Ridl is known as a creative and innovative pianist, arranger and compose. He has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine and has been a featured artist in Piano & Keyboard Magazine.

A resident of New Jersey, Jim has released four recordings under his own name. His latest CD, “Jim Ridl’s Door In a Field” (on the Dreambox Media label), combines the simplicity of the American Plains (where he was raised) with the complexities of New York and the jazz world.