Charlie Apicella
was voted onto the 84th and 86th DownBeat Readers Poll for Guitar.

He studied composition and improvisation with musical titans Yusef Lateef and Pat Martino and was trained as a historian by Archie Shepp and Dr. Billy Taylor. As a young guitarist he met his idol BB King, who offered him advice and shared some stories.

He has performed concerts and recorded with jazz legends Dave Holland, Sonny Fortune, John Blake, Jr., and Avery Sharpe as well as contemporary masters Joe Magnarelli, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Don Braden, and Jon Herington of Steely Dan.

In 2022 he formed The Griots Speak with bassist William Parker, saxophonist Daniel Carter, and percussionist Juma Sultan who is known for his work with Jimi Hendrix.

Charlie Apicella is the founder and Director of Blues Alive: the living tradition of the blues.

He is an Eastman Guitars Featured Artist, a Guild Guitars Sponsored Artist, and a ZT Amplifiers Official Artist.

"Apicella's playing shines...[he] is aware of the straight-ahead tradition, showcasing his Wes Montgomery influence...Apicella's guitar sound is bright and clean, and easily cuts through the huge sound of the organ." - TIM FISCHER, Just Jazz Guitar Magazine

Daniel Carter
is an American experimental saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet player active mainly in New York City since the early 1970s. One of the legendary masters of creative music. Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania in 1945.

Carter is a prolific performer and has recorded or performed with Sun Ra, Billy Bang, Roger Baird, William Parker, Roy Campbell, Sabir Mateen, Simone Forti, Joan Miller, Thurston Moore, Nayo Takasaki, Earl Freeman, Dewey Johnson, Nami Yamamoto, Matthew Shipp, Wilber Morris, Denis Charles, MMW (Medeski, Martin, & Wood), Vernon Reid, Raphe Malik, Sam Rivers, Sunny Murray, Hamiet Bluiett, Cecil Taylor, David S. Ware, Karl Berger, Don Pate, Gunter Hampel, Alan Silva, Susie Ibarra, D.J. Logic, Margaret Beals, Douglas Elliot, Butch Morris, TEST, Other Dimensions in Music, One World Ensemble, Saturnalia String Trio, Levitation Unit, Wet Paint, The Transcendentalists, and many, many others.