Roger Humphries - drums

Dwayne Dolphin - bass

Max Leake - piano

Yoko Suzuki - alto sax

Lou Stellute - tenor sax

Roger Humphries, Pittsburgh’s own percussionist extraordinaire, educator, and philanthropist, began his musical career early. By the time he was 3½ years old, his talent was recognized and nurtured by his immediate family. At age 16, he was performing with his band at Carnegie Music Hall.

During his early years, Humphries played with well-respected musicians in the jazz industry, including the legendary Horace Silver Group, whom he toured for three years and recorded three influential albums, including Song For My Father, Cape Verdean Blues, and Jody Grind. He also toured Europe with the Ray Charles Big Band and the dynamic Richard Groove Holmes.

His distinguished career has included performances at the Village Gate and Apollo Theater in New York, Ronnie Scott’s in London, the Jazz Workshop in Boston, Shelly Manne’s Manhole in Los Angeles, and many other venues around the world. He’s also appeared with Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Nancy Wilson, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, and many more.

For well over 28 years, Humphries was an educator at the School of Performing Arts through the Pittsburgh Board of Education Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Program. The first and longest-serving percussion instructor at CAPA, his students have national and international acclaim in jazz and commercial idioms. Additionally, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh and multiple clinics at Slippery Rock University and Mellon Jazz Masters Class.