Sirintip, Yaala Ballin, Carolyn Leonhart & Tammy Scheffer

Teaches at New York Jazz Academy

Sirintip
Stretching across three continents and cultures (Thailand, Sweden and America), Sirintip’s remarkable debut album Tribus — produced by three-time Grammy winner Michael League of Snarky Puppy — is an exciting, eclectic work that touches on pop, R&B, electronic and jazz, while creating a sound uniquely its own.

If you catch her live, Sirintip will be using a guitar pedal board to create different vocal effects. It presents another unique arrangement to her music. “I incorporate electronics so I can be one of the instruments,” she says.

Sirintip holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Master Degree from Manhattan School of Music where she studied under Gretchen Parlato, Theo Bleckmann, Dave Liebman and Jim McNeely. Outside of her own album, Sirintip has recorded with Snarky Puppy’s Bill Laurance, competed as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, performed with Benny Andersson from ABBA at the Guggenheim, opened at the Polar Music Prize to honor jazz great Wayne Shorter, performed for the King of Sweden and Thailand, composed musical interpretations of the Nobel Prize nominations for an exhibition at the Nobel Museum and toured with Snarky Puppy.

As an active clinician and educator, Sirintip has lead masterclasses at colleges such as Berklee College of Music, Wesleyan University and Frostburg State University besides teaching private and band lessons. Her philosophy is to create an environment where students are encouraged to dig into their personal authenticity while making sure that they learn the necessary tools to execute the fundamentals. Sirintip also values the importance of having fun while learning. “Music is meant to be played. No matter how old you get, you cannot ever forget to have fun!”


Yaala Ballin
Vocalist Yaala Ballin has recorded 3 CDs – “Travelin’ Alone” (Smalls Records), “On The Road” (Gallery Records), “Live Session” (Gut String Records) – and was recently featured on “The Music Of Duke Jordan” (Steeplechase Records) with the Chris Byars Septet. In addition to appearances in New York City (Smalls, Smoke, Birdland), she tours frequently in Europe and has been featured at festivals and concert series in the Middle East. Yaala was Vocal Jazz Instructor for the U.S. State Department program “Jazz Futures” (2008 – 2013), a six year cultural diplomacy program administered by the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus, and has conducted workshops for the State Department in Ukraine and Turkey. She has been on faculty at the City College of New York’s Vocal Jazz Department and at the Center For Jazz Studies at Tel Aviv Conservatory (affiliated with the New School For Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City), and regularly conducts master classes in the U.S. and internationally. Yaala studied vocal jazz with Sheila Jordan.


Carolyn Leonhart
The daughter of famed bassist Jay Leonhart, Carolyn Leonhart has a soulful voice that has been hailed by critics throughout the world. One of the winners of the Thelonious Monk Vocal Jazz Competition, she is one of the most accomplished and versatile singers of her generation. Carolyn successfully straddles the ever-changing worlds of jazz and pop, interweaving both into many of her projects. She is known for her fourteen-year tenure as lead back-up vocalist with Steely Dan, as well as her work with Lyn Leon and Wax Poetic. 

She sings jazz classics with authenticity, and navigates through complex music with ease. Critics have written “Leonhart may be the one to give female vocalists a good name again.” — John Frederick Moore, Jazziz Magazine, July 2005 and Jazziz Magazine featured Carolyn on the cover of its “Women In Jazz” issue (2003) presenting even more evidence that Carolyn Leonhart stands out in the crowded field of jazz vocalists. Carolyn’s three solo CDs (including “If Dreams Come True,” a collaboration with tenor saxophonist and husband Wayne Escoffery) have received wide critical acclaim, and she will release her her next collaborative CD with Wayne Escoffery later this year. Carolyn has performed at clubs, theatres and festivals all over the world, and appears regularly at Smoke Jazz Club and The Jazz Standard in NYC. 

Carolyn teaches privately from her home studio in New York City, focusing on aspects ranging from vocal technique and musicianship skills to song study and improvisation. Since 2006, Carolyn has also been teaching part-time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. At Berklee, Carolyn teaches private students as well as a variety of performance labs ranging from jazz to R & B and Background Vocals. She has given clinics and master classes at high schools and colleges throughout the US and Europe. Carolyn has also been a Voice Consultant on MSNBC and has appeared as a panelist at “GRAMMY Career Day” for New York City High School Students.


Tammy Scheffer
Vocalist, bandleader and composer Tammy Scheffer has been performing with her sextet to growing audiences and press recognition in the last few years, bringing her pure, instrument-like voice and unique arrangements to premier stages. Renowned saxophonist Greg Osby hand-picked Scheffer’s album for his own label, Inner Circle Music, for which she will be recording her second album this summer. Aside from her work as a bandleader, Scheffer takes part in a variety of projects, performing and recording with artists such as Dream Theater’s keyboardist Jordan Rudess, Greg Osby, Mark Walker, Sam Barsh, Anat Fort, Russ Spiegel Jazz Orchestra, Javier Arau Jazz Orchestra, Asuka Kakitani Big Band, Vadim Nedselovskey Group and many more. 

Some of the stages she performed on include the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in Washington DC, Chicago Cultural Center, Virginia Arts Festival, the Jazz Standard in NYC, the Regattabar and the Beehive in Boston and other premier stages. Scheffer is a recipient of a scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and a scholarship from the prestigious New England Conservatory, and was a participant in the exclusive Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead workshop.