Emanuel Barr

Band Leader / Vocalist

An exciting performance leader who mixes Jazz, R & B, and Motown together with a crowd drawing energy, Emanuel Barr is known for taking your event to the “next level!” He has been a featured artist in Los Angeles, Rome, Las Vegas, New York, and most notibly the historic New Orleans Jazz Festival! Emanuel has also electrified audiences in some of Chicago’s great venues such as the House of Blues, Arie Crown, and Chicago Theaters, as well as Chicago’s Auditorium Theater! In addition to his vocal performance experience, Emanuel also brings over 25 years of music director/ band leader experience to The BeatMix Family and we are thrilled to have him on our team!

Derrick Mitchell

Vocalist

Derrick was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and developed his love for music while singing in the church choir. He studied biology in Iowa at Grinnell College and was a cofounding member of The G-tones, Grinnell’s male a cappella group. Derrick has performed in numerous musical theatre productions including world premier workshops of “Banjo Boy” (Louie Armstrong). In 2006, Derrick moved to Chicago and quickly became involved in the music scene as the lead singer of the Rock & Soul band How Far To Austin. The band recorded 2 albums, opened for major acts like Bela Fleck and Cowboy Mouth, and played some of Chicago’s best venues including The House of Blues, Congress Theatre, and Park West. Recently Derrick performed the National Anthem at both Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs and Toyota Park for the Chicago Fire. With a passion for music and a love for entertaining others, Derrick is honored to be a member of Time Chicago.

Eva Ruwe

Vocalist

Eva is an accomplished songwriter and vocalist. Her achievements include a Stellar Award nomination for Best New Artist and charting in the top 10 on the Billboards for Jazz. With her 5 octave voice, she has mastered every genre of music from Gospel to Opera. Her powerful Soprano range has landed her in the Broadway production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” Eva has toured the country singing and captivating her audiences with an undeniable stage presence.

Andrea Amos

Vocalist

Accomplished singer/songwriter and multi instrumentalist, Andrea Amos has been performing for over 20 years. Originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, Andrea Amos received her Masters degree in Jazz Studies and Commercial Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Since moving to Chicago in 2000, Andrea has performed with numerous artists across the US and Canada. Her versatility allows her to perform in a variety of styles ranging from jazz, to pop, rock, funk, and R&B, as well as developing her own voice as a songwriter. When not performing, Andrea teaches voice, piano and violin around the Chicagoland area.

Matt Nelson

Keyboard

Matt was born in Chicago, IL, but spent most of his childhood growing up in the small town of Antioch, IL. Matt had his first piano lesson at age 5, and, having an early knack for songwriting and picking melodies and rhythms out by ear, he quickly became recognized in the local community for his talents. He began studying percussion at age 11 and jazz piano at age 13, continuing these studies throughout high school. In 2003, Matt moved back to Chicago to attend Columbia College, where he studied jazz piano and arranging.

Matt’s critically acclaimed jazz trio album, “Nostalgiamaniac,” received great praise from critics, fans, and musicians alike, being rated as one of Neil Tesser’s Top Ten Chicago Jazz Discs of 2010 and earning a four star rating from Downbeat Magazine, as well as being considered one of Downbeat’s best CD’s of 2011. Throughout 2011 and 2012, Matt embarked on several major tours with Grammy award-winning hip-hop artist, Lupe Fiasco, including 2 major US tours, a stint in Germany and Switzerland, Australia’s annual music festival, Big Day Out, and several music festivals in Canada. While traveling with Fiasco, Matt has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with the likes of John Legend, Erykah Badu, and Cee Lo Green, among others. He also has made numerous television appearances with on programs such as The Late Show with David Letterman, The Colbert Report, The Ellen Degeneres Show, 2011′s MTV Spring Break, and the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.

Jerijah Sanders

Drums

Drummer/Musician and Chicago native, Jerijah’s love for drumming began when he was 3 years old banging on the pots and pans he grabbed from under the kitchen sink, and he’s been playing drums ever since. He’s started private lessons when he was 7 years old up until college. His roots lie in Gospel music, but he plays a great variety of music including Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical, R&B, Hip Hop, Country and much more. He is currently the drummer for Willow Creek Chicago Church and is studying music and arts at Triton College for his Associates degree and later will pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Production. At the age of 22, he has an amazingly impressive resume and is considered a prodigy on the Chicago music scene.

Chris Parsons

Guitar

Guitarist Chris Parsons is a rock guitar player at heart with a background in Jazz & Blues. Chris spent three years in the Elmhurst College Jazz Band, under the direction of GRAMMY Award Winner Doug Beach. This experience gave him the opportunity to perform with notable jazz musicians such as Simone, Wayne Bergeron, Bill Holman, Tom Scott, Byron Stripling, among others. He also had the opportunity to perform at jazz festivals and clubs across Western Canada, the Czech Republic, and Chile. Chris also recorded three albums with the band, two of which won “Outstanding Awards” by Downbeat Magazine. Since graduation, Chris has performed in a variety of musical scenarios, including the “Heisenberg Uncertainty Players Big Band,” an all original composers big band, the “Big Cluster Big Band,” and his own rock band “T.B.A.” Outside of all of his responsibilities with Time Chicago and BeatMix Music, Chris keeps an active teaching schedule at the North Shore Music Institute. He also works at his Alma Matter, serving as coordinator for the “Elmhurst College Jazz Festival,” the largest collegiate jazz festival in the United States.