Ask Me About Jazz!

An interactive concert for young people investigating the roots, history, and distinctive sounds of Jazz. Featuring some of the area’s most vibrant players - Richie Barshay (drums), Zaccai Curtis (piano), Felipe Salles (saxophone) and Wes Brown (bass) on stage at the Iron Horse.

From his multi-percussion work with Herbie Hancock in the 2000s, to tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, Richie Barshay has been dubbed "a major rhythm voice on the rise" by Downbeat magazine, and “a major innovator who also knows how to have fun” by The Guardian (UK). He’s also performed with Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Pete Seeger, among many others, and the Tony Award winning musical The Band’s Visit on Broadway. Since 2004 he’s traveled across 5 continents teaching and performing as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department, and can be heard on over 90 recordings including two self-produced albums: Sanctuary featuring Chick Corea (2014), and Homework featuring Herbie Hancock (2004). Based in Northampton, Massachusetts and New York City, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher helping performing artists and others regain more body-mind coordination and ease of movement.

This Brazilian saxophonist, composer, and bandleader has been weaving musical stories across borders since arriving in the U.S. in 1995. He’s shared stages and studios with jazz legends like Randy Brecker, Paquito D’Rivera, David Liebman to name a few, but it’s his role as a musical storyteller that truly sets him apart.

A 2018 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, Salles creates large-ensemble works that explore the immigrant experience with both sophistication and heart. His albums The New Immigrant Experience and Home is Here have featured guest artists who, like Salles himself, have found new homes through music. His compositions have been performed by world-class ensembles including The Metropole Orchestra and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra.

When he’s not touring internationally with his Interconnections Ensemble, Salles can be found at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he’s been Professor of Jazz and African American Music Studies since 2010. His latest recording, Camera Obscura, was released in 2025, continuing his exploration of how music can bridge cultures and tell the stories that matter most.

Zaccai just won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album titled Cubop Lives!

He and his brother, Luques, a bassist have played together as “The Curtis Brothers” for many years. Both were born in Hartford CT to a musical family and they co-own Truth Revolution Records with five releases under their name. Zaccai graduated from the New England Conservatory in 2005 and performs regularly with Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, Brian Lynch and Ray Vega as well as many others.

Wes Brown has toured the world with legendary pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines, and has played with such iconoclasts as Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, and Anthony Davis. His versatile work on bass, keyboard, and African flute is documented on numerous recordings.