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Friday June 21st, 2013

Bill Heid is a versatile keyboardist that has shared the stage and studio with such jazz greats as Grant Green and Sonny Stitt, and blues legends Koko Taylor and John Lee Hooker. Along with appearing at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Bill has represented the Kennedy Center, globally, as a Department of State Jazz Ambassador. Rounding out the trio will be Perry Hughes on Guitar and Randy Gelispie on drums. The summit includes:

Perry Hughes: Hughes is a Detroit native and instructor of jazz guitar at MSU. He is a self-taught musician who began playing guitar while in junior high. Hughes has performed and recorded with Earl Klug,h Bob James, and with Bobby Lyle.

Ralph Tope: Ralph's style is influenced by the best of the great jazz guitarists including George Benson, Grant Green, and Wes Montgomery. His playing is full of fire and audiences love his entertaining expressiveness on stage.

Cory Allen: Cory was the recipient of both the 2009 Elmhurst Collegiate Jazz Festival Outstanding Overall Musician Award and the 2008/09 Central Michigan University Robert D. Hayes Award for Excellence in Jazz Endowed Scholarship. He is a sought after musician and educator who lends his Jazz expertise to MSU's Community Music School in Detroit.