SLP & The Joyful Noise

Suzan-Lori Parks is a multi-award-winning writer and musician. She is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog which recently won the 2023 Tony Award, for best revival. Her other plays include Sally & Tom (2024) Plays for the Plague Year (Drama Desk Award, Best Music, 2023) and Father Comes Home From The Wars (2014). Parks’ first marathon-writing “micro diary plays” 365 Days/365 Plays were produced worldwide in what was the largest grassroots collaborative theatre project to date. She is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, a novelist: Getting Mother’s Body (Random House), and a screenwriter: Girl 6, Genius: Aretha, and The United States vs Billie Holiday. Parks also writes songs and fronts her band “SLP & The Joyful Noise” with her punk-couture medicine show, The Tune Up world-premiering this summer. As a college student Parks is grateful to have studied creative writing with James Baldwin, who encouraged her to write for the theatre.

Nitzan Gavrieli is a jazz pianist and composer who is a vital force on New York City’s jazz scene. His music expands on the traditional piano trio format, blending elements of classical music and Middle Eastern influences into a sound that is both distinctive and emotionally rich.
In addition to leading his own trio, Nitzan is an in-demand sideman, arranger, and collaborator. He has recorded and performed with world-renowned artists such as Dennis Chambers, Mike Stern, Melissa Aldana, Francisco Mela, Mark Murphy, Chris Cheek, Steve Cardenas, and many others. His versatility and sensitivity at the piano have made him a valued contributor to dozens of albums and projects across genres.
Nitzan is the featured pianist on the 2025 GRAMMY-winning album Bianca Reimagined (Best Large Jazz Ensemble) and the GRAMMY-nominated track Little Fears by Dan Pugach and Nicole Zuraitis (Best Jazz Performance).
He has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, performing at major jazz festivals and venues, including Town Hall, the Kennedy Center, Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls and Lincoln Center, among many others.
Nitzan also serves as musical director for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks in her musical collective SLP & the Joyful Noise.

Alex Cummings is a woodwinds specialist, producer and and music educator from Camden, New Jersey and a long time resident of New York City. Since the age of ten, Cummings started using the saxophone as a means of creative expression guided by hometown community heroes Jamal Dickerson, Nasir Dickerson and Hassan Sabree. After graduating Oberlin Conservatory with a B.A. in Jazz Performance and Arron Copeland Music School with an M.M. in Jazz Composition, Cummings now performs all around the New York City metro area as well as the rest of the United States, Europe and Asia. Such Collaborations include Robin Eubanks, Billy Hart, Michael Mossman, among other band projects including the Alex Cummings quartet, EarthTone, Street Beat Brass Band, Twilyte Axis, Spice Cabinet, and many more.

Bobby Spellman is a trumpeter, composer, and educator known for his eclectic musical style, dynamic performances, and experiments fusing jazz and improvised music with disparate musical traditions from around the globe. A native of Boston, Bobby studied philosophy before earning a master’s degree in jazz performance from New England Conservatory, where he had the opportunity to study with John McNeil, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Morris, Bob Moses, Dave Holland, and Ben Schwendener. Since moving to New York in 2014, Bobby has led a series of groups including his “Revenge of the Cool” Nonet, Dingonek Street Band, and the Voodoo Club. Beyond leading and writing for his own ensembles, Bobby has performed across the Northeast U.S. with Motown legends the Temptations and the Four Tops, and with experimental jazz groups including the Either/Orchestra, Moppa Elliott’s Acceleration Due to Gravity, and the Sungazer Big Band. Bobby is also a member of the Ed Palermo Big Band, which performs monthly at the Iridium and specializes in playing the music of Frank Zappa. Bobby currently lives in Ridgewood, Queens with his wife, woodwind doubler Emily Pecoraro.

Bio to come.

Bio to come.

Marty Scott is a NYC-based trombonist originally from Long Island, NY. A graduate of SUNY Purchase (B.M. in Jazz Performance) and the Manhattan School of Music (M.M. in Jazz Arts), Scott has developed his craft as a working jazz trombonist and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Influenced by Bebop, Hard Bop, Latin Jazz, and other styles, he has performed with various artists at venues including The Blue Note, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, and The Django, both in and outside of New York City. Scott is dedicated to pushing the music forward while honoring the tradition that shaped him.

Bio to come.