Matt Stewart. A friend summarized it best - "Matt has been great forever." Longtime guitarist with the progressive rock band Starcastle, Matt spent the
70's touring and playing venues with such acts as Kansas, ELO, Rush, Journey, J. Geils, Styx, Peter Frampton, Blue Oyster Cult, Santana, Ted Nugent, Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac, Boston, Van Halen, and Aerosmith, and later joined and toured with Head East for a time.
Matt has been teaching music to all ages since 1987 and is also very much in demand as a studio musician. You can hear Matt's brilliant guitar work on Horse Race and Funky Chinese Jig, and he plays a bouzouki (built by himself and John Gray) on Confiding in a Friend.
Chin-Fei Chan. Currently finishing her Ph.D. degree in flute performance with a minor in piano accompanying at the University of Illinois, "Fei" plays flute on Uninhibited, Confiding in a Friend, Funky Chinese Jig, and Autumn Moon over the Han Palace.
The multi-talented Fei is also a superb pianist and accompanies Ying on Sanmen Gorge Capriccio.
Tom Paynter. Jazz musician extraordinaire, Tom arranged and played piano on 'Round Midnight, and also contributed the melodica and gong on Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace. Tom earned
a Ph.D. in music composition from the Universtiy of Chicago in 2001, and currently plays with his jazz band Ear Doctor.
Jeff Magby. A consummate professional, drumset artist and percussionist Jeff Magby is one of the region’s most in-demand musicians. After completing Bachelor and Masters degrees in percussion performance, Jeff settled in Urbana, IL, where he maintains a busy schedule teaching and performing a wide variety of music styles.
Jeff plays the drums on Uninhibited, Confiding in a Friend, 'Round Midnight, Horse Race, and Funky Chinese Jig.
Ben Taylor. Upon graduating from West Aurora High School, Ben Taylor was accepted into the school of engineering at UIUC in the fall of 1994. Desiring for more creative pursuits, Ben soon switched over to the University's art and design department and gained entrance into the industrial design program.
An avid jazz enthusiast since his teens, Ben experienced his own musical beginnings in the late 1990s playing drums with various students at U of I. After struggling to find steady upright bassists to play with, he decided to take up the bass himself and promptly found a used bass at a suburban music store. Ben spent the next few years
teaching himself how to construct walking bass lines based on typical jazz harmonic progressions and slowly eased into the Champaign/Urbana jazz scene. Since 2001, Mr. Taylor has been a mainstay on the scene performing with numerous groups throughout central Illinois.
Ben laid down the upright bass track for 'Round Midnight, and was also the recording engineer for 'Round Midnight, Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace, and Sanmen Gorge Capriccio, which were all recorded live.
Josh Walden. (Photo and bio not yet available.) Josh's mastery of the electric bass is apparent on Uninhibited, Confiding in a Friend, and Funky Chinese Jig.
Neal Robinson (keyboards). Neal Robinson is an esteemed keyboard artist who is conversant in nearly any style of music. He has performed in rock, jazz, blues, swing, and African pop bands, and since
1978 has collaborated with Champaign percussionist Rock Maffit on dance and film scores as well as albums of rock, R&B, African pop and children's music. Neal composed, produced, played and recorded the accompanying music for Maffit's book Rhythm And Beauty, The Art Of Percussion.
Neal's keyboard talents are apparent on Uninhibited and Confiding in a Friend.
Chad Dunn. Chad is a multi-percussionist, drumset player and instrument maker. He is in the tradition of musicians around the world who customize and design their own instruments to suit their individual playing styles.
Chad founded and was director of the University of Illinois Brazilian Percussion Ensemble and continues to lecture on Brazilian traditional and influenced drumming styles. Chad's unique percussion work can be heard on Ying's compositions Uninhibited, Confiding in a Friend, and Funky Chinese Jig.
Check out Chad's website at chaddunn.com.
Tsai-yun Huang. Tsai-yun, Huang is currently a Ph.D. student studying composition at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Several of her pieces have received regognition in both Taiwan and the U.S. She is also a pipa and linquin player, and is studying piano with William Heiles at the U of I.
Tsai Yun plays the piba on Autumn Moon over the Han Palace.
