Jaymes Poling
Jaymes Poling brings to Modern Warrior LIVE the fully immersed experience of a three-tour warrior with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. Dealing with the memories of war, the loss of friends, and the isolation a combat veteran finds when leaving the military, Jaymes began to find through narrative arts and dynamic public speaking that the potential for growth can indeed follow adversity.
Through education, writing, and public speaking, and now with the added layer of music, Jaymes came to recognize the universality of his journey which has evolved into a mission to bring to other veterans. He has engaged and interacted with military communities more than 120 times with Modern Warrior Live performances in schools, performing art centers, universities and even in a renowned prison, and now in a one-hour cinematic version. He’s also spoken about mental health challenges at home and at the front with thousands of active-duty soldiers in Afghanistan, through visits there with the Troops First Foundation.
He says he wants – needs - to share his journey from isolation to healing, whether one-on-one, in a cohort of five veterans or in a concert hall seating 4,000.
Jaymes grew up in Warren, Ohio, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an infantryman. During his eight years with the division, he spent three years fighting in Afghanistan as a Machine Gunner and Squad Leader. He earned a finance degree at John Carroll University in May 2018; he draws upon that knowledge and his armed forces experience in managing Modern Warrior’s nonprofit operations and business planning.
His focus now: sharing his journey with members of the military community and partnering with organizations to help veterans find their own peace after war.
Dominick Farinacci
“A trumpeter of abundant poise.” - NY Times
Dominick Farinacci, a world-renowned trumpeter, is the lead artist for the Modern Warrior Experience + Live, with a passion for integrating the arts into wellness and education. He’s released 14 albums internationally, was a member of The Juilliard School’s inaugural class of their jazz studies program, and was named by Wynton Marsalis as the first Global Ambassador to Jazz at Lincoln Center New York City. Music icon Quincy Jones says of Dominick’s accomplishments in performance, recording, education & advocacy, “This kid is 360 degrees!”
Always in Dominick’s active circle: expanding the link between music and health.
Farinacci addressed a TED conference on mental health and music at the Kennedy Center and has been a featured artist for the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and in Abu Dhabi. Dominick organized the first jazz performance for patients in that country in collaboration with the clinic and the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation. He organized panel discussions around patient-doctor communication through music with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and is an active advocate in music education development, most recently at the Community College Association of America. He has received foundation grants to establish arts programs in his native Ohio, served as Music Consultant to the Amy Winehouse Foundation and is Director of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy at the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
His recent recording, Short Stories, was produced by four-time Grammy Award winning producer Tommy LiPuma for Mack Avenue Records.
Dominick resides in New York City and Cleveland.
Leon Bibb
Broadcast journalist and Vietnam War Veteran Leon Douglas Bibb was born on October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama to Georgia and Leon Bibb. At the age of one, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up and graduated from Glenville High School. Bibb received his B.S. degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University in 1966. He then went on to study radio, TV and film as a graduate student. He also served in the Vietnam War and was awarded a Bronze Star.
In the late 1960s, Bibb worked as a news reporter for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He was hired as a reporter for WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio in 1971, and worked as a news anchor and reporter for WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio from 1972 to 1979. In 1976, while at WCMH-TV, Bibb became Ohio’s first African American primetime anchor. Then, in 1979, he moved to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, and was promoted to primary news anchor for the Monday through Friday newscasts in 1986. In 1995, Bibb was hired as a news anchor and reporter for WEWS-TV. He has narrated and hosted many shows at WEWS-TV, including “My Ohio with Leon Bibb,” “Leon Bibb's Perspective,” “Kaleidoscope,” and a series called “Our Hometown.” Bibb has interviewed numerous political leaders and notable figures, including President Barack Obama, President George H. W. Bush, Neil Armstrong, and James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition, Bibb has written several short stories and poems, many of which have been published.
Bibb has won six local Emmy Awards and received several citations from the Cleveland Press Club for excellence in journalism. He has also received the Distinguished Journalist Award from the Society for Professional Journalists, and Awards of Excellence from Cleveland State University and the Radio-TV Council. Bibb has been inducted into the Broadcaster's Hall of Fame, Glenville High School Hall of Fame, Bowling Green State University School of Communications Hall of Fame, Associated Press Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Sigma Delta Chi Hall of Fame, and the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 1996, Governor George Voinovich appointed Bibb to the Board of Trustees at Bowling Green State University, where he also served as chairman.
Bibb lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio with his wife, Marguerite. They have two daughters: Jennifer and Alison.
Leon Bibb was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on February 13, 2014.
Emmett Murphy
A prolific theatrical creator with a love for synthesizing experiences by integrating storytelling, technology, multimedia and live performance, Emmett Murphy is the founder of showHive, Inc.
For the past year, Mr. Murphy has served as the director for Modern Warrior LIVE, overseeing direction, multimedia design and the creative development of the productions which debuted in 2018 at the Sheen Center’s Loreto Theater in New York City.
Emmett has written and directed production shows for numerous companies, including, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Princess Cruise Lines. He was also the creative producer for the spectacular production of Illusions at Joyland Theme Park near Shanghai, China. Additionally, Mr. Murphy has created and directed multimedia for theatrical productions around the world.
Christian Tamburr
Christian Tamburr is an internationally renowned vibraphonist, pianist, composer and arranger with touring and performances in over 67 countries around the world. Downbeat Magazine recognized him with the “Outstanding Solo Jazz Performance” award and is a 5-Time “Critics Choice Top Rising Star” award recipient on vibraphone.
He leads the critically acclaimed Christian Tamburr Quintet, which performs regularly venues such as at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Newport Jazz Festival and venues throughout Asia, Europe and the UAE. As a creative development consultant and musical director/arranger, Christian has been responsible for the opening of multiple headline production shows around the world including “Between the Lines” at the Palazzo Hotel (2016 Las Vegas), “Clint Holmes Rendezvous” at the Golden Nugget Hotel (2017 Las Vegas) and “Modern Warrior Live” (2018 Off Broadway) and “Soundtrack” at the Westgate Las Vegas (2018). He is the current musical director, pianist and arranger for 2018 Grammy Nominee Clint Holmes, Soundtrack On Tour and The Modern Warrior. In addition to his public performances, Christian travels as CEO and lead facilitator of Sonic Leadership LLC, bringing unique musically inspired presentations on leadership and training to corporate teams around the Globe. He is the Artistic Curator of “The Acoustic Confidential”, a boutique concert series presented at unique intimate venues around the globe.
Garrett Caine
Garrett Caine has been producing innovative lighting design, production entertainment and cutting-edge AV design projects for over 30 years, with over 100 major projects worldwide to his credit. His lighting design accomplishments include Illusions at Joyland Grand Theater Shanghai, China, RED at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, 10 Commandments at the Kodak Theater, the original musical Hats! at Harrah’s Las Vegas, Under the Sea Tokyo Disney, C’est Magique for Disney Entertainment, Imagine at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Spellbound at Harrah’s Las Vegas and Eclipse at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. His numerous cruise ship lighting credits can be seen on Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Disney Cruise Line.
Shenel Johns
Performing since she was 14, vocalist Shenel has developed her own eclectic style, counting among her influences Ella Fitzgerald, Abbey Lincoln, and Sarah Vaughn. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick, and Sheila Jordan.
Returning recently from Qatar where she served a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha, Shenel next honoured Billie Holiday as part of JALC’s New York production of “Billie and the Boys.” And has performed a tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at New York City’s famed Appel Theater.
A native of Hartford, CT, Shenel has studied performance with such jazz legends as Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene, and Nat Reeves. She graduated from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music with a bachelor’s degree in music management.
Dr. Lafayette Carthon
Lafayette Carthon Jr. is a pianist, a pastor and a man on a mission to help educate young artists on the mean streets of entertainment. Pastor Laf, as he likes to be called, has a storied music career that started at the Cleveland School of the Arts.
In 1988, after graduation, he began performing jazz at the Boarding House, a club that was in the University Circle neighborhood, but after a call from the gospel group the Winans, he packed up his instruments and took off. "I dropped out of Oberlin College to travel with the Winans," said Carthon in a phone interview. "But that led to collaborations with Celine Dion and Michael Jackson."
Audiences can hear Carthon's musical repertoire for free at 4 p.m. July 21 at East Cleveland Public Library's Voices of Gospel at the Greg L. Reese Performing Arts Center, 14101 Euclid Ave., East Cleveland. Other performances will include Lucretia Bolden and Zion Five. It was when he played on Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" that he began an association with R. Kelly, that album's co-producer. He admits he has loads of tales to spill about the scandalous performer, but prefers to talk only about how he helped him turn things around back in the 1990s.
Carthon reflects on one particular discussion when Kelly asked him how he's able to remain monogamous with all the women hanging around the recording studio.
"I told him it's all God," he said. "I know God can do that. It's a commitment you make to something higher than you. After that talk with him, I witnessed a change in him. Women stopped hanging around the studio. And it was around the time he married his former wife. This transformation all happened in the 1990s. It was also when he recorded 'I Believe I Can Fly.'"
According to Carthon, his journey as a pastor began after that.
"I felt the call. God told me it's time. I moved to Michigan and became a co-pastor at a church," he said.
Having come from the Glenville community -- and having participated in helping so many artists' careers, Carthon felt the need to share those experiences with young, up-and-coming artists. And to stress that a spiritual foundation is paramount when taking the show biz path. It's about raising awareness, he said.
By that time, he had gone back to school at Kent State and received his bachelor's and master's degrees. He felt his message would fall on deaf ears if he hadn't practiced what he was now preaching.
The message of education and spiritual growth is hammered into those who come through Carthon Conservatory at Faith Church of Glenville at 11012 Woodland Ave. in Cleveland, where he is pastor.
"On Mondays we do a big jam session with musicians from all over the state," he said. "We play sometimes until 4 a.m. It's called Faith Night on Mondays.
The conservatory is open to youths 5 years old and up, as well as adults.
Because Carthon is a pastor, you would assume the music played at the conservatory would be Christian-based, right?
"I have a book called the 'Musicians Handbook.' In the book I speak about my music philosophy," he said.
"There are only three things I can do with music, I can worship with it, entertain with it or teach it. Music worship means performing my best for God. Music entertainment means performing my best for people. Teaching is teaching others to do both of the above well and with integrity."
Orlando Watson
Cleveland, Ohio native Orlando Watson graduated from Youngstown State University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Creative Writing. Since then he’s established himself as a preeminent lyricist who’s soulful, baritone voice is known to weave through words with uncanny rhythmic delivery. In 2015 Watson was awarded the prestigious “Kente Cloth” by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at Ohio State University alongside Dr. Marc Lamont Hill. His 2017 début project titled “Everything’s Personal” peaked at #18 on iTunes R&B/Soul charts, which led him to open for Lalah Hathaway and Chantae Cann’s respective tours in 2018. Most notably, Watson’s voice can be heard on “Unfinished Song” by Latin Grammy award winner Linda Briceno, Braxton Cook’s “No Doubt” LP, Damien Sneed’s title track “We Shall Overcome” and “Schizophrenia” by Bobby Sparks II of Snarky Puppy.
His way with words has led him to co-write productions such as: Dominick Farinacci’s “Modern Warrior Live”, Catskill Jazz Factory’s “The Spirit of Harlem”, and Terence Blanchard’s “Our Voices: Democracy Revisited” suite, which was live-streamed on NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” hosted by Christian McBride. Waston was recently selected as 1 of the top 8 finalists to compete at the 2019 “Jazz in the Gardens” national poetry slam in Miami, Florida. His poetry has been published in Linden Avenue Literary Journal as well as Five 2 One Magazine and he currently serves as the Associate Director for the Tri-C JazzFest in Cleveland, Ohio. Watson’s passion for faith, family, community and culture are always reflected in his art, as he sees himself as a bridge between social barriers built to further divide humankind.
Will Blaze
Vocalist and composer Will Blaze is from Cleveland, OH. He has released various tracks & albums as a leader and sideman, and was recently featured at Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland 2020.
Jamey Haddad
Haddad was voted #1 World Music Percussionist by 2012 Drum Magazine readers and one of the top four world-percussionists by the most largely read percussion periodical Modern Drummer (July 2007). He has also won the 2010 Cleveland Arts Prize. In a snapshot of a two week period, Haddad has recorded with singer Nancy Wilson, performed with Paul Simon, helped create a film score with Eliot Goldenthal, rehearsed for an upcoming tour with the Sacred Music Festival of Fez Morocco, recorded with saxophonist Joe Lovano, and rehearsed the music of Osvaldo Golijov for an upcoming performance of a cello/percussion concerto with Yo-Yo Ma. Haddad collaborates regularly with Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Osvaldo Golijov, Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, Elliot Goldenthal, Brazil's Assad Brothers, Daniel Schnyder, Simon Shaheen, The Paul Winter Consort, Nancy Wilson, Dave Liebman, Esperanza Spalding, Maya Beiser, Trichy Sankaran, vocalist Betty Buckley, Steve Shehan, Leo Blanco, Nguyen Lee, Bobby Salvaggio, among many others. Most recently, Haddad performed with Paul Simon at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He has been a member of Paul Simon’s band for 12 years.
Salar Nadar
Salar Nadar, one of the most sought-after young percussionists of his generation, was born in Germany to Afghan parents forced to flee their home during the Russian-Afghan war. Just five-years-old when his family settled in the San Francisco area, he began studying at age seven with the legendary tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain. Nader already played tabla and was familiar with the basic rhythms of Afghan and Indian folk and pop music. He began classical training early, first concentrating on the spoken rhythmic system of North Indian percussion, bols. Hussain became his guru, and today counts Nader as one of his most talented protégés ever. Nader is now a founding member of today’s foremost Afghan music ensemble, Sounds and Rhythms of Afghanistan (SARA), in which he plays dhol and dholak Afghan percussion, in addition to tabla. Accompanying world-renowned classical musicians from South Asia during their visits to San Francisco, and performing at the age of just twelve with master Pakistani vocalist Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, as well as his virtuoso sons Shafqat, Sharafat and Sukhawat, Nader has collaborated with master musicians visiting from India, including sarangi virtuoso Ustad Sultan Khan. Even as he made his way with the greats of Indian and Pakistani classical music, Nader kept up ties with his ancestral tradition, accompanying Afghan singers whose music is built around Farsi poetry and specialized musical ideas.
Walter Barnes, Jr.
Walter Barnes Jr. is a musician extraordinaire. He can be found producing, writing, singing, and performing on his bass with many celebrities and recording artists. Currently, Walt is bassist with singers Toni Braxton and Babyface. He recently performed on the 2012 American Music Awards with Christina Aguilera. Walter has made cameo appearances on the reality show “The Braxton Family Values” on the WE station. Walt is not a stranger to television; he was one of the top three finalists in the 2009 season of MTV’s P.Diddy’s “Making His Band” television show. Walter is completed his second album which is a gospel project with Walter Barnes, Jr. & Men of Ministry. He has appeared on major television networks including NBC, ABC, The Word Network, TV-One, BET on the Bobby Jones Gospel Hour and The Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors. Walter has played with national artists such as Wynton Maralis. He started his career in 1999 touring with Angela Bofill, Pieces of a Dream, Musiq Soulchild, Brian McKnight, Layla Hathaway, Anthony Hamilton, shared the stage with Earth Wind and Fire, Yellowjackets and Najee. Walter has toured the world and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Debórah Show, A&E, The Today Show and George Lopez Show.
Gabe Jones
Gabe Jones is an extraordinarily gifted 18-year old drummer based in Cleveland, OH. He recently graduated from Cleveland School of the Arts and currently attends the Recording Arts and Technology Program at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.