Kevin Madill - Arranger / Pianist / Producer

As a youth, Kevin 's love of jazz led him to the influences of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Bill Evans. But his career experiences have led him to a work with wide range of artists with differing styles, from Tony Bennett to Leon Russell.

A working musician since age 16, Kevin has spent his 25-year career playing, producing, arranging and recording with many of the world's top big bands and vocalists - Tommy Dorsey, Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls, Donna Summer, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Bob Hope and Bernadette Peters, to name a few. He attended Ball State University on a trombone scholarship, then spent several years on the road with various bands before moving to Nashville in 1981. That timing, along with the keyboard revolution of the 1980's led him to turn his attention, once again, to his original instrument - the piano - and subsequently to become one of the most sought-after studio musicians on the Music City scene.

In 1999, his impressive talents came to the attention of blues-rock and songwriting legend Leon Russell. Russell, so inspired by Kevin's evocative, engaging style, finalized plans for his own album of jazz standards, with Kevin as both arranger and player. The result was Russell's recent release, "Moonlight and Love Songs." This relationship soon led Kevin to co-author over 100 songs with Russell, some of which appear on Connye Florance, the artist's newest release, co-produced by Madill and Leon Russell.

Bob Mater - Drums

Bob is well known in Nashville as a top call drummer for records, jingles, and television, and a studio player well versed in jazz, blues, country, and rock. He has recorded with legendary guitarist and writer Chet Atkins (Sails), Alabama (The Touch), Ray Price, New Grass Revival, Sandi Patti, Michael Martin Murphy, Holly Dunn, Maura O'Connell (Helpless Heart), Mark O'Connor (New Nashville Cats) and blues great Tracy Nelson (Move On).

Bob's local performance credits include club dates with jazzers Eddie Harris, Herb Ellis, Mose Allison, Bill Watrous, Conte Candoli, and Earl Klugh, and he has recorded nearly 1000 TV shows for TNN and network syndication.

Bob was the staff drummer on two Nashville Network shows including "Music City Tonight with Crook and Chase". He was featured on an instructional video with guitar legend Albert Lee.

His 1991-1993 tour with the Everly Brothers included the 10th anniversary concert of their historic reunion at Royal Albert Hall. He also recently performed at the Kennedy Center with "American Pie" writer Don McLean, and as a member of the PRS Dragons jammed at the Galaxy theatre in LA at the 2000 Winter NAMM with guitar innovator Paul Reed Smith and his number one endorser Carlos Santana.

Bob has been published by Modern Drummer, and was a featured clinician at the 1989 Percussion Arts Society International Convention.

Joe Murphy - Bass

This Ohio native is one of the top session bassists in Nashville. Joe has played on hundreds of recording projects and jingles with artists such as Michael Bolton, Larnell Harris and Steve Green.

As a producer and arranger, he has worked with a wide range of artists and clients, including Disney Cruise Lines, Bahamian Grammy winner Chris Fox, vocalist Twila Paris, Warner Brothers Publishing, Royel Wooten (of Bela Fleck's Flecktones), and Ralph Carmichael's Big Band. Joe has also co-produced CD's for Conversation, one of America's hottest jazz ensembles. Conversation's clinic series, Music in Action, is a highly acclaimed concert and master class educational experience for high school and college level musicians interested in pursuing a career in professional music.

Mark Douthit - Saxophone

Mark Douthit (dow' thit) could very well be the most famous musician that people have never heard of. But the smooth jazz saxophonist, by his own estimation, has played alto, tenor, soprano or baritone sax on upwards of 4,000 albums by some of the top names in pop, R&B and jazz, including Whitney Houston, The Neville Brothers, Elton John, Patti LaBelle, Natalie Cole, The Temptations, Michael McDonald, Billy Preston, Take 6, Donna Summer, Don Henley, Vanessa Williams, Billy Joel, Kirk Whalum, Larry Carlton and dozens more.

Mark has worked on major motion picture soundtracks as well as national radio and television commercials, performed in the house band on the nightly television variety show "Prime Time Country" (TNN) , and can be heard doing the sax work for CNN and Headline News.

Douthit, a Nashville music scene essential when it comes to laying down sax tracks, has found his own Groove as Hillsboro Jazz's first smooth jazz artist. Groove signifies Douthit's premiere as a full-fledged producer, though he's no stranger to the soundboard and other production responsibilities, having helmed segments of compilations in the past. One such producer / performer credit earned Douthit a 1997 Dove Award for The Players in the "Instrumental Record of the Year" category. That same album won a Nammy, the Nashville equivalent to a Grammy.

Douthit has been a devoted student of jazz and the saxophone, absorbing the theory, practice and art as a student at Middle Tennessee State and the Cincinnati Conservatory, before polishing his chops at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, under the aegis of legendary jazz educator Jerry Coker.