JOHN BOWERS (guitar, vocals)
Salmagundi’s founder started studying music at age 6 and began his professional career as a Philips recording artist with the Forerunners in the early 1970s. He also fronted the band A.D through the 1980s and has continued to be active as a writer, producer, and arranger. He has toured as a lead guitarist in blues, fusion, rock and salsa bands in more than 40 countries world-wide.
Bowers interest in world music strongly influences his original compositions. He has recorded 7 albums and worked as producer/artist on a dozen more.
Diana BOWERS (vocals)
DIANA began singing at age 6 and studied voice through University. She has a music degree from Spring Arbor College and a Master’s degree in education. In 1972 she won an audition to join the Forerunners band where she met her husband John. She has recorded on many projects and performed thousands of concerts across the U.S, South America, Europe, Africa and beyond.
She is featured on many of the bands torch songs and ballads.
MARK BOLING (GUITAR)
markboling.com
Mark Boling is a jazz guitarist, teacher, composer, and author. An Associate Professor of Music at the University of Tennessee, Boling serves as Coordinator of the Jazz Studies Program. As a veteran sideman with pianist Donald Brown, Boling played in Tennessee-based bands and recorded with Brown on three records for the French label Space Time Records.
Boling performs frequently leading his own trio, featuring drummer Keith Brown and bassist Jon Hamar. Boling has released three recordings as a leader (Trio Life, 2012; Tune Me, 2004; Evidence, 2000). In addition, he has performed with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and a number of acclaimed jazz musicians, including Gregory Tardy, Zim Ngqawana, Donald Brown and Jerry Coker.
He is the author of Creative Comping Concepts for Jazz Guitar (Mel Bay), The Jazz Theory Workbook (Advance Music), Elements of the Jazz Language software (CPP/Belwin), and Curriculum for Aural Training software. Boling has been a senior artist in-residence at the Banff Center International Jazz Workshop, a visiting artist at the Brubeck Institute, and a teacher at Berkley College of Music’s summer guitar program.
He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Berkley College of Music in Boston (1981) and a Masters in Music Theory from the University of Tennessee (1984). He has been in demand as a sideman on recording projects for Donald Brown, The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Zim Nggawana (Zimology in Concert USA [Sheer sound, 2008], won South African Music Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album), and others.
MIKE CHOBY
youtube.com/@mikechoby5804
Mike Choby is a versatile bassist, educator, and musical contractor based in Chicago. He serves on the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while maintaining an active career as a performing and recording artist across the metropolitan area. Choby’s musical journey began at age eight on his grandfather’s guitar. He holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and studied jazz performance at Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music.
A globally traveled performer, he has toured extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing in more than a dozen countries including Germany, Russia, South Korea, and Thailand. Known for his stylistic flexibility, Choby moves seamlessly across genres—from blues and jazz to classical and rock. He has toured alongside Grammy Award-winning legends such as Koko Taylor, Randy Brecker, Mavis Staples, and Neal Schon.
In addition to his commercial and touring work, he performs as a classical double bassist with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, has recorded Django Reinhardt–style gypsy swing, and has spent the past decade touring and recording worldwide with the band Spasenie.
Steve Liberti (drums)
instagram.com/steveliberti
Steve Liberti is a veteran drummer, percussionist, and educator with over 45 years of professional experience across jazz, rock, funk, Latin, fusion, orchestral, and pit ensemble settings. An active member of the Vic Firth Education Team and the Percussive Arts Society, Liberti is a versatile multi-instrumentalist performing on drum set, auxiliary percussion, orchestral snare, and tympani.
Liberti developed his craft through private study with several renowned drum set artists, including critically acclaimed jazz master Mat Marucci.
A sought-after session player, he has appeared on dozens of recordings and shared the stage or studio with an international array of artists, including William Mininfield, DMMK, Tom Richeson, Maasej Kovačević, Gregory Tardy, Abel Kovačević, Josua Kovačević, Mark Boling, and Jon Hamar.
Deeply committed to music education, Liberti previously owned and operated “Pocket Productions,” a drum set and percussion school based in California. Between 2011 and 2021, he was based in Germany, launching a decade of intense international touring that has taken his music to more than 25 countries worldwide
JOSUA KOVACEVIC (Saxophone)
youtube.com/@yolandoyogo
Born in 1993 in Cakovec, Croatia, Josua knew he wanted to play the saxophone from childhood. At the age of 9, he started to play the piano attending a primary music school. This is when he showed a keen interest in music, particularly jazz. At 11 years of age, he began playing the saxophone. In 2009, he joined the Cakovec Big Band, which he is still a member today.
Josua graduated in jazz saxophone at the Vienna Conservatory in Austria. He was an active member of a Croatian Ska band “October Light” and “Scifidelity Orchestra” with whom he performed all over Europe.
In 2019 he recorded an album, l’after life, with the well known Croatian producer Coco Mosquito (Gordan Muratović). Currently, Josua is touring with Gibonni and a Croatian funk soul band “Soul Fingers”. Over the years, Josua has actively been involved in recording, production and private lessons.
Josua has performed in the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Macedonia, France, Slovenia, Czechia, Belarus, Ukraine, Egypt, Romania, Serbia with famous musicians, such as: Gibonni, Marko Ramljak, Nikša Bratoš, Branimir Gazdik, Dražen Bogdanović, Uglješa Novaković, Zvonimir Šestak, Miro Lesić, Vlatko Stefanovski, Maya Azucena, Mario Bočić, Mihael Györek, Gordan Muratović a.k.a. Coco Mosquito.
GREG DAVIS (Bass/Sound & Recording engineer)
instagram.com/steveliberti
Born 1965 in Hawaii. Studied Civil Engineering at Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC.
Greg has been a performing bassist since 1985 with many groups touring to more than 30 countries with artists: The Stand, Introspect, Rob Castles (Dark Records), David’s Secret (Image Records), God’s Comics, Lil’ Cat Z, The Outlanders, Soul Tattoo. Recording artists John Cox, Kim Hill, Danny Plett & Spasenie.
He has engineered, mixed, and produced more than 80 CDs including: Danielle Howle’s About to Busrt (Simple Machines), The Verna Canon’s Movie Star Faces (Cargo Records), Anne Mac Callum’s Shine (Gerth Median), and Silers Bald’s Silers Bald (Diamante), DMMK (Gerth Median).
He was the Assistant Engineer for Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer, David Leonard on Danielle Howle and the Tantrums’ Do a Two Sable (Daemon Records). He also recorded a demo for Grammy Award Winning, Hootie and the Blowfish demos, “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You,” and recorded with Grammy & Dove Award Winner, Laura Story (“Indescribable”).
Live concert experience as professional stage hand for Concerts: U2, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Rolling Stones, Guns and Roses, Metallica, Hank Williams Jr., Smashing Pumpkins, Rod Stewart, M.C. Hammer, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, The Black Crowes, Skid Row, etc.
