Ron Mahdi
Ron Mahdi is a bassist, recording artist, clinician and Professor at Berklee College of Music. He has performed with such artists as Chet Baker, Bill Pierce, Donald Brown, Kevin Eubanks, Jeff Watts, Roy Hargrove, James Williams, Milt Jackson, Lennie White, Art Farmer, George Coleman, Little Jimmy Scott, Kenwood Dennard, Ronnie Gill, Ralph Peterson Jr and Stanley Jordan. He has toured Europe, Asia, Central America and the USA with Roy Haynes, Donald Byrd, Nnenna Freelon and Teodross Avery. He has recorded extensively, including recordings by Jay Branford, Consuelo Candelaria, Ron Gill, Louise Grasmere, Ferdinando Argenti, Daryl Lowery, Yoron Israel and Walter Beasley. His own recording will be released shortly.
Nadia Washington
Nadia Washington rises to any occasion as a songwriter, producer, and educator and vocalist. Her talent has opened up opportunities to perform with renowned artists in Jazz and R&B including: Esperanza Spalding, Lalah Hathaway, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lynn Carrington and the late George Duke- as well as making an impact with movers and shakers in the Hip Hop World including Ray Angry of the Root, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dj Mark De Clive-Lowe.
Born and raised in Dallas, TX, Nadia began showing signs of an entertainer at the age of 3 to a mother who was an acclaimed singer in her own right. As far back as she could remember, she was surrounded by some of the premiere musicians of the Dallas Metroplex.
Nadia is an alumna of Booker T. Washington HSPVA where she could learn more about the music that mesmerized her. Attending this school led her to many more opportunities that gave her national recognition- winning 2 DownBeat Student Music Awards and the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. In 2006, she received The Monterey Jazz Festival Outstanding Jazz Vocalist award and participated in the Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Nadia was then accepted to Berklee College of Music on the Bill Cosby Presidential Scholarship.
While in college, she was experimenting with the latin and brazilian sounds she heard in Jam sessions and in the classroom. A providential moment occurred when she heard the sounds of Rosa Passos for the first time. The following summer, Nadia taught herself to play Brazilian guitar.
Upon completing college, Nadia returned home for a year to spend time with her family, Nadia began to rediscover the sounds of her hometown, Dallas Tx. All the knowledge she accumulated in College as well as her musical roots began to homogenize to fit her unique personality and musical taste. After moving back to Boston, Nadia released two youtube videos to share her new sound with friends and family. Little did she know that I would spark the interest in World renowned musicians such as Nicolas Payton and Ms. Dianne Reeves. Nadia had the privilege to collaborate with Dianne Reeves and Terri Lynn Carrington to create a song called “Feel So Good” featuring the late George Duke on the Beautiful Life Album That won best Jazz vocal Album 2015. Nadia has also toured Russia, and Europe and has performed in Africa, and Japan. Along with performing in the New England area, she is now a faculty member in the Ear Training and voice department at Berklee College of Music. Her sound is a blend of Jazz, Soul, R&B, and World Music She is in the process of recording her highly anticipated album that is set to be released Winter of 2023.