Production Details

CHELLE! & Friends presents Songs of Freedom, a soulful celebration of music, resilience, and the enduring quest for justice. Blending New Orleans roots, gospel, jazz, blues, and soul, CHELLE! & Friends honors the powerful voices and songs that have inspired generations to stand, sing, and dream of freedom.

Artist Biographies

Michelle Jacques (Artistic Director, Vocals)
Jacques is the Artistic Director/founder of the CHELLE! and Friends New Orleans big band and CHELLE’S JUKE JOINT an a cappella quintet. During a four-decade career in the music industry, Michelle is, was and has become: a singer, bandleader, composer, songwriter, musical-arranger and educator. Michelle has traveled and performed with many well-known artists including: Wynton Marsalis, Linda Hopkins, Ladysmith Black Mambaza, Pete Seger, The Persuasions, Al Green and Manhattan Transfer. Notable Festival appearances include Montreux, Gurten, Berne, Festijazz and the UN Conference of Human Rights, Geneva. She was also a founding member of Street Sounds a cappella quintet and an original member of Linda Tillery’s Cultural Heritage Choir. Michelle’s educational portfolio includes: director of the Select Vocal Ensemble at Oakland School for the Arts, San Francisco Symphony's Adventures in Musc, Oakland Youth Chorus, Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp, education programs/workshops at Stern Grove, the Bay Area Discovery Museum and Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. She is a lecturer at University of San Francisco and also serves as the Vice-President on the Governors Board of the Recording Academy’s San Francisco Chapter, and the board of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.

Bryan S. Dyer (Musical Director, Vocals & Percussion)
Bryan S. Dyer is a multi-talented musician who not only sings but plays and teaches several instruments including bass guitar, percussion and piano; writes and arranges music, conducts choirs and groups, and works in television, radio and film. A veteran of some of the Bay Area’s top vocal groups including Street Sounds, SoVoSo, Slammin All Body Band, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and CHELLE! and Friends, He also performs with Zadell, Rankin Scroo and Ginger, and R&B group, D.A.P.

Rhonda Crane (Vocals, Percussion)
Although Rhonda is native to Brooklyn, New York, she was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Being associated 17 years with the Edwin and Walter Hawkins Music & Arts National Conference has blessed her to work with numerous artists as the O’Jays, Tramaine Hawkins, Donald Lawrence, Ricky Grundy, Daryl Coley, LaShun Pace and Yolanda Adams to name a few.

Jammin' Jay Lamont (Vocals)
Singer and comdeian, Jay Lamont is originally from Oklahoma City and is a graduate of Langston University with a B.A. Degree in Broadcast Journalism. Jay relocated to Houston to work in the comedy business and embark on a career a singer. He subsequently toured nationally and internationally with Street Sounds. In addition to working with CHELLE, Jay is also the lead vocalist with two R&B bands. His groups have opened for a wide variety of artists including the late great Luther Vandross, MAZE featuring Frankie Beverly, D.L. Hughley, Steve Harvey, Tommy Davidson, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, Jamie Foxx, R. Kelly, The Gap Band, The O’Jays and the late Roger Troutman.

Donna Viscuso (Saxophone, Harmonica, Vocals)
Donna Viscuso is an experienced performer, composer and teacher. Donna has performed, recorded and toured with many groups, including The Snake Trio, Jackeline Rago and The Venezuelan Music Project, Altazor, Wild Mango, the KTO project, Chelle and Friends, Brazilian singer Adriana Moreno and Chilean singer/songwriter Lichi Fuentes.

Ruthie Price (Drummer/Percussionist)
Ruthie Price is a tasty, soulful Bay Area native professional drummer and music educator. Picking up sticks at the age of six at church, Ruthie has never put them down; she’s been honoring her craft in Jazz, Gospel, Funk, Hip Hop, R&B, and Rock for 25 years strong. Ruthie has played on five continents and featured on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” with Grammy Award Winner Van Hunt. She played for the first female president Sir Leaf Johnson in Liberia with Jazz & Democracy, performed on the TV show “Empire” and won the NPR Tiny Desk competition with Grammy Award Winner Fantastic Negrito. Ruth has also performed with Whiz Khalifa as part of the 2017 “Break Through Prize Awards” on National Geographic. You can find Ruthie performing through the bay at SF Jazz, Yoshi’s, New Parish, the Fox and other local venues. When not slaying on stages, Ruthie is saving lives by dispensing blood to hospitals throughout Northern and Southern California, Arizona, New Jersey and Nevada.  You can reach her via instagram @trypriceler, face book Ruthie Price, and Ruthieprice.com.

Ruth Davies (Bass)
Ruth is a Bay Area native and has performed and / or recorded with (including several Platinum and Grammy-winning recordings) many jazz and blues greats including: Charles Brown, Clark Terry, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, Jay McShann, Van Morrison, Maria Muldaur, Junior Mance, Linda Tillery, Barbara Dane, Barbara Morrison, Etta Jones, Elvis Costello, Eric Bibb, Keb' Mo', Terry Gibbs, Van Morrison, Sammy Hagar, Vassar Clements, Toots Thielemans, Ernie Watts, Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Jackie Ryan, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Amina Figarova, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Little Jimmy Scott among others. Ruth believes in teaching and bringing music into the public schools. She has been on the faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for 17 years includinga very successful annual "Ruth Davies Blues Night" at the Stanford Jazz Festival. She has also been involved in The San Francisco Symphony’s "Adventures in Music" program and the "Just Say Jazz" project delivering music education to the classroom. By any conservative estimate, Ruth has presented music programs to over two thousand school groups. 

Eric Swinderman (Guitar)
Eric Swinderman is a master guitar player. His repertoire embraces Jazz, Blues and Spiritual music. Eric’s arrangements engage audiences and transport them to a world of unbridled joy, poignant pleasure, and unforgettable moments of creative magic. He is committed to creating lasting memories through composition, improvisation, and education. Also recognized for his deep appreciation of music and music history, Eric is held in high esteem among jazz aficionados and his peers in the music industry. The late music critic, Phil Elwood compared Eric to players such as Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Eddie Duran, Howard Alden, Jimmy Bruno, Bruce Foreman, and Laurindo Almeida—as a guitarist worthy of inclusion in this esteemed group.

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A Word About the Venue

Plymouth Church of Jazz and Justice

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!

Justice Making
Here at Plymouth, we're a justice-seeking people who follow a justice-making God. You will be encouraged to see yourself as a beloved child of God and a “co-conspirator” in building a world where God's dream of dignity and respect for all people is realized.

Jazz Loving
Our worship is joyful, vibrant and filled with fabulous music. Folks often say that Sunday worship at Plymouth is one of the best concerts they’ve ever attended! Our congregation includes some of the Bay Area’s most celebrated jazz and blues musicians, and their gifted artistry is the heartbeat of our Sunday morning worship.

Diverse And Inclusive
Our congregation reflects the diversity of the Bay Area -- our community includes people of African American, Latino/a, European and Asian American heritage; queer, trans, straight, and cis people; single folks, couples, and families of all shapes and sizes; people who are wild about Jesus and people who aren't so sure what they believe, but seeking spiritual community. At Plymouth, you're welcome not in spite of but because of your unique story.