Jason's first experience playing the guitar was with his father's old acoustic guitar at the age of seven. While his rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" did not top the pop charts , this experience eventually led to his picking up the instrument for serious study at the age of 15. Over the next 20 years, Jason studied privately with several teachers in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee, as well as taking guitar electives at UALR. Early in his 20's, Jason learned to play bass and keyboard to aid in creating his own music, an eclectic blend of funk, rock and jazz.

During this time, Jason was actively climbing the corporate ladder in his career with AT&T, but always took advantage of opportunities to play and teach when available. In 2006, Jason finally decided to pursue his true passion for music and open Little Rock Jams. His intent was to create a lesson studio in the Central Arkansas area that would offer both lessons and jam opportunities for the students, as well as create a studio that would instill into all students a passion for making music.

Jason's influences include John Coltrane, Steve Vai, Wes Montgomery, Prince, Phil Keaggy, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci and Miles Davis.

Brian has been playing for 12 years, and like most musicians his age, he started out playing 1980's rock and metal. Brian was self-taught until 1997 when he attended the Berklee College of Music summer program. Continuing his music education, Brian is currently a senior at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, working towards the completion of his Bachelor of Arts degree, with an emphasis in jazz guitar performance.

Some of Brian's favorite players are John Scofield, John Pizzarelli, Pat Martino and Wes Montgomery. His influences include Norman Brown, Charlie Christian, Lee Ritenour and local guitarists Steve Struthers and Ted Ludwig.

Stephen is an all out self taught guitarist who has played for over fifteen years. Concentrating primarily in blues guitar, Stephen began learning his craft by watching and playing with other musicians while living in Colorado, Texas, and Arkansas. He also counts his experiences playing with musicians on Beale Street in Memphis TN as major part of his musical education.

Stephen also has experience with booking and promoting live music and has a passion for live performance. He currently plays lead guitar for South 61 and is very involved in promoting live local music for Central Arkansas.

Stephen's influences include Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Dewayne Allman, Luther Dickinson, R.L. Burnside, Michael Houser, and all the great folks still sitting in the park down on Beale Street.

David grew up in Little Rock and started playing guitar at the age of thirteen. Primarily playing rock guitar and fingerstyle acoustic guitar, David played and performed with a local, all original rock group called the Joe Mansur Band. During this time, David studied guitar with former P.O.D. guitarist Jason Truby for eight years and eventually started teaching guitar at local music stores.

As a student of Michael Carenbauer at UALR, David’s focus changed to jazz guitar. After receiving a B.A. with an emphasis in jazz guitar performance from UALR, David went to graduate school at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio where he studied with Chris Buzzelli. While at BGSU, David taught group guitar class, Jazz Combo, and Guitar Ensemble.

After receiving a M.M. in jazz studies from BGSU, David became a faculty member at UALR teaching Intro to Music, Aural Skills I, and Applied Guitar. While at UALR, he also taught guitar for the UALR Community School of the Arts. Although a formally trained musician, David is interested in the way most guitar players learn how to play and has written a method book, called Street Guitar, designed for students who play by ear and primarily read tab.

David’s influences include all of his teachers, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Ella Fitzgerald, Jim Hall, Danny Gatton, Dave Mustaine, Dimebag Darrell, Frank Zappa, Phil Keaggy, Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant, and Johnny Adams.

Mike Lavender has been playing bass for 15 years and is currently a senior in the UALR jazz studies program. He has had the opportunity to study with Joe Vick of UALR and Tim Goodwin of the University of Memphis. He started out playing rock and heavy metal throughout south Arkansas and moved to Little Rock in 2002. Since then, he has enjoyed playing both jazz and holding down a metal gig at the same time.

Some of Mike's favorite music includes Primus, Michael Manring, Jean Baudin, Nuclear Rabbit, and "Weird" Al Yankovic.

Mike Motley has been playing drums for 18 years including 8 years of formal education. He got his bachelors degree from UALR, majoring in psychology with an emphasis on learning and education, and he minored in music.

Mike has studied virtually all styles of music, including rock, jazz, country, funk, classical, and folk music, as well as non-western forms including traditional Indian, African, and Asian music.

Mike graduated from Parkview High School for the Performing Arts, were he was a member of the marching band, orchestra, and jazz band. Throughout his musical career Mike has played in various bands, with styles ranging from rock to funk to country, and has performed hundreds of concerts at various venues and festivals throughout the US, and has also performed in Canada, Mexico, and The UK.

Mike has a wide range of influences ranging from the Beatles to Beethoven to The Beastie Boys, and some of his favorite drummers are Elvin Jones, Buddy Rich, Charlie Watts, Joey Santiago, and Animal.

Sally Snyder comes from a small town in Missouri and moved to Nashville 12 years ago to pursue a career in music. She attended Belmont University and received a BA in Voice Performance. Sally has toured nationally and internationally with her band, Mustang Sally.

After road life, Sally decided to settle down and focus on her songwriting and began writing for Ash Street Music, a respected publisher in Nashville. Before moving to Little Rock, Sally was busy with songwriting, singing demos, and performing with her most recent band, Candi Apple Red.

If you’re looking for a vocal coach with industry experience, or a piano teacher with songwriting skills, Sally is it!

William started playing when he was seventeen and received his B.A. with an emphasis in jazz guitar performance from UALR in 2004. While attending UALR William participated in the Guitar Ensemble as well as the Pop Choir, a group that performed various tunes from a range of musicals. William has 5 years teaching experience in various styles of music.

John spent the first years of his life growing up in Mtn. View, Arkansas; the “Folk Music Capitol of the World”, where live music wasn’t a hobby but a way of life, and every evening the locals would congregate in the town square to play together and trade songs. He picked up guitar at age 11, moved to Little Rock, Arkansas and has been playing out since the age of 14. He earned his practical education playing in open blues jams early on, then graduated to playing with various rock bands from Arkansas and Nashville, Tennessee.

In an effort to expand his knowledge and musical horizons, he decided to pursue formal training at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock participating in jazz studies under Steve Struthers and Professor Michael Carenbauer. Currently John is working towards finishing his degree in Music and is a member of the UALR Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combo.