Liz Matta is a native of Foxboro, Massachusetts, where
she learned from and was inspired by Ted Hagarty and
Steve Massey.   She had a number of musical
experiences in Foxboro, including playing at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, that
inspired her to teach and play.   Liz received her B.
M. in Music Education and Saxophone Performance from
the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, where she
studied with Jeffrey Holmes and Elisabeth Bryant.  

Liz moved to Maine in 2000 and taught the middle
school band program at the Great Salt Bay Community
School for six years. She is currently the Lincoln Academy Band
Director

In addition to the Edith Jones Project, Liz also
performs regularly with the Salt Bay Jazz Quartet and
as a freelance saxophonist.    Liz lives with her
partner and children in Bath.

After a distinguished  forty-four year career in higher education that took her all over U.S., Houlton native Jacqueline Clifford (alto sax), Professor Emerita, returned to her beloved, beautiful Maine.  Having stowed away her music for all those years, she is now rekindling her passion for the mysterious beauty of sound—jazz saxophone and classical piano.  Jackie worked her way through college playing in a dance band, and remembers that experience as one of the most satisfying of her life.  Recently, as a lark, she agreed to play a sax solo for a friend in a concert.  This led to new pursuits.  Practice in music, piano and sax, is way ahead of preparing lectures.  What JOY!

Mary Kennedy's (alto/baritone sax, flute) diverse musical interests include classical, jazz, funk, folk, and new age music.  Her music career highlights include performing with Dizzy Gillespie and Jane Ira Bloom while attending Colby College.  She attended the Hartt School of Music where she received a scholarship to study saxophone with Ken Radnofsky and Jackie McLean and flute with John Wion and Mary Ellen Jacobs.  After graduation, she studied saxophone with Jerry Bergonzi and flute with Tom Nyfenger.  She has performed with the Colby College Jazz Band, the Hartt School of Music Jazz Band, the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, Cul de Sax, Sax Works, Choros, The Phil Rich Big Band, Heartland Theatre Project, Jazzotree, Jacqueline Gourdin and Friends, Natasha Ulyanovsky and Friends, The Victory Swing Band, The Metropolitan Flute Orchestra, The Tim Janis Ensemble, and now the Edith Jones Project. Mary has performed on a variety of recordings including Etain, Life Dance, Beach Glass, and Listen to the Children.  Mary lives in Wells, Maine.

Kathy (Houghton) Rende (tenor sax) has played saxophone for various community and professional bands for many years.  They include the Phil Rich Big Band, the Peter Polk Band, SOUNDTRAK, the Maine Winds, UMaine Jazz Band and the Kennebec River Big Band.  Kathy has been teaching public school music for nearly 20 years. She received her Bachelor’s degree from UMaine Orono where she studied saxophone with Dave Demsey.   She has taught instrumental/vocal music in Etna-Dixmont, Old Town and China.  She currently teaches at Hall-Dale Middle School.   Throughout Kathy’s teaching career, she has remained active in District III, IV and V as manager, host, and district chair for various festivals.  She has intermittently taught private lessons.  She also worked for MSYM in Orono and Maine Jazz Camp in Vassalboro for a number of years.  Outside of music, Kathy enjoys golf, bowling, softball, and scrap books.  She lives in Augusta with her husband Nik, 7-year-old son Alex, a Jack Russell Terrier, and 2 cats.  

Jayne Quinn Sawtelle (bari/tenor sax) grew up in Monmouth, Maine, the youngest of seven children. Her older siblings forced her to take piano lessons until they grew up and moved away, which is when she started saxophone. Jayne has played with just about every band in the area, but is very excited about the Edith Jones Project, as she will not have to cross-dress in a necktie or tuxedo in order to perform. A graduate of USM, Jayne is a music teacher in Portland.  She is married to another educator, Mike Quinn and she is the mother to two young children and stepmother to two adults. Jayne tells people she named her son Barry after her saxophone, but that's not really true. It is true that she postponed the birth of her daughter, Joanna, so she could play just one more dance gig before the delivery.

Alison Jones (tenor sax) is EJP manager and, with Jayne Sawtelle, is one of the organizers of  The EJP.  She was born in New Orleans and grew up in southern Louisiana where she developed a love of music, a phobia of snakes, and a taste for spicy food.    She studied geology in college (B.S. Louisiana State, M.S. Colorado School of Mines) and most recently worked as an environmental consultant in Portland.   Besides playing saxophone, her hobbies include boating, reading, and gardening.  Her mottos are "Aspire to be the person your dog already thinks you are," and "Any day you get to use a sledgehammer is a good day."  She has recently re-located to Tucson, AZ, to fulfill her lifelong dream of living in a place where afternoon siestas are the norm. Alison lives with her husband, Gerry, and her furry companion, Yorkshire Terrier Edith Jones. She plans to return for gigs with EJP as often as possible.