Meet the Ambassadors:

Among the most dynamic and versatile voices of her generation, Shayna Steele has applied her gifts to an impossibly rich and wide range of situations: as a guest soloist with more than 100 symphony orchestras throughout America; in hit Broadway shows including Hairspray; and as a collaborator to such luminaries as Snarky Puppy, Moby and Chris Botti. Her own discography, including her 2023 Ropeadope release Gold Dust, seamlessly melds soul, jazz and blues. 

One of the most successful record-industry executives in jazz history, Wulf Müller did legendary work for PolyGram throughout the 1980s and ’90s, with jazz and classical deities including Pavarotti, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, among many others. Moving into the 21st century, he reactivated the storied Emarcy label, signing titans like Sonny Rollins, Roy Hargrove and Branford Marsalis; in 2012, Sony invited him to resurrect another fabled imprint, Okeh. Müller released his memoir, A Life in Music, in 2022.    

Over the past half-century, the creative polymath Jamaaladeen Tacuma has been one of the most compelling and distinctive voices on the electric bass. He is perhaps best known for his vital presence in Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time during the 1970s and ’80s, offering a profoundly nimble understanding of the saxophonist’s Harmolodic concept. Tacuma has also recorded prolifically under his own name, including an influential run with the Gramavision label during the ’80s, and collaborated with many of the greatest musicians in jazz, rock and the avant-garde, including James Blood Ulmer, Vernon Reid and James Carter. 

The musician and songwriter Todd Clouser belongs on a short list alongside Bill Frisell, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot and other extraordinary guitarists whose sound is at once impossibly wide-ranging and utterly singular. Clouser tours and records regularly with his power trio A Love Electric, which he formed through his experience in Mexico City’s improvised-music scene. He has also worked as a solo act and in collaboration with avant-jazz greats like John Zorn, John Lurie and John Medeski. Equally committed to the arts and community outreach, Clouser founded the nonprofit Music Mission, facilitating large-scale instrument donations and music education throughout Central America and beyond. 

Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, who began making his name in jazz as the gifted trumpeter Christian Scott, ranks among the most innovative and critically lauded musicians of his generation. He is a cultural visionary who combines his interests in technology, political activism and contemporary music with a profound respect for his heritage — especially his role as a revered torchbearer for Afro New Orleanian or Black Indian traditions. Scott is the pioneer of the genre-averse, groove-obsessed style known as “Stretch Music,” and the inventor of a bold array of emergent technologies and instruments, including the Stretch Music app, the Adjuah Trumpet and Chief Adjuah’s N’Goni. Naturally, his list of collaborators contains jazz icons alongside such prophets as Prince, Thom Yorke and Thundercat.   

The acclaimed musician, producer, composer, arranger, conductor and educator Robert Sadin has shaped ambitious orchestral recordings for some of the greatest artists of our time. His discography includes Herbie Hancock’s multi-Grammy-winning Gershwin’s World; Wayne Shorter’s Alegría, a winner of two Grammy Awards; Sting’s If on a Winter’s Night…; and more. Other highlights include Plácido Domingo’s Encanto del Mar and Sadin’s own Art of Love, a star-packed tribute to Machaut featuring Natalie Merchant, Brad Mehldau and others. As an arranger and guest conductor, Sadin has worked with many of the world’s finest symphonies. 

Meet the Founders:

With 45 years of independent business experience, Louis Marks brings a persistent spirit of advocacy to all that he does. Marks has led the independent label Ropeadope since 2006, curating an important and historic collection of contemporary music.

Hailed by Tape Op as a “musician, educator and music business visionary,” Joe Pignato regularly works as a consultant with organizations in the areas of music, music technology and music education. He has held management positions at leading music companies, including N2K Incorporated, BMG Classics, RCA Victor, ECM Records, CMP Records and Latin Percussion.

A musician, entrepreneur, educator and community advocate, Fabian Brown has gained a wide range of experience in his 20 years in music. Fabian’s unflagging enthusiasm for lifting up artists and community is evident in all of his roles, from President of Ropeadope to co-founding the nonprofit organization Heights in Progress.