On trumpet, Eric Hillman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Augusta, Georgia, He has been a resident of North Augusta, South Carolina since 1998. He began playing trumpet at the age of nine receiving training in jazz and classical music through the local school systems of Augusta, Georgia. During middle and high school, he was honored with a place on the All-State Concert and a place on the All-State Jazz Band in high school each consecutive year. He has performed with local jazz groups in the Kansas City area, notably the quintet Bopularity. Other groups include The Augusta Jazz Project, The Section, Buzz Clifford and the Last Bohemian Quartet, Confirmation, Air Apparent, and The Kings of Swing in the Augusta, Georgia area. He has also done studio work with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, trombonist for the Wynton Marsalis Septet and has had the privilege of playing with Wynton Marsalis in a jam session
On drums, Michael Peele was born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Augusta, Georgia. He resides in Hephzibah, Georgia currently. He began playing drums in 1982 ironically playing for a country/rock band. He began playing with A Step Up in 1989. He is a well known name among Augusta, Georgia jazz musicians and has been featured in groups such as The Section, The Last Bohemian Quartet, The Jazz Soulstice, The Soul Bar Quartet, Air Apparent, Kings of Swing, Jazz Collective, Perfect Picture and All That Jazz.
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