After studying piano, trombone and electric bass, Bud Ayres began performing on double bass in 1999, studying with Nate Lienhard and Michael Moore. Bud has performed at Shanghai Jazz since 2007 with Steve Hess and Josh Rubin. He has performed with the Caldwell University Jazz Band since 2012 under the direction of Rob Middleton. Bud has performed with a number of jazz luminaries over the past 20 years. He's a founding member of the Jazz Vespers Trio which leads music for worship services at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown and several other New Jersey churches. Bud teaches math at Governor Livingston High School.

After graduating Berklee College of Music in 1987, Josh Rubin embarked on a career as a performing guitarist and teaching.  He performed with such artists as George Coleman, David Grisman, Claudio Roditi, Grady Tate and Martha Reevesand the Vandellas in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Knitting Factory, Village Gate, Pier 16, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall.

Steve Hess studied classical and jazz percussion at the University of Delaware. He has performed at  Shanghai Jazz since 2007 and was formerly a member of the Maplewood-based big band Swingtown. He has played in the pit for over a dozen musicals, and is a founding member of the Jazz Vespers Trio which leads worship services at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown and several other New Jersey churches. He is a math teacher at Governor Livingston High School.