BOP STOP is excited to welcome Pittsburgh-based vocalist, Tania Grubbs, to Cleveland as she leads an amazing quartet of regional musicians. The carefully curated selection of songs includes some standards, some jazz tunes that you may not have heard in a minute and some original material - all presented in a manner that sounds like a gig tailored to the listener. All are invited and embraced.

Tickets for tonight are $20 each in advance, $25 day of show (a $2 per ticket processing fee will be added to your purchase).

Featuring:

• Tania Grubbs - voice
• Cliff Barnes - piano
• Jeff Grubbs - bass
• Jamey Haddad - drums

This event will also be livestreamed on BOP STOP's Youtube Channel at showtime. Accessing the stream is free but donations are encouraged and directly support the band.

------------------

TANIA GRUBBS
Vocalist
Tania has been singing for as long as she can remember, bringing her voice to a wide range of settings and genres. A graduate of Youngstown State University, she immersed herself in jazz studies under the guidance of professor Tony Leonardi, beginning with the timeless American Songbook. During her years of workshopping tunes, performing gigs, and joining jam sessions, she met her future husband, bassist Jeff Grubbs, on the bandstand.

Jeff’s orchestral career took the couple to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Tania’s artistry flourished. She performed in jazz clubs, concert halls, and theater productions, and was featured as a vocalist with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a member of the Voices of the Boca Pops Orchestra. In 1996, Jeff joined the bass section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the couple relocated to Pittsburgh.

Since then, Tania has become a vibrant presence in the city’s musical community. She is a four-time recipient of the Heinz Foundation’s Ready for Life Grants and has appeared as a featured vocalist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Civic Light Opera, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and the Pittsburgh Jazz Society, among others. Her artistry is also captured on three acclaimed jazz albums: Lost In The Stars (2014), Live at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar (2020), and The Sound of Love (2024).

CLIFFORD BARNES
Pianist, Organist, Bassist
Ohio native, pianist, organist & bassist Cliff Barnes is an accomplished and versatile musician spanning several genres with a firmly rooted foundation in gospel and jazz. Barnes has performed with many notable names in the music industry, including David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Pieces of a Dream, Gerald Veasley, Phil Perry, Johnny Gill, Toney Terry & Monifa to name a few.

Barnes appeared on the 2015 Marcus Miller album Afrodeezia and Miller’s most recent release Laid Black 2019, both on the Decca Records label (a division of Universal Music).

Cliff Barnes has served on the piano faculty at West Virginia University.

JEFF GRUBBS
Bassist
Jeff Grubbs, a Cleveland, Ohio native, is an accomplished jazz bassist and longtime member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He received his musical training at Youngstown State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Southern California.

Throughout his career, Grubbs has been an active presence in the jazz scenes of Cleveland, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, and Pittsburgh. He has shared the stage with an impressive roster of internationally recognized artists, including Nat Adderley, Melissa Aldana, Kenny Burrell, Tia Fuller, Hubert Laws, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Lovano, Diane Schuur, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Joe Williams.

In addition to his performance career, Grubbs has made significant contributions to jazz education. He has served as Associate Professor of Jazz Double Bass at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has held faculty positions at Carnegie Mellon University, Florida International University, Clark Atlanta University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Brevard Music Center, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Slippery Rock University.

JAMEY HADDAD
Drums
Jamey Haddad is an acclaimed American percussionist and drummer, widely recognized for his mastery of world music traditions and his innovative contributions to contemporary jazz and global fusion. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Haddad has built a career that bridges cultures and genres, performing and recording with some of the world’s most respected artists.

A longtime collaborator with Paul Simon, Haddad has also worked with Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Esperanza Spalding, Bobby McFerrin, and Osvaldo Golijov, among many others. His musical style reflects a deep study of Middle Eastern, African, Indian, and Latin percussion, integrated seamlessly with his jazz and improvisational roots.

Haddad is also an esteemed educator, serving on the faculty of both the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he teaches percussion and world music. Beyond performance and teaching, he is respected for his role in promoting cultural understanding through rhythm, collaboration, and musical dialogue.

In recognition of his lifetime of artistic achievement and global impact on percussion, Jamey Haddad was recently inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2025.

Widely regarded as one of the most versatile and expressive percussionists of his generation, Jamey Haddad continues to influence musicians around the world with his artistry, curiosity, and dedication to the universal language of music.