KAREN HAMMACK

A Southern California native, Karen maintains an active schedule as a performer, teacher, composer, multi-genre keyboardist, recording artist, and is the founder of ValleyGirlBeats, a music production studio.

Because Karen is an incredibly versatile keyboardist and has performed and recorded with some of the most respected artists in the music scene including  Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diane Schuur, Madeline Eastman, Vinnie Colaiuta, Scott Colley, Cathy Segal-Garcia, Chris Conner, Dick Weller, Steve Cardenas,  Kenny Wollesen, Mariane McSweeny, Eric Marienthal, Putter Smith, Bob Shepherd, Ron Stout, Dawn Bishop, Gina Saputo,  Melissa Manchester, Tierney Sutton, Kate McGarry, Michael McDonald, Larry Koonse, Judy Wexler, Julie Christensen, Cris Barber, Janiva Magness, Sweet Baby Jai, and Cynthia Jones.

Some musical career highlights include:

• Performing at Royce Hall in an all-star tribute to Leonard Cohen, headed by Grammy-nominee Perla Batalla featuring Jackson Browne, Don Was, Bill Frisell, and Greg Leisz;
• Performing with the great Maurice Hines in Tappin’ Thru Life, his homage to his brother Gregory and himself featuring the Jazz Diva Orchestra;
• Music director for jazz and gospel great Niki Haris , who was with Madonna for several years. With Niki, Karen has performed at the Vail Jazz Festival, the I Love Jazz festival in Brazil, and several times in Bern, Switzerland at  Marians Jazzroom.

Karen has recorded on countless CD projects and has 2 CDs of her own, My Beating Heart and Oh Beautiful Life, and has several original tracks which were recorded at her own production company ValleyGirlBeats that are available through this site.

She is also an active educator and has been teaching at Musicians Institute of Los Angeles for 15 years and taught at Los Angeles College of Music for 12 years. She was on staff in 2015 for Madeline Eastman’s JazzCampWest, alongside great jazz artists Josh Nelson, Sara Leib, and Laurence Hobgood. Karen has also been involved in well-known jazz vocalist Julie Kelly’s famous Jazz On The Hill, an intense workshop for budding jazz singers, for 10 years. She was involved in trumpet great Bobby Rodriguiz’s Jazz Adventure, a Los Angeles Music Center sponsored jazz education project for kids. Karen also teaches privately at her home studio in Los Angeles.

JUAN ESCOVEDO, aka The J

As a child, Juan taught himself to play bongos, congas, trap drums, timbales, percussion, and other instruments. When he turned 14, he went from studying his father, Pete Escovedo, to proudly performing with him.

Juan has toured, performed, and recorded with many artists, including Prince, Tony Toni Tone, Miguel, El Chicano, Con Funk Shun, Patti LaBelle, Amerie, Chingy, Jody Watley, Lou Bega, MC Hammer, Lionel Richie, En Vogue, El DeBarge, Freddie Hubbard, Barry White, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Teri Lynn Carrington, Bobby McFerrin, Tito Puente, Cheryl Lynn, Raphael Saadiq, Bobby Womack, his sister Sheila E., and, still, his father, Pete Escovedo.

Juan tours, writes, and records as a solo artist with his father’s Latin Jazz Orchestra and The E Family: his father, his brother, Peter Michael Escovedo, and his sister Sheila E. Produced and arranged by Peter Michael Escovedo, The E Family’s latest CD, Rhythm of the Night, is a collection of nine “Old School” Soul & R&B hits, re-arranged and transformed into an explosion of Latin Jazz articulated through a fourteen-piece Latin Jazz Orchestra. The album features guest vocalists Peter Michael, Simon Russel, Sy Smith, Sheila E., Peter Michael, and Debi, as well as Escovedo’s great grandchildren.

Juan Escovedo released his first solo CD, THE J, on November 8, 2021, at his official record release party with two sold-out shows in Oakland. This CD elevates your soul with a masterfully crafted sound and rhythm meticulously created with an orchestra of seasoned sound that promises to take your breath away. Angel, the first single, features singer-songwriter El DeBarge with Martin Kember from Color Me Badd. Raphael Saadiq plays bass on two songs, Eddie M plays saxophone on two songs, and Andy Fargas of Santana sings on another piece. The video Angel was released on December 1, 2021!

BILL CLUM

Through Retreats, One-on-One Sessions and Spiritual Coaching, of Evolution of the Heart, Bill  provides  guidance for a thriving life. He believes  that to fully thrive and live from your center, a healed and whole foundation is necessary. The modalities that flow are unique to each individual; providing specialized support for the healing needed to rebuild and strengthen the souls foundation and heart. 

Bill’s Mission

I know the importance of surrendering to the opening of my own heart and embracing the brightness of the light within. Through deep awareness and guidance, I support you in moving towards your opportunities for profound healing, so that you too may step into the freedom to be who you have come here to be. I use real-time healing and practical tools and practices to support you in building emotional muscle. Through the process, you will discover your own strength and resilience and the truth of who you really are. Patricia and I started Evolution of the Heart from the fundamental desire of people wanting to open their hearts and live a life of fulfillment and freedom.

Bill’s Evolution

It was through 30 years of seeking and experiencing many modalities of religion and spirituality, that I finally discovered my own true, divine path. I was born in London, England in 1947 and moved to the United States as a toddler. My childhood military family set the foundation from which I would grow. I became a certified Federal Aviation Agency Technician and later moved into the automotive industry. I owned and operated a successful business for 30 years before turning my attention fully towards supporting others on their paths to enlightenment. I now live in San Diego, California, and I am so grateful to share this life with my wife, Patricia, and our beautiful children and grandchildren.

Bill’s Work

Using both sensitivity and strength, I welcome you into self-acceptance and forgiveness, guiding you through pain, grief, fear and anger. I support you in building and strengthening your own foundation, providing tools and skills for emotional and spiritual growth. Our work together offers you the opportunity to transform into the person you are here to be. I also lead Man to Man Coaching, a coaching practice to support the everyday man to heal and awaken. “When you can move into acceptance of what life is right now, you are in the movement of what is truly inviting you to experience the depth of yourself.”

Bill’s Credentials

My own journey of awakening has led me to extensively explore both mentoring and healing, developing skills across several healing modalities and professional certifications. Devotion and commitment have blessed me with the opportunity to have been among many gifted teachers, always discovering even greater depths of my own heart.

TIFFANY BAILEY

It’s my love for Pop music. And I do really love it. I’m the girl that’s singing the pop songs at the top of my lungs in the car and hoping other cars don’t think it’s road rage. That’s actually a part of my make up. 

I grew up with a Jazz trumpet player dad, Alan “Buddy” Bailey. He wanted me to be a great Jazz singer, and I just didn’t know how. It affected how I chose music, and how I viewed myself as a singer. I started this project knowing that I wanted to collaborate with my dad on a CD. We had a mutual love for Chet Baker. 

Chet Baker could break your heart and bring you joy with the way he sang and played his trumpet. This is what makes a great musician. They find a way to touch your soul.



Jazz with POP is a collection of funk, Jazz, and Pop. I picked the songs I love, and I hope you will love them too. 

STACY GOLD

Award-winning adventure romance author Stacy Gold would rather be in the middle of nowhere than almost anywhere else.

To that end, she’s run more than 50 rivers in three countries, been heli-dropped into remote ski huts multiple times (and made it into even more under her own steam), and most recently completed a self-support kayak trip in the Grand Canyon.

She has worked for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service as a backcountry ranger, river ranger, and naturalist, and spent fourteen years as a commercial river guide and kayak instructor in the southeast, Rocky Mountains and PNW. Her last “real job” was serving as Communications Director for a state-wide mountain biking non-profit. 

When she’s not busy kayaking, skiing, mountain biking, or hiking, with her husband and happy dogs, she writes stories about independent, capable women finding love and adventure in the great outdoors