The SRJO is co-directed by drummer Clarence Acox, nationally recognized director of bands at Seattle's Garfield High School, and saxophonist/arranger Michael Brockman, long-time faculty member at the University of Washington School of Music.

The SRJO's extensive and growing repertoire is drawn from the 100-year history of jazz, from turn-of-the-20th century ragtime to turn-of-the-21st century avant-garde. This includes works by America's most famous jazz composers, among them Fletcher Henderson, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones, and of course, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In addition, the SRJO's repertoire grows each year as the ensemble adds previously unpublished works to its library.

Recovering jazz classics for performance by the ensemble is accomplished by co-director Michael Brockman, our region's outstanding practitioner of the art of transcribing lost-to-print composition and arrangement, note for note, from vintage recordings.

Trumpeter Jay Thomas has repeatedly been named best instrumentalist at Earshot's annual Golden Ear awards and has recorded with Cedar Walton and Herb Ellis. Saxophonist Bill Ramsay is a touring veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Benny Goodman bands. Saxophonist Hadley Caliman is a jazz faculty member at the Cornish College of the Arts, and a veteran of the bands of Freddie Hubbard and Earl Hines. Phil Sparks, named Earshot Musician of the Year in 1996, is the busiest bass player in Seattle. Saxophonist Mark Taylor is among the most in-demand young players in Seattle. Pianist Randy Halberstadt, another local headliner, serves on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts.