The membership of this ever-changing Grammy-nominated collective of jazz musicians, formed in 1996 by Bob Karcy -- the founder of Arkadia Records -- drew from his New York-based label's extensive roster of post-bop talent.

Regular leaders of the ensemble included soprano saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Billy Taylor, and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, among others. This trio was featured prominently on 1997's Arkadia Jazz: In the Beginning, effectively a collection of highlights from the label's initial six releases, that was later re-marketed -- along with a handful of their other compilations -- as an Arkadia Jazz All-Stars release. 1998's Thank You, John! Our Tribute to John Coltrane -- the first in a series of releases dedicated to jazz greats -- was the first proper Arkadia Jazz All-Stars release. Alongside lead roles from the aforementioned trio, there were also major contributions from Ted Rosenthal and Nova Bossa Nova. In addition, the album included a Liebman-led rendition of "My Favorite Things" that was ultimately nominated for a Grammy. The series continued that same year with Thank You, Gerry!, a Gerry Mulligan tribute led by alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker on trumpet, and Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone. Golson and Taylor returned for 1999's Thank You, Duke! and were joined on the Ellington tribute by pianist Joanne Brackeen and alto saxophonist T.K. Blue. The final part of the series -- and the last true Arkadia Jazz All-Stars album -- was a tribute to Joe Henderson and featured key roles by Eric Reed on piano and Javon Jackson on tenor sax.

Five Arkadia Jazz compilations were released in 2001 -- two volumes of The Stars of Jazz, The New Young Lions of Jazz, It's About Love, and Out and Out Jazz -- each of which were later promoted as Arkadia Jazz All-Stars albums due to the line-ups being drawn from the same pool. Branford Marsalis and Benny Golson played on "Body and Soul," a track from The Stars of Jazz, Vol.1, which also earned a Grammy nomination. Although members of the collective continued to release individual albums on Arkadia Jazz until 2007, their output as the All-Stars ended at the turn of the century. Renewed interest arose in 2021, when several of their tracks were reissued as digital singles. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi