People In Orbit is Adam Sass’ explosive band. Electronic meets acoustic, chaos meets calm, and the free meets the arranged. Through all these types of soundscapes, magnificent, snazzy and inventive sounds are being created, which clearly sets the scene of different environments, persons and our own strange world. from https://www.jazz.fo

Danish trombone player born in 1967 from discogs Trombonist, composer, and arranger. Graduated from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC), Copenhagen. Lis Wessberg is one of Denmark’s leading trombonists, known for her beautiful tone and unique feel on the instrument. She has played and recorded with a large number of top Danish artists within jazz and pop, including Marilyn Mazur, Steen Rasmussen, Lennart Ginman, Fredrik Lundin, Jan Kaspersen, Jesper Zeuthen and many more. Lis Wessberg has been featured on more than 50 releases and has toured extensively in both Denmark and abroad. At major international festivals, Wessberg has encountered many fantastic orchestras and big stars. Some of whom she has played with, and it is not just anyone she can boast of having performed for – Joyce Moreno, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, and Ernie Wilkins Almost Big Band feat. Randy Brecker, just to name a few. Lis Wessberg has role models both on and off the stage, but common to them all is that they are people who appear genuine, searching, and dedicated. Among them, she mentions Miles Davis, Lee Konitz, Ben Webster, Chet Baker, Radiohead, and Mark Hollis from Talk Talk. from www.liswessberg.dk

A new generation of London musicians assembled by drummer and producer Jake Long, featuring Ali MacSween (piano, synthesizers and modular FX), Axel Kaner-Lidstrom (trumpet), Twm Dylan (double bass), Tim Doyle (percussion) and Chelsea Carmichael (tenor saxophone). ... The roots of the collaboration trace back to 2019, when broadcaster and Brownswood founder Gilles Peterson invited Long to bring his ensemble Maisha together with Bartz for performances at the inaugural We Out Here Festival and London’s Royal Festival Hall. A subsequent direct-to-disc session for Night Dreamer Records revealed an immediate musical chemistry between Bartz and the London musicians – a creative relationship that has continued to evolve into Where Rivers Meet. ... At the center of the Where Rivers Meet project is Gary Bartz, one of the defining voices in modern jazz. Across a career spanning more than five decades, Bartz has performed with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Art Blakey, while his celebrated NTU Troop recordings helped shape the sound of spiritual jazz in the 1970s. from https://www.reviewsphere.org

Born in Gothenburg and now active across Sweden and Europe, Henriksson has collaborated and toured with artists including Lars Jansson, Håkan Broström, Erik Söderlind, Klas Lindquist, Jonas Kullhammar and Christina von Bülow. Alongside leading his own ensembles, he remains a sought-after bassist in a wide range of projects, balancing a deep connection to the jazz tradition with a modern, exploratory approach. from https://aprilrecords.com

Jelly Roll Morton had a hit with his 1923 version of Wolverine Blues. This stirred interest with the the Victor company who were just starting to get into the “race records” market and were looking for talent. Jelly Roll assembled a group of musicians who could play in the New Orleans style and called them the Red Hot Peppers. Many of the musicians came from Lil Hardin-Armstrong’s recently disbanded Dreamland Syncopators. The tracks recorded in Chicago in 1926 and 1927 are considered some of the finest recordings in the “Hot Style”. Morton moved to New York and assembled another version of the band and went on to record with Victor until 1930. from https://syncopatedtimes.com

Guitarist, film score composer and orchestrator. After 1996, he focused on improvising music (especially jazz and rock). Among his main influences are Frank Zappa, Bill Frisell, Django Reinhardt, Jimi Hendrix, Fred Frith, Daevid Allen, and Trey Spruance. from discogs

The Swedish multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Ljunggren (born 1974 in Stockholm, Sweden), is originally educated as a saxophonist at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, where he has lived since 1996. Apart from the saxophone and other wind instruments, Ljunggren also masters various keyboards, the piano and various strings. The main instruments on the new album is the guitar in forms like pedal steel, lap steel, mando- and electric guitars. During his years in Denmark Gustaf Ljunggren has recorded and played with a range of Danish artists, like C.V. Jørgensen, Benny Andersen, Steffen Brandt and the Scandinavian artists Sofia Karlsson (S), Robyn (S) and Eivør (Faroe Islands). In 2015 he received the Ken Gudman prize, one of Denmark’s big and essential music prizes. The last album released in his own name was ‘Måne’, as part of the duo Gustaf Ljunggren / Emil de Waal. Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer Gustaf Ljunggren has teamed up with Icelandic Bass Guitar player and composer Skúli Sverrisson (Laurie Anderson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Frisell, Blonde Redhead ) to create an album that wishes to offer the listener private musical spaces to dwell in for a while. Ljunggren’s musical language is clear, gentle, and melodic, and the pieces chosen for this album all share a sense of weaving past and future together into the present. Gustaf Ljunggren reflects about the music on Floreana: “I listened inwards, and it sounded like this. Melodies came to the surface, and I chose to say ‘yes’ to them, embrace them, carry them forward. My musical partner on this album, Skúli Sverrisson, has been with me throughout this process; embracing the music with both profound dedication and artistic boldness.” The music on the album grants the listener access to something that’s forgotten or undiscovered. There’s a sensuousness throughout the work; musical spaces that reveal possibilities to listen inwards, aided by repetition in melodies and patterns. The music doesn’t seek climaxes as much as it seeks states of presence and attention. The live concerts with Gustaf Ljunggren and Skúli Sverrisson will explore the spaces the music on Floreana invites to. Two of northern Europe’s most distinctive instrumentalists will interpret Ljunggren’s compositions with a strong attention to the environment where the music is performed. The audience can expect the performers to display a deep commitment to the presence of the music as it unfolds. Each concert will be an exclusive, one-of-a-kind experience – a celebration of the spaces within, that Floreana seeks out to discover. from https://aprilrecords.com

Jazz singer born in London in 1931 to an Irish mother and Nigerian father. She had high profile already by age 18, and in her 20's was with Johnny Dankworth before Cleo Laine. She passed away in 2014 in Hampstead, London. from discogs

American guitarist born in 1978 in Long Beach, California, based in Minneapolis. from discogs Zacc Harris is a Minneapolis-based guitarist, composer, and bandleader who has been an integral part of the Twin Cities jazz scene since 2005. Recognized for his articulate guitar work, inventive compositions, and dynamic live performances, he performs with and leads a range of projects, including the Atlantis Quartet, the Zacc Harris Group, and American Reverie. In 2017, he was named the Twin Cities’ Best Jazz Artist by City Pages. Harris leads and co-leads a wide array of acclaimed projects, including the Atlantis Quartet, a genre-defying ensemble known for its adventurous sound and compositional sophistication. The group received a 2015 McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians and was named Best Jazz Artist by City Pages in 2011. As co-leader, Harris has released five albums with Atlantis Quartet since 2006, along with a digital anthology chronicling their first decade. Renowned jazz critic Bill Milkowski described the band in JazzTimes as “Twin Cities modern jazz renegades [who] shift nimbly from a punk-jazz aesthetic to ECM-ish sensitivity… startlingly original stuff.” In addition to the Atlantis Quartet, Harris fronts the Zacc Harris Group, the Zacc Harris Trio, and the folk-meets-jazz project American Reverie. His work spans a wide musical spectrum, but it’s consistently marked by deep melodicism, thoughtful improvisation, and a reverence for both jazz tradition and contemporary expression. His latest release, Chasing Shadows (2024), has been met with critical acclaim, with JazzWise Magazine praising Harris’ compositions for “exploring the kind of big-sky generous melodicism pioneered by artists like Metheny and Gary Burton,” adding that “his timing and articulation are beyond reproach and his imagination extensive.” His previous album, Small Wonders (2021), received a 4-star review from DownBeat Magazine and landed on their Best Albums of the Year list. In 2012, Harris made his debut as a leader with The Garden on Shifting Paradigm Records, which showcased his compositional voice and agile playing. City Pages lauded the album for its “enticing fluidity” and intelligent links between the past and future of jazz. He followed this with American Reverie in 2017, a trio project with bassist Matt Peterson and drummer Lars-Erik Larson that reimagines American folk classics—ranging from Stephen Foster to Bob Dylan—through a jazz lens. All About Jazz called the album “full of fresh twists, all played with understated warmth,” while City Pages praised its “smart contemporary jazz interpretations” and “eloquent guitar work.” Harris’ performance career has taken him throughout the U.S. and U.K., with highlights including a 2016 engagement at London’s iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and a main stage appearance at the 2017 and 2022 Twin Cities Jazz Festivals as well as the 2015 Iowa City Jazz Festival. As a sideman, Harris has performed with a long list of respected artists, including Debbie Duncan, Bruce Henry, Babatunde Lea, Eric Gravatt, Ben Wendel, Michael Janisch, Javier Santiago and Nancy Harms. He is also a member of several other cutting-edge ensembles such as JT Bates’ Grain Trio, Lars Larson’s Mancrush, Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band, Dean Granros’ Tall Tales, the bass-less ambient/improvised trio, Baldwin/Harris/Hennig who released their debut Boundaries in 2024. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Harris has become a dedicated educator as well as performer. He has taught privately for over two decades and currently serves on the faculty at Carleton College and Hamline University. Zacc Harris brings a spirit of curiosity and collaboration to every project, continually exploring new ways to connect with both audiences and fellow musicians. Rooted in a deep respect for the jazz tradition, his music also reflects a personal voice shaped by years of study, performance, and creative exploration. With a growing body of work and an array of ongoing collaborations, Harris continues to evolve as a guitarist and composer, engaging listeners through thoughtful, emotionally resonant music. from https://zaccharris.com

A native of St. Charles, Illinois, Farace was granted a scholarship at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and later earned a masters in music from DePaul University. While still at DePaul, Farace and two other students formed Trio Profondo, which released the recording “Mosaic” in 2023. The recording gained critical acclaim, primarily because of the evident influence and nod to many of the jazz greats. from https://music.newcity.com Jimmy Farace is a baritone saxophonist known for his rich tone and deeply human approach to music. As a composer and improviser, he explores universal themes—nostalgia, joy, growing pains—with emotional depth and clarity. Praised by DownBeat Magazine as “an outstanding new voice,” and by saxophone great Gary Smulyan for his “gorgeous sound” and “mature, emotional playing,” Farace is emerging as a vital new voice in jazz. His debut album, Hours Fly, Flowers Die (Shifting Paradigm Records, 2025), features a modern jazz quintet and the KAIA String Quartet. Blending originals and reimagined classics, the album meditates on time and memory with striking beauty. All About Jazz called it “a strong statement,” while Walter Smith III praised it as “a COMPLETE musical statement” from an artist who “demands the attention of a wide audience.” Farace has performed and recorded with a wide range of acclaimed artists, including Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Makaya McCraven, Greg Ward, Matt Ulery, Quin Kirchner, Sharel Cassity, Geof Bradfield, Lenard Simpson, John Wojciechowski, Ethan Philion, and Scott Hesse. As a leader, his groups have graced Chicago stages such as The Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, The Hungry Brain, Constellation, and Evanston SPACE. from https://athenaeumcenter.org

Stephen Parisi Jr is a Jazz Bassist, Composer/Arranger, and Educator, originally from Buffalo, New York. After becoming one of the most in-demand bass players in Buffalo and Rochester, Stephen moved to Chicago to grow his career and be a part of the rich musical tradition that Chicago has. Over his career, Stephen has played with an illustrious list of well-known figures in jazz, including Dave Koz, Ben Paterson, Michael Allemana, Victor Garcia, Bobby Millitello, Tommy Gearheart, Bobby Jones, George Calldwell, Mark Kellogg, Gordon Webster, and Bob Sneider. Stephen is also a member of the Buffalo Jazz Collective and has toured with many bands, including the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. In addition, Stephen is also a very active composer and arranger, studying under masters of the craft including Tom Matta, Bill Dobbins, and Dave Rivello. His debut album “Buddy!” will be released in 2026. from www.stephenparisijr.com

Ella Grace is an award-winning performer, composer, and educator based in Chicago. Born in Georgia and raised in Minnesota, Ella was heralded as “ultra-talented” by the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and labeled a "rising star" in the Twin Cities jazz scene before moving to Chicago in 2021, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies summa cum laude from DePaul University in 2025. In 2024, Ella won the Chicago Music Scene Fellowship, which funded her debut album as a leader, Figments, released March 2026 on Shifting Paradigm Records to great acclaim and described as "an impressively together album that announces Ella Grace as a composer and bandleader as well as a trumpeter whose name should go well beyond the Windy City" (Jazzwise). Ella performs frequently in the Chicago area, Midwest, and beyond both as a side-woman and bandleader with her original compositions. Jazzwise says Ella has "a clear-eyed compositional approach that understands the jazz legacy with smart arrangements." Ella has experience performing many styles including jazz, classical, r&b, pop, rock, funk, fusion, salsa, cumbia, merengue, samba, ambient, and more. Ella has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Ella is also a passionate jazz educator and won the 2024 Jazz Education Network Jamey Aebersold Endowed Scholarship, a special distinction for young educators. Ella has a robust private studio and teaches masterclasses and summer camps across the country to help foster the next generation of jazz musicians including the University of North Texas Summer Jazz Workshop, Shell Lake Jazz Camp, Birch Creek Jazz Camp, and Stillwater Summer Jazz Clinic. Ella’s musical upbringing began in Minnesota. There she studied with Steve Strand, Prince's longtime lead trumpeter, and played in the state’s top honors youth jazz ensembles including Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands, Minnesota All-State Jazz Band under the direction of Patty Darling, and the Dakota Combo under the direction of Michael Cain. In high school, Ella began leading a combo and performing professionally around the Twin Cities after placing second for top-division combos at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival. During her senior year of high school, Ella studied music full-time at the University of Minnesota with Marissa Benedict, Dean Sorenson, and Phil Hey, performing in the university's top jazz combo and big band as well as in classical ensembles. Aside from performing and composing, Ella is deeply passionate about furthering gender equity in jazz and recently completed a thesis project on the subject, which won the first place Sloane Prize in Undergraduate Research at the 2024 National Collegiate Honors Conference. She has presented her research on gender equity in jazz at the Chicago Women’s History Conference, Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium, and DePaul Honors Research Conference, and will be presenting her work at the 2026 Jazz Education Network Conference. She also enjoys contributing to music journalism, and you can find some of her writing on Substack. from https://ellagrace16.wixsite.com

The group NO(w) Beauty was formed nine years ago in an informal way, with the desire for the four of us to play together (Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Damien Varaillon on double bass, Stéphane Adsuar on drums and percussion, and myself on piano and synthesizer). We organized several tours in Marseille in small venues (like the legendary Jam) and at friends’ places. We started out playing standards, then gradually found our own sound through original compositions. It was after Covid that we decided to record our first self-titled album, released in 2023—it was time. A connection like that deserves to be set in stone. We searched for a band name for a long time. During a tour in Marseille, we were staying at Damien’s father’s place and came across a book by Zéno Bianu containing a poem that read: “No beauty without silence.” We kept No Beauty, then transformed it into NO(w) Beauty, leaving room for interpretation. No Beauty is an act of resistance, refusing to accept the superficial beauty imposed by our world—immediacy, ease, prejudice. Then NO(w) Beauty redefines our idea of musical work by proposing a more intimate, truer, more singular urgency of beauty. It’s a proposition, not an injunction. from https://couleursjazz.fr

Jean-Marie Machado was born in Tangier to an Italian-Spanish-Portuguese family. He grew up in Morocco and now lives between Val-de-Marne and Brittany. He discovered music and the piano very early in his childhood and studied under the great concert pianist Catherine Collard. He's called a "jazzman." But above all, he's a composer, driven by the spirit of improvisation and creation, a pianist eager for new encounters, and a teacher dedicated to sharing his knowledge, openness, and exchange. He has a marked taste for unusual orchestral formations and has developed an original style, reflecting the multiplicity of his cultural heritage. And so, he continues on his path… The 1980s, like for many young musicians at that time, allowed him to discover jazz, notably with the Moutin Brothers, and improvisation which he kneaded and tamed, transforming it into an intimate and original language. His encounter in 1990 with the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos opened up unexpected avenues of composition for him. World music and traditional music found their way into his music, but above all, an awareness of a depth and urgency that profoundly moved him and somewhat altered the DNA of his writing. Friendships are formed with great European and American jazzmen (Andy Sheppard, Dave Liebman, Paolo Fresu, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Paul Motian, Martial Solal, Jacques Mahieux, Riccardo del Fra…). Links are forged with venues for performances and residencies. Live performances, recordings, and numerous albums (around thirty to date) have emerged over the years. In 1991, his passion for orchestral music took root. In 2007, he founded the Danzas orchestra, named in homage to the Spanish composer Enrique Granados. Through time and various projects, Danzas has grown to become a model of intergenerational collaboration and gender parity. The watchwords are openness and hybridization: his music knows no boundaries and he multiplies compositions for classical formations, for interdisciplinary projects with theatre, dance, storytelling, for wind orchestras (amateur or not), for small chamber music ensembles, always searching between improvisation and writing, always in the inner demand guided by poetry, lyricism and a tactile and carnal sense of the piano which is the basis of his work. Classical music is never far away, Ravel, Debussy, Albéniz. Nor are the great masters of jazz, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett… Creativity – and all its aspects of stage presence, recording, transmission – is a driving force that never leaves him. In 2008, he became composer-in-residence at the Centre des Bords de Marne in Le Perreux-sur-Marne. For 14 years, his role at this institution was to program jazz concerts at the Auditorium and the Le Perreux Jazz Biennial. With director Michel Lefeivre, he created the PAJE (Parcours Accompagnement Jazz Emergent – ​​Emerging Jazz Support Program) for young artists, allowing them to gain their first musical experience. Recognized for his qualities as a composer, improviser, and accompanist, his career, marked by significant achievements, has placed him at the forefront of creators in the European music scene. from www.jeanmariemachado.com

The idea of forming a sextet arose from Giulio Tullio and Giulio Barsotti in April 2023. In May of the same year, the “Saihs” (meaning “six” in Gothic dialect), composed of Edoardo Battaglia on drums, Giulio Barsotti on double bass, Lorenzo Fiorentini on piano, Giulio Mari on trumpet, Giulio Tullio on trombone, and Matteo Zecchi on tenor saxophone, met in the classrooms of the Campi Bisenzio music school (Florence), directed by Massimo Barsotti, to record their first three original pieces to be submitted to the Conad Jazz Contest. The “school” and the city of Campi immediately acquired a very important role in the group’s musical (sessions, recordings, and rehearsals) and non-musical experiences. After unsuccessfully participating in the 2023 Conad Jazz Contest and the Festival dei Conservatori, the “Saihs” won the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival competition in July 2023, with a jury chaired by Frank Gambale. In February 2024, they won the “Chicco Bettinardi” Jazz Band Award at the Milestone Festival in Piacenza (judge chaired by Tino Tracanna). Thanks in part to the support of these awards, in June 2024 the “Saihs” recorded their first unreleased songs at “Toto Sound” in Rome. After participating in the final stages of the Conad Jazz Contest 2024, Fara, and Barga Jazz 2024 competitions, the “Saihs” continued their musical journey, opening for Richard Galliano on November 16 of the same year at the Carlo Monni Theater in Campi Bisenzio. In January 2025, Saihs won the first edition of the Perugia Prize dedicated to Alberto Alberti, which awarded them the production and promotion of their first album, “Distopia. After performing at the Piacenza Jazz Club “Milestone” and at ExFila in Florence, as part of the festival organised by Gianni Pini’s Music Pool, in July 2025, Saihs won the Conad Jazz Contest. The fruit of the group’s two-year labour, gathered in Perugia, will return to the Campi Bisenzio music school, with the production of the group’s second album. from https://conadjazzcontest.it

AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Born in 1983, she started performing her own music, and as a sidewoman and collaborator in many different projects, as soon as she was old enough to get into 18+ venues. As a guitarist, Mendoza has received acclaim for her technique and viscerality. Her most ongoing work is as leader of experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer on guitar/voice. In any context she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Mendoza has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded or performed with musicians including Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Mick Barr, Nels Cline, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Mike Watt, Matana Roberts, Ikue Mori, Matt Mitchell, Jon Irabagon, members of Caroliner, Tune-yards, the Violent Femmes, and more. Recordings are available on labels Tzadik, Weird Forest, Clean Feed, NotTwo, Resipiscent, and New Atlantis. Friendly critics have quoted: “It’s... Ava Mendoza’s deconstructing of blues and punk into brutal shredfests that’s causing a ruckus in NYC’s DIY hubs” (Brad Cohan, Noisey.Vice). She was featured as one of Guitar World‘s “10 Female Guitarists You Should Know”. from www.cafeoto.co.uk

Stefano Rielli is gifted, due to his strong classical background, with a very precise intonation, a surgical pronunciation and emission of sound and strong roots in the language of bop with which he manages to express himself without falling into a formulaic approach. With So Far Stefano Rielli takes the floor as a leader for the first time, entering the scene on tiptoe and offering us a taste of his improvisational skills, his bass lines and his figure as an arranger. from www.galileomusic.de

Surabaya is a city on the eastern coast of Java Island, Indonesia. Located on the edge of the harbour, its air is barren and its heat scorching, Thee Marloes freshens the city up like an oases on its arid land. Amid an ever-busy city, the band that was formed in 2020 emerges as an escape space that offers a packed, soul/pop repertoire reeking of melancholia and memories of the past. The pulse of Thee Marloes beats from the heart of the guitarist, Sinatrya Dharaka. Sinatrya wrote songs for Thee Marloes as a slow pause after a long day of work. He concocted Marloes’ music by borrowing the spirits of soul, funk, and reggae bands who were the world’s prima donna in the late 60s until the early 70s. The majority of Motown and Treasure Isle Records roster became the DNA of Thee Marloes’ musical inspiration. Musical scores written by Sinatrya were merely songs that will never be sung. It was until he met Tommy Satwick, the drummer of Thee Marloes, who then turned those scattered fragments into a song. And eventually he encountered Natassya Sianturi, the vocalist and piano who made their music livelier and more colorful. After releasing two singles called “Nanti” and “Love Potion”, and performing from one stage to another, later in mid 2023, Thee Marloes will release two new singles in 7” vinyl format with Big Crown Records, a record label based in New York. In their next songs, Thee Marloes will try to experiment both with sounds and musical nuances. They are working hard to achieve an archaic sound, an original tune with an atmosphere similar to the bands that inspired them. Their musical inspiration extends, stretching from RnB/ sweet soul groove like The Fuzz, to RZA beat ; a marriage between classic funk and hip hop breaks with James Jamerson’s catchy bass-line. Two singles titled “Midnite Hotline” and “Beri Cinta Waktu” will one day become the ultimate musical manifestation of Thee Marloes, before launching a full-length debut album prepared to welcome the next year. from https://srmbands.id

Big Foot comprises of an exceptional group of musicians, including Japan's Akira Sakata and Malaysia's Yong Yandsen on saxophones, Tokyo-based Seo Takashi on bass, and Australia's Darren Moore on drums. The saxophones' raw energy perfectly complements the churning engine of the bass and drums, resulting in powerful and captivating performances. from bandcamp

Winner as a soloist of the “Palco Aperto JAZZMI 2018” competition for emerging talents, Raffaele Fiengo also took part in the 2021 National Arts Award – 15th edition, winning first prize with his quartet: Thomas Umbaca on piano, Enrico Palmieri on double bass, and Antonio Marmora on drums. Active on the Milanese scene and performing from a very young age at some of the most important Italian jazz festivals (Gaia Jazz 2022, JazzMI 2022, La Grande Notte del Jazz 2023, Bergamo Jazz 2024, Gezziamoci 2024), the quartet gained wider attention by opening the trio concert of American pianist Ethan Iverson within the PRODJGI 2024 series. This marked the beginning of an intense artistic journey through which the group consolidated its sound and refined the leader’s original compositions. from www.gleam-records.com

Jean-Baptiste Rousseaux is a French trumpeter, musician, and composer. Born in Clermont-Ferrand in 2001 into a family of musicians, he discovered the trumpet at the age of six and later pursued studies in both classical music and jazz. During his youth, his remarkable musical talent already gave him the opportunity to perform with leading figures of the French jazz scene such as Ibrahim Maalouf, Franck Nicolas, and Raphaël Imbert. He studied at the music school of Chamalières and at the conservatories of Clermont-Ferrand and Vichy, graduating with distinction as a classical trumpeter and obtaining his DEM diploma in 2019. After meeting the renowned jazz trumpeter Jim Rotondi, he moved to Austria to study with him at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in 2023, he began a Master’s degree in composition with Ed Partyka. His graduation is scheduled for February 2026, for which Rousseaux composed an ambitious large-scale suite combining elements of classical music and jazz. During his studies in Austria, he represented the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz at the international jazz meeting of the International Association of Schools of Jazz in New York, and on two occasions at the international young jazz musicians meeting More Than Jazz in Udine. Alongside numerous concerts across Austria and Europe, he was a finalist at the Jazz Comp Graz in 2024. In 2025, he received two DownBeat Student Music Awards for his compositions in the Large Ensemble and Small Ensemble categories. The same year, he was awarded 3rd prize in the Jazz Division of the Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition in Salt Lake City, USA. One of his main artistic projects is the Jean-Baptiste Rousseaux Trio. The present album marks the trio’s debut recording, offering a first glimpse into Rousseaux’s musical universe. He is also a member of the quintet Handmade, led by Serbian accordionist Marko Živadinović, and performs with the Styrian Improvisers Orchestra. from https://epk.galileomusic.de

MXD is a nine-song set of expansive, progressive, art-leaning rock epics adorned with celestial saxophone, singular vocals, and kaleidoscopic arrangements. The project grew from an “old-school New York manager putting together a boy band” moment when veteran manager Steve Saporta connected the two artists when McCaslin needed a vocalist for his 2018 solo album Blow. Driven by panoramic drums, elastic bass, bubbling synth textures, and McCaslin’s skybound saxophone, the song balances awe with weight and innocence colliding with adult scale. It sets the tone for a record that refuses format and thrives on contrast. What began as remote collaborations evolved into touring together — from Vancouver club stages to a debut performance alongside the Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands and eventually into a full creative partnership spanning Brooklyn, Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles. McCaslin (3x Grammy nominee, bandleader on Blackstar by David Bowie) and Dahle (Limblifter, Age of Electric, Mounties) built the record from skeletal Sibelius demos, intentionally dry harmonic blueprints that allowed the band to avoid attachment to early atmospheres. The result: maximalist, immersive songs that explode beyond their frameworks later brought into sharp psychedelic focus by mixer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Spoon). This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. from bandcamp

Jazz pianist, born in Torino. from discogs

Born in Nagoya, Japan, composer and pianist Shoko Nagai has been evolving as a professional musician for twelve years. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1999 she moved to New York City and quickly established herself in the downtown jazz scene performing with such renowned artists as John Zorn, Rasheid Ali, Butch Morris,Tom Rainy, Coung Vu, Ikue Mori, Roy Champbell, Satoshi Takeishi, Trevor Dunn, Sam Newsome, Greg Tardy, Daniel Carter to name a few. The Shoko Nagai Quintet which features some of New York’s best musicians has performed extensively at the BlueNote, Knitting factory, Tonic, Location One,Vision Festival as well as at other top New York clubs and concert. Nagai released her first CD Two Levels Crossing in 2000, second CD VORTEX in 2003, third CD Vsoon in 2003 which sky productions records. Nagai has performed in Norway (Natt Jazz Festival 1998), in Germany (Moers Jazz Festival 2006), Japan, Switzerland and Israel. Her most recent project is “Vortex” which is a free improvisation duo with piano and electronics. In 2004, she received a grant from Philadelphia Music Project 2004 Grant for JazzJaunts, a project in which seven jazz artists will compose and premiere compositions that incorporate musical traditions from their cultural roots. And formed a new project” Ephemeral” with Ned Rothenberg (Shakuhachi, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet), Jennifer Choi (Violin), John Lindberg (A. Bass), Stomu Takeishi (E. Bass), Satoshi Takeishi (Japanese percussion, electronics). from https://roulette.org

Making his home on the cross-border music scene in Detroit and Windsor, trumpet player/composer/jazz musician/educator Dr. Russ Macklem is a musical seeker, on a quest for truth and authenticity in art and life. This quest has taken Russ around North America: from his hometown of Kelowna, BC to Montreal, Boston, Toronto, St. Louis, Miami, and currently the Windsor/Detroit area. Russ has performed with acclaimed artists and ensembles in many genres including Jimmy Heath, Cecil McBee, Dave Holland, The Marley Bros (Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani, and Damian), John Williams, Quincy Jones, amongst many others. A virtuoso performer, Russ is equally skilled as a lead and jazz trumpeter, and has performed in professional productions of musicals such as In the Heights. His lead trumpet playing is featured on the two most recent albums by the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band: Europa: Explorations for Jazz Ensemble and Justin Morell: Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra featuring Adam Rogers. As a jazz musician, Russ is a stylist on the trumpet, honing his individual voice on the instrument for over 20 years. He is inventive and exciting improvisor and composer, with roots in the Black Music tradition. As an educator, Russ has taught at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he was a Teaching Assistant. He also taught with Young Musicians Unite, a Miami-based non-profit providing musical instruction in inner-city schools. In addition, Russ has taught at summer camps, given masterclasses, and taught privately in Canada, the USA, and Mexico. Russ is a sessional lecturer at the University of Windsor. from https://cliffbells.com

Yoko Yates, born in Sapporo City, Japan, is a composer, pianist, and an educator. She began her keyboard study at age four and was exposed to a variety of music by her music-loving family. Though classically trained, her keen interest in improvisation led her take innovative approaches and to develop the style of composition she is known for today. Yoko is an integrated musician with a unique voice as a composer. Her compositions reflect her multi-faceted artistry; her experience with a variety of musical genres and the visual arts; her love of nature and storytelling. She has composed music for films, media, and literary events. Her music is heard on Reuter Business Weekly and in several international award-winning documentaries including “Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice” directed by Kyoko Gasha, who describes her musical contributions as going beyond what words can express. She wrote pieces for “9.11, My Journey of Jasmine” by author, Akiko Endo, who says her compositions are born of a wonderful sensitivity that conveys emotion at a deep level. She was awarded a Cultural Merit Scholarship from Sapporo City and a Professional Music Scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Graduating from Berklee with a B.A. in music, summa cum laude, she went on to receive a Master’s in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge (MA). She continued her doctoral study in music education at Columbia University, Teachers College (NY), where she was awarded a teaching assistantship and scholarship. She has been a member of the piano faculty at Greenwich House Music School in Manhattan and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music since 1996. At Brooklyn Conservatory she served as a piano chair from 2011 – 2013. All through her schooling and teaching years, she has maintained a performing career, playing in both traditional concert settings as well as in clubs and special events in Boston, New York, and Japan. On April 15, 2022, her first leader album “Mystic Life” was released on historic SteepleChase Records. The album contains her 10 original compositions played in quintet by the notable musicians: Jamie Baum (Flt./A.Flt.), Sam Sadigursky (A. Sax./Cl./B.Cl.), Aryeh Kobrinsky (Bs), Jeff Hirshfield (Ds.) and herself (Pf). On September 19, 2025, her second leader album, “Eternal Moments,” was released on her label, Banka Records, featuring the same quintet. Banka has multiple meanings in Japanese. Depending on the Chinese characters used, it could denote different flowers, change, variety, late summer, sunset, elegy, and more. Banka and the label’s logo, which she created by combining flowers with change, reflect the unique, kaleidoscopic nature of her compositions, encompassing a variety of styles and musical genres. from https://yokoyates.com

For the past two years, The Left Edge, a powerhouse collective featuring four of Southern California’s most esteemed improvisers, has been leading a monthly residency at Long Beach, California’s beloved venue Vine on 4th Street. During that time, trumpeter Dan Rosenboom, keyboardist Joshua White, bassist Billy Mohler, and drummer Shawn Baltazor have developed an unmistakable band identity, which was first captured in a self-titled bootleg recording released at the end of 2024. Now they are back with a full, live, multi-track album "Butterfly Dream: Live at Vine," which captures the vitality and nuance of their exciting performances. The members of The Left Edge have been collaborating in various configurations for over a decade, but this quartet was forged by their residency at Vine. What started as a local jam turned into a monthly showcase, and these expert improvisers formed a shared language that made for an infinite well-spring of ideas. They have performed in both acoustic and electrified formats, and on "Butterfly Dream: Live at Vine" their electric and heavily effected sound is on full display. Bassist Billy Mohler has been a long-term mainstay in the Los Angeles jazz scene, and is heavily integrated into the pop, rock, and indie recording community. A virtuoso bassist with a penchant for enchanting grooves and hard driving riffs, Mohler displays his sonic versatility on "Butterfly Dream" through masterful use of pedal effects in addition to his bass playing. He and Rosenboom have developed a rich and complimentary approach to electronic soundscaping amidst their dynamic improvisations. Trumpeter Dan Rosenboom has been a catalyst for new music for the last two decades. Widely recognized as a distinctive creative voice on the trumpet, he is also heavily involved in the Hollywood studio recording scene and has appeared on hundreds of film and television soundtracks. His connection with pianist Joshua White spans 15 years — they met through avant-garde bass legend Mark Dresser, and have maintained ongoing collaborations through a myriad of different projects ever since. Joshua White is an inimitable force in the modern piano landscape. from bandcamp

Based in Memphis, ECHO Party is a free jazz collective that bridges the gap between commercial polish and avant-garde extremes, featuring a lineup of musicians with decades of interlocking history... The group is anchored by the dual horns of saxophonist Art Edmaiston—a legendary session player for artists like Justin Timberlake and Gregg Allman—and Chad Fowler, a multi-instrumentalist and founder of Mahakala Music known for his work with icons like William Parker. The two share a background in Memphis horn sections, a chemistry that complements the group’s rhythm section: keyboardist Alex Greene (Reigning Sound), who has collaborated with Fowler since the 1990s indie rock scene; guitarist Khari Wynn, known for his tenure as Music Director for Public Enemy and his work with Fowler in the ESP-Disk unit Deepstaria Enigmatica; and drummer Steve Hirsh, a texture-oriented improviser who has recorded extensively with legends such as William Parker, Daniel Carter and Matthew Shipp, as well as Fowler, and released a duo album with Edmaiston in 2023. Together, they dismantle genre boundaries, using their mastery of soul, rock, and experimental forms to fuel spontaneous, high-energy composition. from https://crosstownarts.org

Pascal Klewer - trumpet Julius Windisch - piano/composition Sofia Eftychidou - bass Marius Wankel - drums

Luis Nacht was born on January 17, 1959 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a child he studied flute and guitar, but it was at the age of 15 that he began formal flute studies in Mexico City with R. Islas. It is there where he begins to work professionally as a flutist and singer of Latin music, traveling with the band Grupo Sur through Central America and Europe. Later he incorporated the language of Jazz with the study of the saxophone, taking sax lessons with George Coleman and Richie Beirach in New York City, and E. Beilin, C. Lastra and Chachi Ferreira in Argentina. Nacht works regularly in Argentina, where he recorded and played with jazz musicians such as: Afro Jazz, En El Aire, E. Fazzio (Italy), Pepi Taveira, Pablo Bobrowicky, M. Iannaconne, Carlo Actis Dato (Italy), J. Crawford (UK), E. Beilin, Ernesto Jodos, Enrique Norris, Oscar Giunta, Rodrigo Domínguez, Fernando Tarrés, Lucía Pulido, Sergio Verdinelli, Fernando Otero, Mariano Otero, Hernan Hecht, Bruno Chevillon, Joel Holmes, Eric Echampard and Oscar Jan Hoogland. It is from 1999 that he leads his own project, with which he released his first CD "Nacht Musik", for the label "BAU" Records, chosen as one of the five best albums of 2002 by the prestigious European magazine "Cuadernos de Jazz". Playing regularly in the cultural and club circuit of his country. Due to the activity carried out during 2001, he obtained the "Revelation" award in the jazz music category, by the specialized critic of "Premio Clarín." In June 2002 he presented his music in Barcelona together with Horacio Fumero, Dani Pérez, and Mariano Steimberg, in "Jamboree", and the "Nova Jazz Cava Terrassa." By then He published his CD "Nacht Mood" again on "BAU" Records (2003), with excellent press critics. In 2004, he toured Mexico, New York City, and Miami. In 2005, he released his third solo album "El cue del Tío". He is invited to the Jazz festivals of Havana, Santo Domingo and the international BAU festival for the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. In March 2006 he toured Europe with his quartet, on March 14 at the Terrassa Jazz Festival (Barcelona), then to Cadiz and Puerto de Santa María and in June a new tour of Mexico. By then Luis Nacht publishes his fouth album "El Presente." In 2008 she returned to Europe and performed at the Lugo Festival, Terrassa and the Recife Jazz Festival in Brazil. In 2010 he publishes his fith album "En las Nubes". In October 2011 he toured Spain, France, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy. In July 2012 he presented his sixth album “Lo invisible” in a trio with Ernesto Jodos and Jerónimo Carmona. April 2013 Mexico tour, National Palace of Fine Arts, May 5 Festival (Puebla) and New York City again. In 2014 he was intensely active in Argentina and traveled to Mexico with his quartet in November. In 2015 he releases together with Ricardo Piglia and Eduardo Stupìa the Book–Disc “La Uncertable” declared of cultural interest by the Argentinian Ministry of Culture and published by “Club del disco”. from www.freshsoundrecords.com

Robbin Kapsalis was born in Chicago and raised in Atlanta, but first came to prominence fronting Vintage #18, a Washington, DC band that released two well received albums. Now going out under her own name she is based in Europe, having recently married UK harmonica ace Giles Robson. from www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Guitarist, musician, content creator, author and founder of the web site and YouTube channel 'Make Weird Music'. From Mesa, Arizona, USA. from discogs

UDEiGWE (pronounced oo-DEE-gweh) is the stage name of Lawrence Udeigwe, a Nigerian-born, New York–based artist working at the intersection of music, mathematics, and cognition. His work explores how structure shapes the way we think, using sound and lyric to make sense of perception, identity, and lived experience. Grounded in jazz, soul, and West African rhythm, his music balances warmth and sophistication with clarity and restraint. As a singer, composer, and pianist, he draws on groove, melody, and space to create performances that are both immediate and reflective, where the music is felt first and understood more deeply over time. His recent project, Four Lemmas, marks a shift toward long-form, concept-driven composition. Rather than treating albums as collections of songs, he constructs them as unified works in which musical form, lyrical ideas, and underlying structure develop together. Beyond the stage, Udeigwe is a Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University and a research affiliate in cognitive and brain sciences at MIT. This dual perspective, analytical precision and artistic expression, informs a body of work guided by a simple principle: structure shapes cognition, and cognition finds its way into expression. Posted By Udeigwe from https://open.spotify.com

Polish pianist and composer, born in 1955 from discogs Leszek Kułakowski, an outstanding composer and jazz pianist, is deemed a “jazz visionary” by music critics. As a music theorist and full professor who lectures in composition, he heads the Department of Jazz at the Gdańsk Academy of Music, where he established the Jazz and Popular Music course. He is the founder and artistic director of two international events, the annual Komeda Jazz Festival, held for the twenty-second time in November 2016, and the biennial Krzysztof Komeda Composers’ Competition, the only competition of its kind in Poland. Leszek Kułakowski unquestionably ranks amongst Poland’s elite jazz artists in several crucial categories: total artists, as a composer, pianist, arranger and theorist; composers; ensemble leaders; workaholics. These four categories point to a jazzman of excellence, with a creative, charismatic personality and enormous artistic potential, whose presence on the Polish jazz scene can be ascribed to an intuitive melding of tremendous talent, intelligence and unwavering tenacity in his work, all of which is also a sign of self-awareness. In his work as a composer, he explores his fascination with jazz treated as the substance of universal musical narrative. He is one of only a handful of composers around the world who fuse jazz and Third Stream art music. His oeuvre to date encompasses more than over hundred and fifty compositions for a range of jazz line-ups. With small formations, he experiments with sound material fusing jazz content with aleatoricism, as in his Aleatomodalblues (2004), with serialism, as heard, for instance, in his Seriablueslizm [Serialbluesism] (1995), and with polymodality and polytonality, where his Gonitwa [Pursuit] No. 7 (1995) serves as an example. He also experiments with Polish folk music and the works of classical composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Moniuszko and Chopin, endowing them with the character of jazz. Leszek Kułakowski has collaborated with a host of distinguished jazz artists, including Eddie Henderson, Billy Harper, Andy Middleton, Ed Schuller, Al Fester, Tomasz Stańko and Zbigniew Namysłowski, to name but a few, and he has performed at Poland’s leading jazz festivals and many of Europe’s major venues, appearing in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Finland and Denmark. He has also given concerts in the USA. His most important works include Missa Miseri Cordis for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed choir and symphony orchestra (2008); Piano Concerto for piano and orchestra (2012); Sketches for Jazz Trio & Symphony Orchestra (2012), Dyskretny urok konsonansów [The Discreet Charm of Consonances] for string orchestra, (2002); Ewencja [Evention], Free Steps and Walczyk Dekadencki [Decadent Waltz] for jazz trio and symphony orchestra (1995); Eurofonia [Europhonia] for solo voice, jazz quintet and symphony orchestra (2000); Aleatomodalblues and Cap Ca Rap (2004); Repetition 2005 for jazz big band; and Ostinatopermutacje [Ostinatopermutations] for bass clarinet, marimba, gran cassa and piano [2008]. As a composer, he has released seventeen original CDs, with Eurofonia being selected as the 2000 Album of the Year in a readers’ survey run by the prestigious "Jazz Forum" magazine. He has won numerous awards, including the Minster of Culture and National Heritage’s Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Polish Culture (2006) and the Silver Gloria Artis Medal for Services to Culture (2010). from www.leszekkulakowski.com

Music arranger and pianist Nat Adderley, Jr. was born on May 23, 1955 to Nat Adderley, Sr. and Ann James in Quincy, Florida. Adderley attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan, New York. In high school, he performed and wrote music for his father’s group, the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Adderley also worked as a keyboardist for R&B singer Valerie Simpson. Adderley earned his B.A. degree in African American studies from Yale University in 1977. In 1981, Adderley became the music director for Luther Vandross. Adderley arranged the music for Vandross’ 1981 album, Never Too Much on the songs “Never Too Much” and “Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl).” He then co-wrote the song “Better Love” for Vandross’ 1982 album, Forever, for Always, for Love. In 1984, Adderley arranged “Superstar,” as well as “If Only for One Night” and “Creepin’” for Vandross’ album, The Night I Fell In Love. He co-wrote Vandross’ first top twenty hit, “Stop to Love” and arranged the songs “So Amazing” and “Give Me The Reason” from the album, Give Me The Reason. In 1988, Adderley arranged the songs “I Wonder” and “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” for Vandross’ album, Any Love. The album was nominated for a 1989 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Adderley also played keyboard for Vandross’ 1991 Grammy award winning album, Power of Love. He produced Vandross’ albums Your Secret Love, Luther Vandross, and the Grammy award winning album, Dance with My Father. Adderley arranged Vandross’ 2003 Grammy award-winning duet with Beyonce Knowles, “The Closer I Get to You,” which won for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. He then produced the live album, Luther’s Live 2003 at Radio City Music Hall. In addition to his work with Vandross, Adderley has worked with several other musicians. He arranged the songs for Aretha Franklin’s 1983 album, Jump To It, the string section for Doc Powell’s Grammy nominated song “What’s Going On” and Natalie Cole’s song “When I Fall in Love.” Recordings of Adderley playing piano were used by playwright August Wilson for his play The Piano Lesson in 1990. Adderley later formed the Nat Adderley, Jr. Trio. from https://gregoryburrusproductions.com

Born William Earl Branch in Chicago on October 3, 1951 and raised in Los Angeles, Branch first picked up a harmonica at age ten and began picking out tunes on his own. In his words, "I've never been without a harp since." He grew up listening to Motown and classic rockers like The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Beach Boys and folkies like Pete Seeger. But it wasn't until he returned to Chicago in 1969 and enrolled at the University of Illinois that he fell in love with the blues. In August of that year he attended a blues music festival in Grant Park organized by legendary songwriter and bassist Willie Dixon. That afternoon, Dixon and his all-star group backed up Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker and more top level artists. Billy was an instant convert (and only a few years later was playing in Dixon's band). When not attending classes, Branch immersed himself into the local blues scene, spending time at many of the famous blues haunts like Theresa's and the Checkerboard Lounge. Branch was "adopted" by Jimmy Walker, Homesick James and almost every older bluesman on the circuit. After learning from the masters, he developed his own signature sound—powerful, melodic, funky, jazzy and contemporary. Branch's big break came in 1975 on the night he entered a harmonica battle royale against veteran Chicago harp man Little Mac Simmons at Chicago's Green Bunny Club. Among the blues dignitaries in the audience that evening was Alligator Records founder Bruce Iglauer, who witnessed Branch besting Simmons at his own game. From that night on, Branch began regularly sitting in at blues clubs all over the city. He recorded his first track for an anthology on Barrelhouse Records in 1975. Willie Dixon then invited Branch to join his Chicago Blues All-Stars, where he was groomed to take the place of his friend and mentor, harmonica ace Carey Bell. Branch stayed with Dixon for six years, soaking up the lessons offered up by Dixon and the other band members—both musical and professional. With Branch's blues education well underway, his reputation as one of Chicago's best harmonica players grew swiftly. In 1977 (while he was still playing with Willie Dixon), Branch was recruited by the Berlin Jazz Festival to choose and lead a band of "next generation" blues musicians. He gathered some of the top young talent in Chicago, including Lurrie Bell (Carey's son) and Freddie Dixon (Willie's son). They performed to a wildly appreciative German audience. This core group, along with drummer Jeff Ruffin, became the original Sons Of Blues. In 1978, they made their recording debut, cutting three songs for Alligator Records' Grammy-nominated Living Chicago Blues series. In 1990 Branch, along with his mentors Junior Wells, James Cotton and Carey Bell, recorded the Blues Music Award-winning album, Harp Attack! for Alligator. "That," Branch recalls, "was my diploma. My PhD." He's recorded several studio and live albums with The Sons Of Blues—most recently 2014's Blues Shock (Blind Pig)—and has appeared on countless other releases as a session player with blues stars including Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Lou Rawls, Son Seals, Willie Dixon and Johnny Winter. In addition to his recordings, Branch is also a tireless educator. His Blues In The Schools program has earned him praise both inside and outside of the music world. Branch shares his knowledge of the music with students in Chicago and other cities around the world, where he teaches blues history as well as providing instrumental instruction to children. In 1996, members of his classes, with Branch at the helm, performed on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Festival, which was broadcast on NPR. He has appeared on NBC's The Today Show and CBS's Sunday Morning and can be seen in the feature films Adventures In Babysitting and Next Of Kin. Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues can be found performing in clubs, concert halls and festivals all over the world. From the United States and Canada to South and Central America, the Caribbean, China, Africa, Israel and all throughout Europe, Branch and his band soulfully deliver their music with a concentrated, raw Windy City authority. Now, with Roots And Branches–The Songs Of Little Walter, Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues continue to spread the gospel of the blues, reigniting the magical, timeless power of the music of Little Walter Jacobs, and in turn the soul-cleansing power of the real, living, evolving Chicago blues, as only Billy Branch can play them. from www.alligator.com

Yumi Ito was born in Basel in 1990 and grew up in Uster in a family of musicians: Her father is the concert pianist Suguru Ito, her mother the mezzo-soprano Margo Cadias. Thanks to her musical environment, she came into contact with music at an early age, began her classical training at the age of three and gave her first public performance as a pianist at the age of eight. She received classical singing lessons from her mother as a teenager and later decided to study jazz singing at the Zurich University of the Arts and the Basel University of Music. The Montreux Jazz Festival award-winning jazz musician has since released four albums, performed internationally and established herself as one of the most talented singers and composers of her generation. from https://en.zjo.ch

Born in Escondido, California of Italian descent, Gabrielle Cavassa began “obsessively listening” to records from a young age. Largely self-taught, she developed a unique approach to singing that would later characterize her artistry. Cavassa received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from San Francisco State University, but credits the Bay Area music scene for her “real education.” She moved to New Orleans in 2017, where she continued her education in local clubs. In 2020, Cavassa independently released an eponymous debut record produced by collaborator Jamison Ross. In 2021, she was crowned a winner of the prestigious International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. Cavassa’s feature appearance on Joshua Redman’s 2023 Blue Note album where are we prompted DownBeat to declare her “a star in the making.” Stereophile wrote that “For many, the revelation of this album will be Cavassa. Her voice gets under your skin. It is idiosyncratic, but it is trustworthy in its clarity and almost physical in its intimacy… her intuitive interpretations and riveting voice make you sit very still in your chair.” from https://gabriellecavassa.com

Graduating in trumpet at the Higher Institute of Musical Studies in Livorno in 2009, Iacoviello is certainly carving out a name for his work in experimental jazz. from https://jazzjournal.co.uk

Bagman, an imaginary character dreamt up by this experimental jazz trio, roams around in the figurative soundscape, collecting sonic debris. A piano played on the inside and outside, electronics, saxophones, drums and junk objects shape a frenetic musical environment. ''' Pat Thomas (Piano, Electronics), Raymond Strid (Drums) and Sture Ericson (Tenor, Soprano Saxophones) assemble fragmented sounds in haphazard, creative and thrilling directions. After years of playing together, the three musicians formed the trio Bagman in 2018, capturing a huge spectrum of dynamic, disruptive music in their improvisational sessions. Bordering on noise music, the trio always returns to wandering melodies and their endlessly experimental, spontaneous roots. from www.577records.com

Nugara is a piano trio based in Italy. Was founded in 2021 when the members won the annual scholarships as best students at the Nuoro Jazz 2021 seminars. This fortunate encounter brought, in 2023, to the release of their first album ‘’Point Of Convergency’’ promoted during a national tour in Italy and an international tour that took place in many European countries. Since then they have been really active, playing over 60 concerts in many prestigious venues and festivals such as Casa Del Jazz, Insulae Lab in Berchidda desired by Paolo Fresu, Avignon Jazz Festival, Nuoro Jazz Festival, Barga Jazz Festival, Festival Mutamenti, Monfrà Jazz Festival, Borgo in Jazz, Abbazie Jazz Festival, Festival delle Serre and others. They also took part in several national and international competitions winning prizes such as 1st Prize at the Festival dei Conservatori Italiani 2023, 1 Prize, Best Composition Prize, and Audience Prize at the Abbazie Jazz Contest 2024 and best Composition Prize at the Tremplin Avignon 2024. from https://verhoovensjazz.net

Inspired by a rich musical background of jazz, pop songwriters, and a deep love of R&B and soul, Jaana Narsipur is a diverse vocalist who moves effortlessly from classic standards to soul-jazz to modern interpretations of pop tunes. She plays regularly at venues in NYC and the Hudson Valley including The Flatiron Room, Winnie’s Jazz Bar, Jazz on Main, The Bean Runner Café, and many others. Coming in Spring 2026, Jaana will release her second studio album, “The Re-Collection,” a jazz reimagining of 80s pop classics from Kate Bush, The Eurythmics, Joe Jackson, and other iconic artists. “This album is my version of a "mixtape,” with the songs presented through contemporary jazz arrangements. This is music I listened to as a GenX teen and college student that helped shape me as a musician and singer. The album is a nostalgia trip— acoustic, intimate, and playful—an act of remembering and re-making. Born in India and raised in the United States, Jaana has loved singing since she was a child – warbling along as a toddler to Simon and Garfunkel on the radio, later singing traditional Indian music with her parents at community events and parties. She studied classical voice and piano first as a teenager, then later at the prestigious Northwestern University School of Music where she obtained her Bachelors in Voice and Music History. During her undergraduate years, Jaana fell in love with jazz and began sitting in on jam sessions in Chicago, learning the standards, developing her “listening diet” while exploring the vibrant Chicago jazz scene. She has studied with Jackie Allen, NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, and NYC vocalist J.D. Walter. In 2013, Jaana obtained her Masters in Jazz Performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. In 2022, she released her debut album “Better Than Anything” featuring her original arrangements of Horace Silver and Bob Doroughs compositions, a tribute to the hard bop and be bop masters. She is also an accomplished music educator, with a Music Education degree from DePaul University, and she has taught for 15 years, young students and adult aspiring musicians of all ages vocal and choral music, music theory and history, and group piano. Currently, Jaana teaches at a music conservatory in New York, gives voice lessons in her private studio, and performs throughout the metro NYC area! from www.jaananarsipur.com

American jazz bassist and cellist, born August 14, 1981 in Hayward, California Thomas has played with such artists as Bill Frisell, David Binney, Steve Coleman, Joey Baron, Josh Roseman, Brad Shepik, Steve Cardenas, Kenny Wollesen, Gerald Cleaver, Adam Rogers, Kenny Werner and many others. from discogs

ContraPunctus is an ensemble uniting four distinctive voices in contemporary music: saxophonist/clarinetist Mike McGinnis, pianist Carmen Staaf, bassist Gui Duvignau, and drummer Hamir Atwal.The group takes its name and inspiration from the ancient musical practice of weaving independent melodies into a single harmonic and rhythmic texture. Their music embraces the full breadth of their collective experience across jazz, free improvisation, rock, and folk traditions, moving fluidly between original compositions, reimaginings of works by Carla Bley, Baden Powell, and Billy Strayhorn, and spontaneous improvisations. At once rooted and exploratory, ContraPunctus invites listeners into music that is alive in the moment; polyphonic, adventurous, joyful and generous. from bandcamp

Featured artist with AfricaNashville’s Yeli Ensemble, Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate was raised as a Djeli (also called a griot) , a ‘living archive’ of the West African people’s traditions. He grew up in Conakry, Guinea’s capital city where he learned music from his family and community from birth as his parents had. Djelis are recognized as keepers of knowledge that has been passed down through countless generations. At the age of 14 he toured to Senegal with a troupe and decided to stay, becoming an immigrant at a very young age. Life was very difficult, but he persevered and became one of the finest djembefolas of his generation representing Guinea culture in Senegal. Invited by AfricaNashville in January 2023, Ibro is now based in Nashville. He has performed over 100 shows and participated in over 350 classes since his arrival and now represents Guinea culture in Tennessee. from www.earuprecords.com

Born in 1994 to parents with a boundless record collection and multifaceted languages of love towards music, Lex Korten discovered a personal relationship with the work of greats Duke Ellington and Jaki Byard at an early age. His childhood in Manhattan’s Upper West Side allowed him to pursue mentorships with several decorated pianists and achieve modest accolades in the national high school circuit, but it wasn’t until Korten moved to Michigan for his collegiate studies that his path began to bend more trustfully towards a musical career. By the time he earned his BFA and relocated homeward, Korten had spent 4 years as an apprentice of the great legacy of Detroit Jazz and experimental music, under the direct mentorship of Geri Allen, Robert Hurst and Benny Green, as well as intermittently with Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker and others. Korten’s first steps into the spotlight came in 2018 with a life-changing appointment to the piano chair of Tyshawn Sorey’s newly formed “Unfiltered.” sextet which toured and recorded intermittently for the following four years to notable acclaim. During this period, Korten won 1st prize in the UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa and began cementing a reputation among his peers in New York as a valuable sideman and promising composer, bringing his first projects to The Jazz Gallery in Manhattan where he continues to perform today. Since the pandemic, Lex Korten’s emergence into the echelons of the Jazz world has become ever more rapid and difficult to ignore. The list of renowned artists seeking Korten’s contributions over the last few years has become long and impressively diverse, including the likes of Joel Ross, Melissa Aldana, Tyshawn Sorey, Robert Hurst, Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig, Caroline Davis, Jaleel Shaw, Jonathan Kreisberg, Joe Farnsworth, Joe Martin, Fay Victor, Dayna Stephens, Massimo Biolcati, Ben Solomon, Ndabo Zulu, John Ellis, Chris Turner, Joel Harrison, Or Bareket, Lage Lund, Nick Dunston, Tivon Pennicott, Luther Allison, DoYeon Kim and Clarence Penn to name a few. Korten’s touring schedule yearly reaches a dozen or more US states and worldwide clubs and festivals, in between which he teaches lessons at The New School or privately at his home in New York City. In addition, Korten has given lessons and classes internationally to students from Greece, Germany, South Korea, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, Switzerland, China, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom (at the Royal Academy of Music in London) and at several universities in the USA. His performance credits include an extensive list of esteemed theaters such as The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.) or Teatro Amazonas (Manaus, Brazil) and international festivals (North Sea, Montreal, Earshot, etc). Perhaps most notably of all, and most enduringly, Lex Korten has defined the first decade of his career by his immersion in his own generation’s forward pushing activity in a way that sidesteps traditional barriers between scenes and styles. Among his 30+ recording credits are projects representing a thorough cross section of the 21st century’s rising leaders in improvised music; names like Simon Moullier, Milena Casado, Zoh Amba, Nicola Caminiti, Tyrone Allen, Ben Tiberio, Claire Dickson, Alden Hellmuth, Morgan Guerin, Alex Hitchcock, Dave Adewumi, Sasha Berliner, Alfredo Colón, Linda Sikhakhane and more. Korten’s own bandleading projects include the Lex Korten Trio and Quartet as well as Canopy, an experimental 5-member ensemble. Lex Korten’s long anticipated debut original album Canopy released on September 19th, 2025 to critical acclaim from outlets including The Wire Magazine (UK), WNYC, PopMatters, JazzTimes and DownBeat. Lex Korten currently is an active bandleader in New York City, bringing his projects to stages at Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Smalls, The Jazz Gallery, and across a blossoming roster of great Jazz clubs in Brooklyn while also appearing at experimental venues including Roulette, National Sawdust, LPR and The Stone. As a native New Yorker, Lex is an avid student of NYC's history through the present day, and otherwise interested in urban geography as well as graphic design, cooking, world history and film. In college, Lex temporarily double majored in Political Science, taking additional coursework for 2 years at the Ford School of Public Policy. Some of Lex's favorite composers active in 2026 include Angel Marcloid (as Fire-Toolz), Ramona Andra Langley (as Vektroid), Daniel Lopatin (as Oneohtrix Point Never), and Cryptovolans as well as a countless list of improviser peers worldwide. from www.lexkorten.com

In n March 2022, Joe Fonda and Silke Eberhard met at the Downtown Music Record Store in New York, and just six months later they were on stage together with Austrian drummer Emil Gross in Berlin. The Josilemi Trio was born. The collective trio’s compositions and improvisations are powerful, driving, elegant, structured and refined, combining diverse influences with improvisational inspiration. It is music that is completely connected to the moment and yet totally future-oriented. It is Music for here, now and the future. Silke Eberhard – Sax (GER) Emil Gross – Drums (AUT) Joe Fonda – Bass (USA) from www.emilgross.com

Music has always loomed large in the life of Don Was. Born in Detroit in 1952, he has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as President of America’s venerated jazz label, Blue Note Records. For his work as a record producer, he has won six Grammy Awards – including Album of the Year in 1989 for Bonnie Raitt’s Nick of Time and Producer of the Year in 1994. Records that Don has produced have sold close to 100 million albums for a wide array of artists like The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Wayne Shorter, The B52s and Charles Lloyd. In 1995 he produced and directed a documentary about the life of Brian Wilson, I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, that won the San Francisco Film Festival’s Golden Gate Award. As a film composer, he won the 1994 British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Original Score in recognition of his work on the film Backbeat. He won the 2014 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for his work on the CBS TV special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America. In 2018 Don was invited to join Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir to form the Wolf Brothers. They continue to consistently tour the US. In 2011 Was became President of the iconic jazz label Blue Note Records. He fiercely protects the company’s eighty-five-year-old legacy, meticulously caretaking the revered catalog of Black American Music. This includes maintaining the availability and quality of vinyl reissues in the Tone Poet and Classic Jazz audiophile release series. He also signs and produces many of the label’s recent roster of artists including, Robert Glasper, Charles Lloyd, Wayne Shorter, Dr Lonnie Smith, Gregory Porter and Jason Moran. Don’s deep Detroit roots keep him anchored to the city where, where for the last 15 years he has music directed and played bass in the Don Was Detroit All Star Revue concerts which are part of Detroit’s annual diversity festival, The Concert of Colors. From 2009-2012 Don hosted a weekly Sirius XM radio show on the Outlaw Country channel called The Motor City Hayride. Since 2021, he co-hosts a weekly, live radio show on Detroit’s NPR station, WDET-FM called The Don Was Motor City Playlist. Don is also the voice of Neville the Dog in the hit Amazon Prime Video children’s show, Pete the Cat. THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE Don Was’ latest group, The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, is a band made up of stellar jazz musicians from his hometown. “There’s a unique sound and feel to Detroit that permeates the music in a way that resonates all over the globe’, says Was. “There is a rawness, a lack of pretension and an unmistakable, underlying groove that reflects the people and culture of the entire city” The band includes long time collaborators like Blue Note Records artist Dave McMurray on sax and Eminem’s Oscar-winning collaborator, keyboardist Luis Resto. Additional musicians include trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, drummer Jeff Canaday, percussionist Mahindi Masai, guitarist Wayne Gerard and vocalist Steffanie Christi’ann. “When the opportunity came to put together a new band, the message was clear to me: go back to Detroit where I came from, be who I am, play like who I am and team up with some like-minded individuals”, says Was. from www.highroadtouring.com

Tom Cohen was born on May 7, 1954 in Newark, New Jersey. He started playing drums in third grade and also briefly played violin—too briefly for his “heartbroken” instructor Judith Eisner, principal violinist in the New Jersey Symphony, who saw promise in his playing. For his tenth birthday, his mother took him to hear the Dave Brubeck Quartet, whose classic album Take Five he had “worn out,” at the American Shakespeare Theater in Connecticut. Meeting Brubeck’s great drummer Joe Morello after the show only added to his love of the music, with its odd time signatures. From a young age, Cohen made tapes of himself practicing and playing along with various albums including ones by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. He dragged his reel-to-reel recorder to high school gigs to tape his fusion band. “It’s pretty amazing listening to those tapes,” he says. “You can really see what my influences were.” When he was 16, he played in a Cream-inspired power trio with two 20-year-old Berklee School of Music alumni. He badly wanted to attend Berklee, where some of his friends went, but his parents wouldn’t allow it: “You were expected to be a doctor or a lawyer.” He went instead to George Washington University in the nation’s capital. At the Top o’ Foolery House of Jazz, a few blocks from his dorm, he took in nightly sets by drummer Bernard Sweetney (Robert Flack, Shirley Horn), whom he befriended and studied with. Sweetney’s pianist, Kevin Toney (Blackbyrds), brought him into the Howard University Big Band, directed by Donald Byrd, in which Cohen learned to read charts and gained bandstand experience. At GWU, he says, “I had the keys to the music room, where there was a set of drums. I would finish doing my papers or homework and go up there. This would have been in my sophomore or junior year. And I would just practice every night for several hours. And then I dropped out of school.” He moved to Philadelphia, where he “entered the music world kind of unprepared. I mean, I could read music better in high school, junior high school, than I did when I got out of college. My friends were in Berklee lab bands and big bands and all that, but I learned everything I did on the street. That held me back for a little a bit, but not for long.” While establishing himself in groups including tenor star Odean Pope’s fusion band Catalyst and Minas, with whom “I kind of fit right in,” he made frequent trips to New York, where he became involved with the thriving Brazilian jazz community. In 1972, at a gig by Stan Getz at the Rainbow Room, he got to meet one of his idols, drummer Tony Williams, with whom he serendipitously crossed paths again at a 48th Street drum shop that advertised drum lessons by Williams, Elvin Jones, and Billy Cobham. “When I went inside to sign up, Tony was there,” recalls Cohen. “After I told him I wanted to take lessons, he was receptive, but I basically had to audition for him. We went upstairs to the top floor of this building where there was this little studio with his drums in it and he just sat down in front of me and said, ‘Play.’ When I started, he kept looking at my left hand like what’s wrong with that. I played with it all open. He showed me the right way to play. From that day on, I’ve always looked at drummers’ hands.” Brazilian music requires expansive rhythmic skills and knowledge. “It’s such a large country and all these different rhythms come from different parts of the country,” says Cohen. “There’s even some that I’m not familiar with or have become familiar with more recently. There’s this one rhythm from an area in Minas Gerais [a state in southeastern Brazil] that has a kind of swing to it, almost like a hip-hop kind of sound, and it is called xote. The challenge is to understand these different rhythms and be able to play them. “The first tune on the album, “Eu Só Quero Um Xodó,” comes from northeast Brazil and it’s based on what’s called an afoxe rhythm. On this track the verses are afoxe, except the last verse which is a baião rhythm, and all the bridges in between are played in a maracatu rhythm.” Cohen made his album debut in 1997 with the Bill Evans–influenced Tom Cohen Trio (Cadence), featuring pianist Ron Thomas. He followed it up in 1999 with Diggin’ In, Digging Out (Double-Time), on which saxophonist Chris Potter plays a solo for the ages on “Anthropology.” Guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Monder, Rez Abassi, and Jef Lee Johnson appear on 2006’s The Guitar Trio Project, a collection of jazz standards. Joyride, released 10 years later, features pianist Benito Gonzalez and saxophonist Tim Ries. My Take, the DeFrancesco set, came out in 2021. from www.tomcohenproductions.com

Makar Novikov is an experienced accompanist and virtuoso soloist who has performed with artists like Jimmy Cobb, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath and James Spaulding. Born in Moscow, he started to play double bass in 2001 and quickly became one of the most sought-after jazz bassists on the scene. In 2005, he participated in the “Open World Program” of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, allowing him to deepen his musical studies at The New School in New York City in 2005, and graduated from the acknowledged Gnesins’ Russian Academy of Music in Moscow in 2009. Apart from playing with acknowledged Russian jazz musicians (Yakov Okun, Ivan Farmakovskiy, Sasha Mashin, Zhenya Strigalev), Makar Novikov was also regularly touring abroad with international groups, performing at venues and festivals like the Montreux Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s in London, Duc des Lombards in Paris, Apollo Jazz Theater and Smalls Jazz Club in New York. For political reasons, Makar Novikov decided to emigrate to Europe in February 2022. He moved to Italy and started to perform extensively with Italian musicians (Rosario Giuliani, Antonio Faraò, Maurizio Giammarco) and to work as a Jazz Bass and Ensemble teacher for Master students at the Siena Jazz University in 2023. Makar Novikov moved to Germany in 2024 and is currently based in Berlin. He regularly appears as a band member of projects of Alex Sipiagin, Isfar Sarabski, Carl Winther and Olivia Trummer, performing internationally. Moreover, he is active as a bandleader of an international quintet. He just released his debut album “Long Journey” (November 21, 2025), drawing inspiration from and reflecting on his decision to relocate and start a new life in the heart of Europe. from www.makarnovikov.com