David Cain

Born: March 2, 1955

David Cain. An acclaimed revolutionary of “unbroken media and art”, David Cain is a composer, musician, vocalist, filmmaker, author, artist… in a class with music’s most forward-reaching innovators because of his groundbreaking multimedia explorations using old and new tech. David Cain’s musical journey includes studies with international award-winning composer, Dr. Roque Cordero (Arnold Schoenberg), writing for symphony, movies and the Stan Kenton Big Band, and making radio music while on roster of Geffen Records in the '80s with his band, Bux da Hoota.

David's decade-long collaboration, Wertico Cain & Gray, with 7-time Grammy winner Paul Wertico (Pat Metheny Group), and bassist/cellist/composer, Larry Gray, has led to new music and art, winning a prestigious "Best Album - Live Performance" award along the way, and gathering audiences in search of new worlds of sound-making and digital cinema

Mem Nahadr

Born: April 9

Mem Nahadr (/n??h��?d/ n?-HAHD), also known as M. Nahadr and simply "M", is an American performance artist and multi-octave vocalist having access to the whistle register and best known for the performance of the song "Butterfly", composed by Yoko Kanno and lyricized by Chris Mosdell for Cowboy Bebop. She is co-produced by Grammy Award Winner, James P. Nichols. She is also an author, composer, poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist.

Rex Shepherd

Guitarist and composer Rex Shepherd has been writing and performing music for more than 30 years. Initially a rock and blues player, Shepherd became entranced by the playing of guitarist Jim Hall on the first listen. He began learning the jazz language on guitar, studying at the University of Akron in Ohio, growing toward becoming a known performer and composer in the Cleveland area. His musical journey began with an affinity for the more "outside" music of Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, and Anthony Braxton. His current style, which is grown from the jazz tradition, employs a liberal application of melody and suggestive harmonies enabling free expression of musical ideas in a context he refers to as conceptual improvisation

Sue Lynch

Olga Witte

Born: April 22, 1978

Composer, arranger, pianist, church organist and ethnomusicologist. Olga Witte is presently studying composition as an advanced postgraduate student at The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus. She has a MA from University of Aarhus in musicology and anthropology, and is educated church organist from Vestervig Kirkemusikskole. She is a jazz pianist and church organist, and she plays Balinese gamelan.? Witte's knowledge of Balinese gamelan is based on longterm ethnomusicological fieldworks in the period 2005-2020. When Olga Witte is in Bali she lives in and takes part in different gamelan groups in the area Kecamatan Sukawati

Alistair Martin

24 year old Alistair Martin is a Trumpet player and Composer from London. After attending The Brit School, he studied Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music. Alistair cites Miles Davis, David Bowie and Kanye West as influences, in the way that they cross genres, take risks and have evolved as artists. Alistair��s ambitious debut album Oblivion features some of London��s most exciting young jazz musicians; Quinn Oulton, Will Barry, Dave Storey and Daisy George. The concept album has been hugely influenced by current social and political issues, such as climate change and conflict, as well as many others.

Michael Staron

Acknowledged in Jazz Times as “a versatile, forwarding looking and accomplished performer,” Michael began his professional career playing Latin Tropical music in Chicago’s inner city at age fifteen. 

His jazz bass playing has been reviewed in Cadence, Pulse, Jazz USA, Jazz Review, Jazz Word, Jazz Weekly, AMG, New City, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Wire, Jazz at a Glance, Beyond Coltrane, Chicago Reader, All About Jazz, Progression Magazine, and live performances of Michael have been aired on BET, 190 North and local cable. 

Michael is also an accomplished theatre / pit musician, his performance credits include national tours of Evita, the international and national touring companies of A Chorus Line, Sid Caesar, Red Skelton, Bob Newhart, Eddy Arnold, Roger Williams and Joseph with Donny Osmond. 

Kris T Reeder

Born: November 28, 1984

K T Reeder has been recognised as 'one of 25 of the artists who have engineered the cultural transformation of British jazz over the past four decades' in a seminal book on British Jazz by David Burke (Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz - 2021)

Oleksandr Kolosii

Born: October 20, 1990

"Oleksandr Kolosii and his quartet delivers a strong in the tradition music that captured me from beat one. Bravo Oleksandr!! Carry On."  —Joe Lovano

In early 2023, saxophonist and composer Oleksandr Kolosii presents his new project "Paws Up" released on the label Unit Records (CH) and featuring a special line up of musicans who made a significant impact on Oleksandr's career: Carl Winther - piano, Doug Weiss - double bass and Anders Mogensen - drums.

The music for this project began to come “into one frame” after personal changes in Oleksandr's life after marrying his life partner. “This is a very special project for me” says Oleksandr. After 12 years of living abroad, travelling to over 54 countries and living in Copenhagen since 2017, he decided to move out to the countryside and experience family life again. “It was like a breath of fresh air” after leaving his parent's house in his early 20s to pursue his musical dreams worldwide…

Gwen Laster

Gwen Laster is a nationally acclaimed musician who has been the recipient of awards by the National Endowment for the Arts, Jubilation Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Arts Mid Hudson, Lila Wallace, and the Cognac Hennessey 1st place Jazz Search. She's a native Detroiter whose creative influences come from the Motor City's exciting urban and classical music culture. Gwen started improvising and composing because of her parents love of jazz, blues, soul and classical music and her inspiring music teachers from Detroit's public schools.

Laster relocated to NYC after earning two music degrees from the University of Michigan. She began collaborating, performing and recording with internationally-known creative and commercial artists that include Anthony Braxton, Nona Hendryx, Aretha Franklin, Wadada Leo Smith, William Parker, Danny Elfman, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tyler, the Creator, Gladys Knight, Emeline Michel, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Alicia Keys, Rhianna, Shaggy, Andrew Baba Lamb, Natalie Cole, Solange, Mark Anthony, J Lo and Shakira at President Obama’s Inaugural Neighborhood Ball. Playing local jazz clubs and subbing Broadway shows (Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, Carousel, Wicked, Porgy and Bess, The King and I) were woven around Gwen's NYC performing and teaching rhythm.