Nate Yingling

Born: August 15, 2001

Nate Yingling is an upcoming pianist, bassist and composer located in Cleveland, Ohio. Now debuting himself for the first time as a bandleader, His sound fuses various modalities of Black American music including Jazz, Contemporary, Neo soul, R&B and Funk. “My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being...When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people, to help humanity free itself from its hangups...I want to speak to their souls.” -John Coltrane 

Nate was drawn to the piano from a young age when he wanted to be like his grandmother who played hymns in church services. His mother enrolled him in piano lessons from a young age and from there he took a great liking to the instrument. His music taste was later informed by his father who he shared an affinity for collecting vinyl records with, showed him a great variety of music ranging from Led Zeppelin live at MSG to Kind of blue by Miles Davis. 

Alexandra Ivanova

Curiosity about the 'Other'

Born to Bulgarian parents in Austria, Alexandra Ivanova grew up curious to meet and understand the 'Other' - in herself, in society or in culture. In her compositions, Alexandra creates conversations between jazz, Oriental and Afro-Cuban music and odd polyrhythms. Her arrangements reflect her experience living on three continents and speaking six languages fluently. Alexandra Ivanova is an unconventional musician who invites the listener to look at the world from different points of view: from the East, the West or from somewhere in between.

Yulia Musayelyan

Yulia Musayelyan is a flutist and composer born in Moscow, Russia, now based in the US. A versatile performer in classical and jazz idioms, she is the founder of the YM Quartet, Macay�� Trio, Tango Meets Jazz project, and New Music Collective, dedicated to the performance of new original chamber music. Yulia has toured the US, UK, Europe, Central and South America with various musical projects. A recipient of the 2001 NFAA Award, she was a soloist with TACTUS Contemporary Ensemble in 2005 with guest conductor maestro Pierre Boulez. Her chamber works have been premiered at Symphony Space in New York City and featured in the 2006 film Natalie Bonn

Bodek Janke

Born: May 5, 1979

Bodek Janke is one of today?s most sought after drummers and percussionists of the international jazz and world music scenes. His unique and outstanding way of playing the drums, Indian tabla and various percussion instruments has given him opportunities to collaborate with Yo-Yo Ma, Lars Danielsson, Bill Evans, Bobo Stenson, Leszek Mo?d?er, Gilad Hekselman, Nuria Rial, the WDR, NDR & HR Radio Bigbands, Jasper van?t Hof, Kinan Azmeh, Kristjan Randalu, Petros Klampanis, Tarek Yamani, the Turtle Island & Atom String Quartets, and many others. Dubbed as ?a master of many dialects? by New York?s drum legend John Riley, Bodek?s distinctive sound was recorded on more than 200 albums as a sideman

Florian Hoefner

Born: August 29, 1982

Born and raised in Germany, trained in New York City and now based in Canada, Juno Award-winning jazz pianist and composer, Florian Hoefner, draws from a myriad of influences that culminate in his unique brand of modern jazz. Praised as a “composer-bandleader of insightful resolve” by the New York Times and a “harmonically daring pianist … reaching toward new sonic territory” by Downbeat, Florian Hoefner continues to make waves as an inventive creator and performer of exciting contemporary jazz. 

He has released 6 albums under his own name and many more as a sideman. “First Spring,” the debut album with his Canadian trio with Andrew Downing on bass and Nick Fraser on drums has received 2 East Coast Music Awards in 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO in the category “Jazz Album of the Year: Group.” The trio released its sophomore album, “Desert Bloom” on June 3rd 2022 on Alma Records. It was nominated for 2 East Coast Music Awards and won a Juno Award in 2023. As a touring artist he has played at venues and festivals on 5 different continents and has worked with artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jerry Bergonzi, Norma Winstone, Joe LaBarbera and Seamus Blake. He is the winner of 2 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and the Stingray Rising Star Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Stefan Frommelt

Born: September 6, 1966

Stefan Frommelt is a pianist, composer, arranger und music teacher from Liechtenstein.

Raised in a family of musicians, he decided to study music and graduated from the Musikhochschule Wien (Mag. Art., Piano & Music Pedagogy) in 1992 and the Hochschule Luzern (Diploma, Jazz Performance, Composition and Arrangement) in 2000. Further studies include master classes, with Simon Nabatov, Uli Rennert, Art Lande and Uli Scherer et al.

He is the founder and bandleader of many ensembles, such as the award-winning "Jazzzirkus"

Aaron Lehr

Born: September 25, 1978