"Jim Baker was born in Chicago a number of years ago and has been playing in and around Chicago and elsewhere in the world for a few decades, mostly on piano and analog synthesizer; mostly in improvisational contexts; in situations involving, amongst others, Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, Michael Zerang, Mars Williams, Brian Sandstrom, Steve Hunt, Edward WIlkerson Jr, David Boykin, Rob Mazurek, Guillermo Gregorio, Nicole Mitchell, Vincent Davis, the Thing XXL, Tortoise, Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Paul Hartsaw, Janet Bean, Damon Short, and numerous others.

For a number of years, Mr Baker was the house pianist at the weekly jam sessions at Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge; and for most of the past decade, has played weekly with the improvising quartet Extraordinary Popular Delusions (the other three Delusions: Messrs. Williams, Sandstrom, & Hunt) , who currently play nearly every monday night at Beat Kitchen in Chicago."

"Sima Cunningham is Chicago-based musician, producer, and presenter.

Over the past 15 years she has worked as a recording and touring musician with Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, Iron & Wine, Chance the Rapper, Twin Peaks, and been featured on over thirty records. She co-owns a recording studio in Chicago, Fox Hall, where she produces records for her own projects and other artists.

In 2015 she co-founded the experimental indie-rock band OHMME, which has been celebrated as "the heart of the Chicago music community". OHMME has since released three records including a self-titled EP and the acclaimed LPs, Parts and Fantasize Your Ghost (Joyful Noise Recordings). The band has been featured on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert, Pitchfork, Paste, Chicago Tribune, Spin, Interview, and Rolling Stone. Over the past 15 years, she has released LPs, EPs, and singles as a solo artist and has a forthcoming solo album due in 2022.

An Armenian-American artist and descendent of genocide survivors she has focused much of her work on building connections and healing divides through music. Over the last ten years, she has traveled to Armenia and the Caucasus to perform, participate in workshops, and foster creative cross-cultural opportunities between artists in Armenia and the United States. Her work as an artist-presenter includes founding a small music festival, Postock, that will celebrate its 15th year in 2022; curating and hosting the I Hear Voices series in Chicago at Constellation; and working as a lead organizer for the Pitchfork Music Festival."

"John Hughes (double bass) is an active member of the jazz and improvisation community in Hamburg, performing regularly both in Hamburg and in Germany. John has worked with numerous groups and projects, dancers, poets, artists and light technicians. In Nov. 2004, John curated the first, annual "Phenomorphonic" festival in the Christianskirche, Hamburg. This festival for experimental acoustic and electronic music brought together musicians from New York, Berlin, Switzerland, Italy, and Hamburg. Johns' current associations include the improv. groups, "Propele di Katsa" (B.Fuchsberger, J.Hochapfel, J.Hughes), the electro/accoustic trio Hughes/Scherzberg/Wiese and his duo collaborations with Italian pianist Alberto Braida and German saxophonist Lars Scherzberg. John also plays in "Rocket No.9" (C.Popple, M.Pfleiderer, J.Hughes), a jazz group which focuses on presenting the music of the great composers of the past, such as Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk, and others."

"Bassist and Chicago native Nick Macri has careened in an out of various musical situations over the years from creative group settings and notable sideman gigs to theater work and solo excursions. He is/was a contributing member to many, varied groups including Ken Vandermark's Audio One, instrumental explorers Euphone (Jade Tree) and Heroic Doses (SUB>POP), art-pop quartet The Zincs (Thrill Jockey), the pastoral psych-folk of The Horse's Ha (with Janet Bean and James Elkington), and instrumental trio Stirrup with Fred Lonberg-Holm & Charles Rumback, (Clean Feed, 482 Records). He has also performed and toured as a sideman and recorded sessions with an eclectic list of artists including Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Ken Vandermark, The Sea and Cake, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate), Nina Nastasia, Azita, Bobby Conn, Lanterna, Tim Kinsella (Friend/Enemy), The Lonesome Organist, James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Wanees Zarour's Middle East Music Ensemble, Bruce Licher (Savage Republic, Scenic), Tara Jane O'Neil, and Hector Zazou. He has performed across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America including concerts at Saalfelden Jazz Festival (Austria), Festival de Musique Actuelle (Montreal), Reading Festival and Leeds Festival (U.K.), World Music Festival Chicago, All Tomorrow's Parties (U.K.), the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Logan Center and the Pritzker Pavilion (Chicago)."

"A resident of Denver since he was 11, he began playing the trumpet seriously in junior high school and studied music at the University of Denver (1981-1985) and the Manhattan School of Music (1986). In addition to local gigs, Miles visited Italy in the summer of 1992 with the play Sophisticated Ladies and was a member of the Mercer Ellington Orchestra for a couple years. He played frequently with Bill Frisell during 1994-1995, also recording with the guitarist, and worked as assistant professor of music at Denver's Metropolitan Stage College. Ron Miles has recorded for Prolific (1986) and Capri (1990), as well as several advanced sets for Gramavision."-Scott Yanow

Charles Rumback is a Chicago drummer, composer, and bandleader. He has performed in the groups Colorlist, From Beyond, Stirrup, and Who Cares How Long You Sink, and his own bands with sidemen like bassist John Tate, pianist Jim Baker, saxophonist Greg Ward, and bassist James Singleton.

"Jason Stein was born in 1976 and is originally from Long Island, New York. Stein is one of the few musicians working today to focus entirely on the bass clarinet as a jazz and improvisational instrument. He studied at Bennington College with Charles Gayle and Milford Graves, and at the University of Michigan with Donald Walden and Ed Sarath. In 2005, Stein relocated to Chicago and has since recorded for such labels as Leo, Delmark, Atavistic, 482 Music and Clean Feed. Stein has performed throughout the US and Europe, including performances in festivals in Lisbon, Cracow, Utrecht, Barcelona, Debreccen and Ljubljana. He has had the opportunity to perform with a number of exciting local and international musicians including: Michael Moore, Jeff Parker, Oscar Noriega, Rudi Mahall, Ken Vandermark, Rob Mazurek, Jeb Bishop, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Urs Leimgruber, Pandelis Karayorgis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Tony Buck, Eric Boren, Kent Kessler, Tobias Delius, Michael Zerang, Michael Vatcher, Peter Brotzman, and Wilbert DeJoode."

"At the age of 20, Macie Stewart has already had her first national television appearance on Conan O'Brian, played legendary festivals such as Lollapalooza and Coachella, and received a write up in Rolling Stone and the New York Times. This is just the beginning for her. She started playing classical piano at the age of three and found that music was her biggest passion. Known for her skills as a versatile keyboardist, she is also a singer, songwriter, violinist, and guitar player.

At the age of 15 Macie began playing in the Chicago band Kids These Days. Their diverse sound spanned between Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, and many other genres to create something unique and ear-catching. KTD brought the band recognition from many big names such as Questlove, George Clinton, and even Jeff Tweedy who helped produce their debut "Traphouse Rock"

Macie Stewart currently resides in Chicago where she plays gigs and teaches regularly. These days she finds herself playing with her own musical projects such as Sikiyadigo and her main focus, Marrow. She often plays venues around Chicago, and regularly teaches individual piano and violin lessons as well as ensemble classes."

John Tate, bass: "A member of New York City's creative music community, Brooklyn-residing bassist, composer, and educator John Tate has performed throughout North America, Central America, South America, Europe, and Australia with musicians including Von Freeman, Matt Wilson, Marquis Hill, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Jeff Parker, Carl Allen, Rodney Jones, Bill Carrothers, Victor Goines, and George Fludas, among others. Tate holds a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance from Northern Illinois University and an Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies from the Juilliard School. During his time at Juilliard, Tate was an apprentice of distinguished bassist and pedagogue Ron Carter."

"Greg Ward is a saxophonist and composer that was born in Peoria, IL. Currently based in Chicago, Ward has had the opportunity to perform and record with a varied group of artists like Prefuse 73, Lupe Fiasco, Tortoise, William Parker, Andrew D'Angelo, and Mike Reed.

In 2000, Ward began his studies at Northern Illinois University where he worked with Steve Duke, Fareed Haque, Ron Carter, and Joey Sellers. Already interested in composition, having the opportunity to compose for NIU's jazz combos deepened his understanding of the inner-workings of music. Also, working with composer and arranger, Joey Sellers, equipped Ward with some important tools to further explore this new love.

Around his sophomore year in college, Ward started spending many nights performing in the jazz clubs of Chicago. Soon, he would meet another one of his mentors, saxophonist, Fred Anderson, who would later select him to host a jam session at the Velvet Lounge for four years. During this time period, Ward experienced much growth as a performer and composer and developed a vibrant community of performers, artists, dancers, and listeners.

After graduating from NIU in 2004 with a degree in Jazz Studies/Saxophone Performance, Ward moved to Chicago and took advantage of every opportunity that was offered to him. Composing two pieces for the International Contemporary Ensemble, performing a quartet composition for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Music Series, composing Wings for the Peoria Ballet Company, and being commissioned by the Jazz Institute of Chicago for a new composition, which was performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2009, are just a few of the many experiences that shaped Ward during his years in Chicago.

In 2009, Ward decided to move to New York City. Almost immediately after he arrived in NYC, he began working with JazzReach, an NYC-based jazz education organization that shares multi-media programs throughout the US. In 2010, he would produce his first CD as a leader with his Chicago-based band, Fitted Shards. South Side Story received much critical acclaim, including "Recording of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune. Next, in 2011, Ward formed Phonic Juggernaut, which features Damion Reid on drums and Joe Sanders on bass. Together, they recorded and released a CD on Thirsty Ear Recordings that same year. Also, in 2011, Ward composed and performed a commission from the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra for a concerto for jazz quartet and string orchestra. In 2012, Ward was selected as one of the two New Music USA Van Lier Fellows. In 2014, he received a commission/residency from the Jazz Gallery and premiered Capturing Sunlight, which was an hour-long work for septet and included a short documentary by Diana Quinones Rivera. The Capturing Sunlight project was inspired by the life and work of Preston Jackson.

Recently, Ward has collaborated with another composer, sound designer, and performer, Caleb Willitz. First, they composed the film score for Beresford Bennett's film, Pinch, which was an official selection of the 2015 San Diego Black Film Festival. Second, Ward and Willitz will be releasing an electro-acoustic project, Gaps and Spaces: Synoptic Optiks."

"Krystle Warren: Singer and multi-instrumentalist Krystle Warren has been compared to artists like Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone. The latter comparison is particularly intriguing: Not only does Warren share that icon's talent for evocative storytelling, but she also lives in France, as Simone once did. It's a long way from her native Kansas City, Mo., which Warren left in her early 20s to pursue her music career. On her forthcoming album Three The Hard Way, Warren pays tribute to her roots."