"He has been playing the violin for 30 years and in that time has played all genres of music ranging from contemporary music to free jazz and improvised music, live and in the studio.

His main interest shifted towards contemporary improvised and composed music.

The relationship with his instruments is focused in sonic and textural elements.

Electronic music was an early influence on his approach to violin playing, which challenges traditional romantic concepts of the violin/viola through use of preparations and micro tuning.

Active in different settings on the Portuguese scene for free improvised music, both as a collaborator and in leading his own groups.

Music for Dance, Cinema, Video and Performance.

Has created the record label Creative Sources Recordings in 1999, which mainly concentrates on releasing experimental and electro-acoustic music."

"Frank Gratkowski, saxophone. Born in Hamburg, 1963.

Started playing the saxophone at 16 and, following a period at the Hamburg Conservatory (Hamburger Musikhochschule), moved in 1985 to study at the Cologne Conservatory of Music with Heiner Wiberny, graduating in 1990.

Further studies with Charlie Mariano, Sal Nistico and Steve Lacy.

Frank Gratkowski has been working as a soloist in various international formations (Grubenklang Orchester, Klaus Koenig Orchester, Musikfabrik NRW, Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra, Bentje Braam, BikBentBraam, All Ears, Zeitkratzer, WDR Big band, etc.). Since 1990 he has been giving solo performances throughout Europe, Canada and USA. With his first solo program, he was a 1991 prizewinner in the Musik Kreativ contest. The release of the solo CD "Artikulationen" followed the same year and a new one "Artikulationen II" in 2002.

Since 1992 he has been working in a duo with the pianist Georg Graewe (CD "VicissEtudes"). The duo is often extended through the participation of different additional musicians, such as drummer Paul Lovens (CD "Quicksand") and bassist John Lindberg (CD "Arrears").

In 1995 he founded the "Frank Gratkowski Trio" with Dieter Manderscheid (Germany), bass, and Gerry Hemingway (USA), drums, (CDs "Gestalten" and "The Flume Factor" ). In 2000 the trio has been extended to a quartet by Dutch trombonist Wolter Wierbos (CDs "Kollaps", "Spectral Reflections", "Facio" and "Le Vent et la Gorge"). Since 2003 also appearing as a Double Quartet plus Tobias Delius, Herb Robertson, Wilbert DeJoode and Michael Vatcher. In 2005 he got the SWR Jazzprize.

In 1999 the duo with the Italian trombonist Sebastiano Tramontana has been formed and since 2001 Frank Gratkowski has been performing with a trio including Wilbert De Jode (NL) on bass and Achim Kaufmann (D) on piano (CDs "Kwast" and "Unearth"). Since 2006 he's working with the Trio Gratkowski / Brown / Winant (CDs "Wake" and "Vermilion Traces/Donaueschingen 2009"). He is also a co-leader / composer of the Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra and got a commission to compose for the ensemble Apartment House by "November Music " (Den Bosch NL) and the "Huddersfield Comtemporary Music Fesitival" (England) in 2009. Further actual projects are Fo[u]r Alto, a saxophone ensemble dedicated to microtonal music and "Artikulationen E" a solo program for saxophone with 8 channel live electronic.

Frank Gratkowski played on nearly every German and on numerous international Jazz and contemporary music Festivals including Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Quebec, Les Mans, Muelhuus, Groeningen, Nickelsdorf, Barcelona, Lithuania, Warsaw, Zagreb, Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, Bucharest, Odessa and Roma, Huddersfield, London.

He has been teaching saxophone and ensembles at the Cologne, Berlin and Arnhem Conservatory of Music and is giving workshops all around the world.

Furthermore he has performed with Robert Dick, Phil Wachsmann, Radu Malfatti, Herb Robertson, Marcio Mattos, Eugenio Colombo, Peter Kowald, Ray Anderson, Michael Moore, Ken Vandermark, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, Louis Sclavis, John Betsch, Jane Ira Bloom, Connie and Hannes Bauer, Xu Fengxia, James Newton, Muhal Richard Abrams, John Lindberg, Michael Formaneck, Ernst Reijseger, Fred van Hove, Theo Jörgensmann, Phil Minton, Peter Brötzmann, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Hamid Drake, Michiel Braam, Han Bennink, Mal Waldron, Misha Mengelberg a.m.o."

"Was born 1988 in Lisboa, Portugal and started playing cello and trumpet at Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa at the age of 7. In 1999 joined Conservatório Nacional de Música de Lisboa to study classical and music theory and in the current year recorded his first album - Multiples - with Ernesto Rodrigues and José Oliveira out on Creative Sources Recordings.

Apart from work in music ensembles ranging for contemporary classical to free improvisation, also works with live music poetry, theatre and film-music. After lengthy residency in Lisboa, (1988-2016) moved to Berlin and has been active as composer and improviser in the scene.

Worked with some international and renewed artists like Ernesto Rodrigues, Jean-luc Guionnet, Margarida Garcia, Manuel Mota, Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Sei Miguel, Tim Goldie, Jeffrey Morgan, Oren Marshall, Gerhard Uebele, Klaus Kurvers, Gabriel Paiuk, Nicolas Field, Jaime Fennelly, Blaise Siwula, Will Guthrie, Pawel Grabowski, Michael Thieke, Wade Matthews, Leonel Kaplan, Diego Chamy, Gabriel Paiuk, Barry Weisblat, Joe Giardullo, Jassem Hindi, Tisha Mukarji, Masahiko Okura, Taku Unami, Toshihiro Koike, Sharif Sehnaoui, Christine Abdelnour, Alexandre Bellenger, Carlos Zingaro, Romaric Sobac, Nuno Rebelo, Nuno Torres, Naoto Yamagashi, Heddy Boubaker, Gerhard Uebele, Guillermo Torres, Tomas Gris, Carlos Santos, Bruno Parrinha, Miguel Leiria Pereira, Miguel Ivo Cruz, Alberto Cirera, Nuno Morão, Mark Sanders, Dennis Gonzaléz, Alípio Carvalho Neto, Raymond Macdonald, Neil Davidson, David Stachenas, Lisa Ullén, D'incise, Cyril Bondy, Miguel Mira, Rodrigo Amado, Abdul Moimême, Monsieur Trinité, João Madeira, Álvaro Rosso, Gil Gonçalves, Marian Yanchyk, Filipe Passos, Rodrigo Pinheiro, Christian Wolfarth, Thanos Chrysakis, Bechir Saade, Kurt Liedwart, Miguel A. Garcia, Ilia Belorukov, Andrew Lafkas, Gao Jiafeng, Eric Wong, Johan Moir, Casey Moir, Magda Mayas, Matthias Muller, Alexander Frangenheim ...

Has performed and toured in all Europe. Released more than 30 albums of his own projects."

"Michael Griener, born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1968, began playing drums in 1982, lives in Berlin since 1994.

Under the influence of the HOHE-UFER-concerts initiated by Günter Christmann he became involved early on in the various forms of Jazztradition, Free Improvisation and New Music, which led to a longer collaboration with Christmann in his Vario-projects (a.o. C.I.M.-Festival Den Haag 1990, Moers-Festival 1992, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik1993).

He has worked frequently with dancers, actors and poets (most recently in a project on Paul Celan with German writer Oskar Ansull). His duo KIMMO ELOMAA with electronic wizard jayrope received a grant by the city of Berlin in 2002 Received the 1. price as "most creative soloist" at the "New German Jazz Award" in 2006 His current projects include a.o.:

Uli Gumpert Quartet, TGW (Thieke-Griener-Weber), a Duo with Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Lacy Pool, Squakk and Carl-Ludwig Hübsch' Primordial Soup Michael Griener teaches jazz drumming at the University for Music "Carl Maria v. Weber" in Dresden and jazz-history and rhythm at the Jazzschule Berlin."