"Born in Newark, NJ, Steve Swell has been an active member of the NYC music community since 1975. He has toured and recorded with many artists from mainstreamers such as Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich to so called outsiders as Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and William Parker. He has over 40 CDs as a leader or co-leader and is a featured artists on more than 100 other releases. He runs workshops around the world and is a teaching artist in the NYC public school system focusing on special needs children.

Swell has worked on music transcriptions of the Bosavi tribe of New Guinea for MacArthur fellow, Steve Feld in 2000. His CD, "Suite For Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers" (CIMP) ranked number 2 in the 2004 Cadence Readers Poll. He has also received grants from USArtists International in 2006, MCAF (LMCC) awards in 2008 and 2013 and has been commissioned twice on the Interpretations Series at Merkin Hall in 2006 and at Roulette in 2012.

Steve was nominated for Trombonist of the Year 2008 & 2011 by the Jazz Journalists Association, was selected Trombonist of the Year 2008-2010 , 2012 and 2014-2015 by the magazine El Intruso of Argentina and received the 2008 Jubilation Foundation Fellowship Award of the Tides Foundation. Steve has also been selected by the Downbeat Critics Poll in the Trombone category each year from 2010-2016.

Steve is presently a teaching artist through the American Composers Orchestra, Healing Arts Initiative , Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center (Bronx), the Jazz Foundation of America and Leman Manhattan Preparatory School.

Steve was also awarded the 2014 Creative Curricula grant (LMCC) for the project: "Metamorphoses: Modern Mythology in Sound and Words" which was taught in a month long residency at Baruch College Campus High School in Manhattan."

Classically trained musician Aaron Martin began playing music at age 11, switching between guitar and drums. In high school, he switched to cello, and at college at Washburn University he graduated with a double-major in music cello performance and English writing. He now resides in Topeka, Kansas and performs on Cello, guitar, ukulele, tambourine, banjo, mandolin, electric chord organ, recorder, slide whistle, saw and glockenspiel.

"Acoustic bassist Jason Ajemian is one of the members of the underground music scene in Chicago, playing a variety of creative improvised, noise, and experimental musics based in rock and jazz. He is a graduate of the William Patterson College in New Jersey, where he studied with bassist Rufus Reid and percussionist Kevin Norton. Arriving in Chicago in the fall of 2000, Ajemian embraced the then burgeoning progressive music community. Ajemian also vocalizes and utilizes electronics. His dizzying number of credits include work with Rob Mazurek, the Exploding Star Orchestra, Dragons 1976, Lay All Over It, Born Heller, Matt Bauder, Ken Vandermark's Crisis Ensemble, Who Cares How Long You Sink, Triage, Mandarin Movie, the Chicago Underground Trio, and countless others."

"Andrew Barker is a drummer and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. Barker is co-founder of the free jazz and improvised music ensemble Gold Sparkle Band from Atlanta, Georgia from 1994 to present. After moving to Brooklyn, NY in 1998, Andrew became the drummer in William Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra (appearing on Mayor of Punkville, Raincoat in the River, Spontaneous, and For Percy Heath). Since then he has appeared on many recordings with musicians such as Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, Chris Jonas, Rob Brown, Sonny Simmons, Assif Tsahar, Virginia Genta, Ed Ricart, Roy Campbell, and many others. Barker has performed with many musicians in New York City and beyond including Butch Morris, Thurston Moore, Steve Swell, Herb Robertson, John Zorn, Marshall Allen, Sirone, and Paul Dunmall.

Barker leads the psychedelic free jazz unit Acid Birds (with Jaime Fennelly of Mind Over Mirrors and Charles Waters of GSB), and the heavy improv unit, Barker Trio (with Michael Foster and Tim Dahl)."