"Jim Hobbs was born and raised in north-eastern Indiana at the convergence of three rivers. He is a recipient of the Doris Duke New Works Grant for composition from Chamber Music America. After a childhood of chewing hay and catching salamanders he began playing the saxophone. He received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he majored in composition. It was there that he met bassist Timo Shanko and started the Fully Celebrated Orchestra (FCO), which has released 10+ recordings on various labels including Silkheart, Skycap and Innova. FCO is also the subject of a children's book. He has performed and recorded with Joe Morris, Luther Gray, Taylor Ho Bynum, Bill Lowe, The Jazz Composers Alliance, Forbes Graham, The Prodigal Suns, Mackie Burnett, Fred Hopkins, Laurence Cook, Jon Voight, Junko Simons, Nightstick, The Death's Head Quartet, Josh Roseman, Curtis Hasselbring, The Lunch Factor, Laura Andel, Brother Blue and many others."

"Taylor Ho Bynum (b. 1975) has spent his career navigating the intersections between structure and improvisation - through musical composition, performance and interdisciplinary collaboration, and through production, organizing, teaching, writing and advocacy. As heard on over twenty recordings as a bandleader, Bynum's expressionistic playing on cornet and his expansive vision as composer have garnered him critical attention as one of the singular musical voices of his generation. He currently leads his Sextet and 7-tette, and works with many collective ensembles including a duo with drummer Tomas Fujiwara, the improv trio Book of Three, the UK/US collaborative Convergence Quartet, the dance/music interdisciplinary ensemble Masters of Ceremony, and the trans-idiomatic little big band Positive Catastrophe.

His varied endeavors include his Acoustic Bicycle Tours (where he travels to concerts solely by bike across thousands of miles) and his stewardship of Anthony Braxton's Tri-Centric Foundation (which he serves as executive director, producing most of Braxton's recent major projects). In addition to his own bands, his ongoing collaboration with Braxton, past work with other legendary figures such as Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor, and current collective projects with forward thinking peers, Bynum increasingly travels the globe to conduct community-based large ensembles in explorations of new creative orchestra music. He is also a published author and contributor to The New Yorker's Culture Blog, has taught at universities, festivals, and workshops worldwide, and has served as a panelist and consultant for leading funders and organizations. His work has received support from Creative Capital, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, Chamber Music America, New Music USA, USArtists International, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation."

"Drummer Luther Gray, though largely self-taught, his musical training involved drum lessons from Kim Martin, Larry Bright, Steve Bagby, and Mickey Newman. In 1995 he graduated the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Music, after which he taught privately and performed in the Washington , D.C. area with, among others, Butch Warren, Cecil Payne, Webster Young, Tsunami, Liquorice, Peter Edelman, Jenny Toomey, Bob Butta, and Buck Hill. Since moving to Boston he has resumed teaching private drum lessons and has played with Joe Morris, Jay Hoggard, Joe McPhee, Timo Shanko, Cameron Brown, Allan Chase, Joseph Daley, Sabir Mateen, Roy Campbell, Ida, Geoff Farina, Andrew White, Rob Brown, Bill Lowe, Greg Abate, Raqib Hassan, Bill Pierce, Mitch Seidman, Steve Swell, Joe Beck, Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark and many others. In addition to his performing schedule Luther teaches art and music at an after-school program for elementary school children."

"Timo Shanko grew up in Santa Monica, CA, where he studied electric bass before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1989. Timo was a founding member of the Fully Celebrated Orchestra with alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs. In the '90s, he toured with blues master Eddie Kirkland as bassist and Band Director, and co-founded the Prodigal Suns, who were signed to Geffen Records. He then developed his skills on tenor saxophone and now plays both bass and sax equally. In 2009, Timo joined G. Love & Special Sauce, touring major venues in the US, Japan, Australia, and also performed with many major artists. In addition to his own trio, Timo currently performs with Dub Apocalypse (winner of the Boston Music Award for Best International Artist). Timo has one of the biggest collection of self-notated transcriptions in the world, and has also written many transcription books for Hal Leonard Publishing, from Sonny Stitt and Wayne Shorter to Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis."