"Marcin Olak: guitarist, composer, improvising and experimenting musician. He is one of the few who can play modern jazz on classical and acoustic guitars, using the specific sound and articulation possibilities of those instruments *; he also plays electric guitars. He moves between various styles: jazz, classical and contemporary pieces, from fully composed pieces to improvised music. Marcin Olak peforms solo and with various bands: from free-jazz combos, through classical guitar ensambles, to the symphony orchestra.

*[ Usually guitar in jazz is treated linearly. Most guitarists play with a pick, and are thus able to play a single note melody or chords. Marcin Olak - with his classical guitarist background - plays differently. He creates a multilevel, complex textures, using the specific sound and articulation possibilities of his guitars, as it is in the European guitar tradition. And that's not the end of surprises... ]

Marcin graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin's Academy of Music in Warsaw (PL) in classical guitar. He took part in numerous master classes with classical guitarists (like Roberto Aussel and Jorge Cardoso) and jazz performers (like Ralph Towner and Scott Henderson). Marcin Olak played at some of the most important polish guitar and jazz festivals, such as: Warsaw Summer Jazz Days (2013, 2008), Warszaw Autumn (2007,2009), Jazz na Buduku (2006, 2008, 2012), Jazz w Ruinach (2007), Guitar City (2005, 2008), Jazz Juniors (2005), Warsaw Underground Jazz (2003) and many more. The Warsaw Guitar Festival in 2008 seems particularly worth mentioning, as Marcin's own concerto for jazz guitar trio and orchestra was performed there for the first time. Marcin played on the most important stages in Poland, including the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw and the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio. He has recorded for Polish radio and TV on numerous occasions. He doesn't avoid jazz clubs though."

"Composer and Tubist, Ben Stapp, although classically trained with Tommy Johnson and Roger Bobo while pursuing his love for jazz tuba, Ben further opened up his horizons while living in Portugal, hanging out at Clean Feed's record store. Since then he's been living in New York since 2007 and experienced the diversity of New York's music scene including engagements with Steven Bernstein's Universal Melody Brass Band, ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), toured with Red Barrat, played with the Garden State Philharmonia at Carnegie Hall, with Slavic Soul Party, Mario Pavone's Accordion Project, playing Earle Brown with the ECCE Ensemble at MIT, frequent traditional jazz and brass band freelancer, Nate Wooley's Seven Storey Mountain, tubist for the Chelsea Symphony, with TILT at Lincoln Center to Premier John Luther Adam's Sila, for Eli Yamin's Blues Band, Sousaphone player for Jacob Sac's live Heavens Trombone Choir, plays tuba in Stephen Haynes Quintet with Joe Morris, Warren Smith, and William Parker, and dedicated Colombian-music tubist with Martin Vejarano's Cumbia River Band, Chia's Dance Party, Pablo Mayor's Folkore Eurbano, and the experimental Alejandro Florez' Tin Throat Ensemble."

"Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He relocated from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert works. As a session musician and arranger, he is credited on many rock, pop, and country records. Lonberg-Holm currently leads the Valentine Trio, with Jason Roebke (bass) and Frank Rosaly (drums). This jazz trio performs original compositions as well as tunes by both jazz composers (e.g. Sun Ra) and pop songwriters (e.g. Jeff Tweedy, Syd Barrett). The group released its first album Terminal Valentine, in 2007, which was reviewed by AllAboutJazz critic Nils Jacobson.

He coordinates and directs performances of his Lightbox Orchestra, an improvising ensemble with a flexible, ever-changing membership. Lonberg-Holm does not play an instrument in this group, but rather conducts its non-idiomatic improvisations via the "lightbox" and by holding up handwritten signs. The lightbox contains a light bulb for each musician which Lonberg-Holm switches on or off to suggest when they should play. Collective groups of which Lonberg-Holm is a member include Terminal 4 who released an album, in 2003, called When I'm Falling that received four and a half stars, and AMG Album Pick by Allmusic, and it was reviewed by Allmusic's Joslyn Layne, The Boxhead Ensemble, Pillow, the Lonberg-Holm/Kessler/Zerang trio (with Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang), and the Dörner/Lonberg-Holm duo (with Axel Dörner).

Among groups led by other people, he is a member of the Vandermark 5, the Joe McPhee Trio, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens, and Ken Vandermark's Territory Band. When he lived in New York, Lonberg-Holm frequently collaborated with the rock group God Is My Co-Pilot pianist and composer Anthony Coleman as well as multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan of Warm Ghost. In Chicago, he has worked with Jim O'Rourke, Bobby Conn (on "Llovessonngs" [1999] and "The Golden Age" [2001]), The Flying Luttenbachers, Lake Of Dracula, Wilco, Rivulets, Mats Gustafsson, Sten Sandell, Jaap Blonk, John Butcher, and a great many others.

Lonberg-Holm's concert works have been premiered by William Winant, Carrie Biolo, the Austin New Music Co-Op, Subtropics Ensemble, Duo Atypica, the Schanzer/Speach Duo, New Winds, Paul Hoskin, Kevin Norton, the E.S.P. Ensemble, and others. His scores for dance have been performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Dance Theater Workshop as well as many other venues. He is a former composition student of Anthony Braxton and Morton Feldman. He performed improvised music in the role of a troubled composer who finds inspiration in the love of a couple he spots on the street in a short film for the Playboy channel."

"Marco Colonna, born in Rome on 21/12/1978, began playing the clarinet at the age of eight. Active for about twenty years in the most varied musical environments, it is formed under the guidance of Piero Quarta and Gaetano Zocconali, attends the Conservatory Licinio Refice of Frosinone and is perfected in the seminars with Alfredo impulliti and Achille Succi in jazz.

He specializes in the performance of contemporary music with the master Harry Sparnaay. At the same time he deals with music for theater, cinema and documentaries, collaborating with Rai Trade and with the companies Centro Mediterraneo delle Arti, Artes, Piccolo Brancaccio, L'Orologio.

Dedicator of many works for bass clarinet and double bass clarinet only - by composers such as Giorgio Colombo Taccani, Dan Di Maggio, Sofia Mikaelyan, Shigeru Kan No - participates in the Venice Biennale and at the Festival Cinque giorni in Milan, with a program of first performances for double bass clarinet only.

In jazz he plays with Andrew Cyrille, Gebhard Ulmann, Omar Tamez, Ivano Nardi, Michele Rabbia, Silvia Bolognesi, Eugenio Colombo, Antonello Salis, Butch Morris, Fabrizio Spera, Roberto Bellatalla, Evan Parker, Ettore Fioravanti, Alessandro Giachero, Francesco Cusa, Cristiano Calcagnile, Roberto Del Piano, Massimo Falascone, Stefano Giust, Giovanni Maier, and Zlatko Kaucic.

Signed in 2014 among the best new talents and musicians for the magazine Musica Jazz, it is also distinguished in the categories Baritone Sax and Other Instruments for the magazine Jazz It. Coproduce together with Fonterossa Records of Silvia Bolognesi the DESMADRE disc in duo with Agusti Fernandez, and Ghost Trio with Silvia Bolognesi and Ivano Nardi for Setola Di Maiale.

His Unity group was premiered at the Sala A of Radio Tre and aired in prime time for Radio 3 Suite. He writes an article dedicated to FRED HO on Jazz Music that follows ideally his work for baritone saxophone " The Joyful Breath of the Dragon ". Always the same magazine publishes the UNITY disk of the homonymous group, quintet led by him, characterized by the peculiar three-wind training, whose fundamental presence is the bassoon, the piano and the drums.

His trio MC3 was produced by the Roman club Ventotto Di Vino and offers a synthesis between groove, Mediterranean origins and free improvisation.

He collaborates and accompanies Alberto Masala's readings, in concerts for voice and clarinets on the poet's lyrics.

Participates in International Festivals such as Roccella Jonica, Musica Sulle Bocche, Visiones, Encuentro di Jazz and Musica Viva. In the folk field he plays in the group Acquaragia Drom with which he records a record (Rom Kaffè) and realizes tours in Mexico, USA, Malaysia, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Germany and throughout Italy, participating in the main World Music festivals such as Sziget (Hungary), Rain Forest World Music Festival (Malaysia), Rome Meet the World, NYC Gipsy Festival.

Reported by Musica Jazz magazine among the best young talents of Italian jazz in 2012.

Luigi Onori dedicates to him a page on Alias ​​del Manifesto, calling him "One of the best creators of music of his generation".He writes the text FRAGMENT which becomes a musical scene for voice and clarinets.

Activates a stable collaboration with the musician Vaggelis Merkouris on the Mediterranean repertoire. Fonda Duo Apolide together with the bandoneonist Carlo Maver."

"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."