"Mário Costa, was born in 1986 in Viana do Castelo. Starts the study of the drums at 7 years of age. His learning path passes through the Vocational School of Music of Viana do Castelo where he studies percussion with teachers Rui Rodrigues, Nuno Aroso and Pedro Oliveira. In 2008 he graduated in Jazz from ESMAE, under the guidance of Professor Michael Lauren. In that same year, he moved to the United States where he attended private lessons with Ian Froman, Rodney Green, Ari Hoening, Eric Harland, John Riley and Hal Crook. He attends and participates in workshops with Jeff Ballard, Adam Cruz, Ferenc Nemeth, Peter Erskin, Dom Famularo, Billy Hart, Alexandre Frazão, Marc Miralta, Allan Ferber, Chris Corsano, David Freedman, Billy Coabhan, John Riley, Dan Weiss, among others.

He is an award-winning drummer with a number of distinctions in the music scene, including the 1st Prize at the "II Young Performers Competition" in Spain, 1st prize at the "Tum-Pa-Tum-Pa" drum competition ) and the 1st prize in the "Yamaha Drum Sessions" in the category of over 18 years.

In 2010 he is invited by Casa da Música to present his project "Mário Costa - Homo Sapiens" in the cycle "New Values ​​of Jazz". At the same time he is invited to participate in various projects in festivals, such as: Serralves in Festa - "Adapt / Oppose", "Corsano - Queijo - Costa" and Trama - Festival of Performative Arts - "Improvisations / Collaborations".

Mário Costa is known for his diverse formations, such as: Hugo Carvalhais - Nebula, GS Quartet, Ensemble Super Modern, Carlos Mendes Quarteto, Metamorphose, Maria Mendes, Miguel Martins, Carlos Azevedo Trio, Mário Costa - Dual Experience, José Valente - Experience of Today.

Currently he is part of the project of Miguel Araújo and Ana Moura's latest album, where he has performed more than 140 concerts in the first year of the world tour of the album "Desfado", through Coliseu dos Recreios, Coliseu do Porto, Centro Cultural de Belém, Victoria Hall (Switzerland), Apolo Hall (Spain), SF Jazz Center (USA), Napa Valley Opera House (USA), Berklee Performance Center (USA), Barbican Center (UK), Paradiso Room (Amsterdam), Les Muzik Festival Elles (France), Opera Nationala Romana (Romania), El Lunario (Mexico City), Festspielhaus (Austria), Muffathalle (Munich), Festival Mawazine (Rabat), Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo Arts (Rio de Janeiro), Bansko Jazz Fest (Bulgaria), among others."

"Guitarist Marc Ducret was born in Paris in 1957. A self-taught musician, he began working in various groups (dance and folk included), and in the studio, before reaching the age of 20. In 1986, he became a member of the first French National Jazz Orchestra. Also in the late '80s, Ducret led his own trio and toured Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 1991, he began working with Tim Berne and went on to play with Berne in Caos Totale, Bloodcount, and Big Satan. Ducret has several solo recordings to his credit, released on Berne's Screwgun label and the Winter & Winter label. In the late '90s, Ducret formed a tentet, Seven Songs, to explore music of the '60s."-Joslyn Layne

"Benoît Delbecq was born in St Germain en Laye (F), June 6, 1966. He lives in Bondy, near Paris. A dreamer and an adventurer in music, pianist/composer/producer Benoît Delbecq has been one of the activists of Hask (1992-2004) and Astrolab (1994-1999), two Paris-based cutting-edge jazz/improv collectives that have contributed to significantly revitalize the french creative music scene around the club Instants Chavirés in Montreuil/Paris. His music and projects include works for theater, dance, litterature, visual arts and motion pictures, that are being regularly invited by major festivals worldwide. He has released about 35 records as a leader or co-leader among a discography of more than a hundred discs.

Anchored in both jazz history as well as in aesthetical stakes of today's new musics, Delbecq's works are world-widely acclaimed since the early nineties. He is a renown specialist for a personal and polymetric approach of "prepared piano", and has also an regular activity in the electronic department. His works are experimenting a blend of improvisation and composition in which he reveals a rich pallet of sounds, enlightened by stratas of multiple momentums, articulations and seemingly floating harmonies. Inspired by alternative urban musical experiments and electronic music adventures, he also improvises a personal approach of drum'n bass and ambient.

Benoît was awarded 'Prix jeunes affiches de la SACEM' in 1995 with group KARTET, prix de la Villa Médicis Hors-les-murs 2001 for his first solo piano recording " Nu-Turn " (Songlines, 2003), was awarded with the fellowship of Civitella Fundation (New York, 2009), was awarded in 2010 a double Grand Prix International du Disque (Académie Charles Cros, the French Grammy Awards), and his trio CD "The Sixth Jump " (Songlines) was listed in the New York Times top ten jazz/pop records of 2010. His works for the Fred Hersch/Benoît Delbecq FUN HOUSE double trio (premiered and recorded in May 2012, to be released FEB 2013) have recently received the French Ministère de la Culture " Commande d'Etat " funding. Recently he was commissioned by JAZZTOPAD Festival in Wroclaw (Poland) for a new piece for the Lutoslawski String Quartet and two improvisers (Miles Perkin on bass and himself on piano)."