"Mike Pride: Percussionist • Composer • Vocalist • Visual Artist

Born and raised in Southern Maine, but based out of New York City since 2000, Mike Pride currently performs solo, leads modern-jazz quartet From Bacteria To Boys, the 7-drummer installation-band Drummer's Corpse, and the MDC piano trio I Hate Work. He also co-leads the ensembles Pulverize The Sound (w/ Peter Evans and Tim Dahl), and Period (w/ Charlie Looker and Chuck Bettis). Pride is renowned for his ability to excel in a wide range of genres and ensembles. He has worked with everyone from improvised music icon Anthony Braxton to punk legends Millions Of Dead Cops, toured extensively on four continents, appeared on more than 100 recordings, and is currently touring the world opening for comedian Amy Schumer with Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore.

A short list of his collaborators includes Mick Barr, Tim Berne, Boredoms, Eugene Chadbourne, Nels Cline, Andrew D'Angelo, Trevor Dunn, Dynamite Club, Peter Evans, Charles Gayle, Milford Graves, Drew Gress, Mary Halvorson, Curtis Hasselbring, Nona Hendryx, Jon Irabagon, Brad Jones, Haino Keiji, Kirk Knuffke, George Lewis, Frank Lowe, Bill McHenry, Tony Malaby, Sam Mickens, Butch Morris, Joe Morris, William Parker, Marc Ribot, Matana Roberts, Herb Robertson, Jamie Saft, Sonny Simmons, Craig Wedren, Nate Wooley, Otomo Yoshihide and John Zorn.

Pride's versatility doesn't end with his eclectic résumé as a popular sideman and leader/co-leader of many active ensembles spanning the worlds of modern-jazz, avant-rock, noise and doom metal improv. He is also a busy educator and clinician, a soundtrack composer for TV shows, video games, podcasts, independent films, and websites, and an experienced and exhibited visual artist.

Mike proudly uses Yamaha Drums & hardware, Vic Firth striking implements, and Humes & Berg Cases."

"Saxophonist, composer and educator Jonathan Moritz was born in Teheran, Iran in 1977. At an early age he moved to Southern California with his multicultural family of Persian, Jewish, Belgian upbringing and was surrounded by weekly family gatherings rich in dancing and dombak drumming that filled the house with the joy of improvisation. He moved to Belgium, where his paternal family lives, to study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels ('95-'98) focusing on solidifying an academic foundation of straight ahead jazz. Drawn back to the West Coast, Moritz finished his BFA in Jazz Performance at California Institute of the Arts ('98-2000), combining his knowledge of jazz academia with the creative spirit of the family jams. Here he collaborated with dancers on projects like Noisy Clothes where he met French designer Elodie Blanchard, who became his wife. Jonathan Moritz has lived in Brooklyn with Elodie Blanchard and their son Gaspard since 2000 and has been performing and working professionally throughout New York City since. As an educator he has led workshops on improvisation at the Oakwood High School in Los Angeles, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and ISIM at UCSD, has directed an instrumental music program at the Morris H. Weiss School for the past 10 years and graduated from Brooklyn College (‘07) with a Master Degree in Music Education. Since 2005, Jonathan and Elodie have curated one of New York's most intimate and welcoming performance spaces, the Prospect Series, a house concert featuring innovative improvisers, Persian stew, a diverse audience and French hospitality.

Jonathan has recorded with musicians among the likes of Eugene Chadbourne, Ben Gerstein, John McLellan, Sam Mickens, Eivind Opsvik, Mike Pride, Jason Stein, Nate Wooley and Jack Wright;He has toured Belgium, the West Coast, Northeast and Southern USA;Played at festivals: KMB Jazz, New Atlantis (Washington D.C.), Undead Jazz and Vision;And venues such as: Issue Project Room, Roulette and The Stone, Zebulon and Barbes.

His first trio album as a leader, Xanadu, was described as"remindful of the Sonny Rollins Village Vanguard Sessions - with just tenor saxophone, bass, and drums, but more pertinently in terms of Moritz's Rollinsesque sound and rhythmic and motivic improvisational development... even though their passionate and thoughtfully mannered music-making borders on the avant-guard, they still are well within the comfort zone of most serious-minded mainstream jazz listeners. Sure to make my top ten for the year." -Russel Arthur Roberts. L.A. Jazz Scene. His most recent release features a trio with bassist Shayna Dulberger and drummer/percussionist Mike Pride.

Jonathan Moritz's Secret Tempo concentrates on modernizing the roles with an artistic focus on harmony, indeterminate rhythms, extended technique and a deep exploration of sound. Loaded with cadenzas, fermatas, solo breaks, counter rhythms, and codas this album is often free sounding but is surprisingly, highly arranged."