"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."

"A former journalist (Fuji Television Network Japan) with childhood piano training at Juilliard Pre-College and a stint as a Gulf War reporter on her résumé ('90-'91 working in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia), Kyoko Kitamura is an oddball vocalist, composer and bandleader who has worked with many distinguished musicians including Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Steve Coleman, William Parker and Reggie Workman.

She is a featured vocalist on Anthony Braxton's opera Trillium J (New Braxton House 2015), 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (NBH 2014), Trillium E (NBH 2011, the first-ever studio-recording of an Anthony Braxton opera), and the Syntactical GTM Choir (NYC) 2011 (NBH 2012). Also known for her interdisciplinary projects, she released her first solo album Armadillo In Sunset Park in 2012, a collection of songs written for and choreographed by Mark Lamb Dance. She can also be heard on the critically acclaimed Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings release Madeleine Dreams (Firehouse 12 Records 2009), Jamie Baum's Solace (Sunnyside Records 2008), and Steve Coleman's Lucidarium (Label Bleu 2004) among others.

She currently works with Anthony Braxton as a vocalist in his Tri-Centric Orchestra and as the Director of Communications for his Tri-Centric Foundation. She studies counterpoint and Schoenberg harmony with Paul Caputo.

As for her own current projects, she leads Tidepool Fauna (Ingrid Laubrock on sax, Ken Filiano on bass) and co-leads Armadillo In Sunset Park (collaborative project with dancers of Mark Lamb Dance).

Kitamura has garnered critical praise for her "great vocal range, veering from wordless vocalese to near operatic feats" (AllAboutJazz) and All Music Guide describes her as "an expressive vocalist who knows how to be quirky and eccentric but is also quite musical." Most recently, in a performance with the Anthony Braxton Trio at the Angel City Jazz Festival in L.A. (Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Kyoko Kitamura), Robert Bush of AllAboutJazz wrote, "Enough cannot be said about the stunning abilities of Ms. Kitamura-she functions at the highest instrumental level and was able to deal with pages of dense notation, acrobatic intervals and intricate layering with devastating surety." "

"Jason Kao Hwang (composer/violin/viola) recently released the CD Sing House, featuring his quintet, and VOICE, which features several ensembles with poetry. Sing House performances include the Vision Festival and Edgefest (MI). Burning Bridge, his octet of Chinese and Western instruments was one of the top CDs of 2012 in Jazziz and the Jazz Times. Performances include the Festival International de Musique Actuelle (Canada) and Freer Gallery (D.C.). The 2012 Downbeat Critics' Poll voted Mr. Hwang as "Rising Star for Violin." In 2011 he released two critically acclaimed recordings, Symphony of Souls, for improvising orchestra, and Crossroads Unseen, the third CD of his quartet EDGE. His opera, The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown, was one of the top ten recordings of 2005 in Opera News. As violinist, he has worked with Wadada Leo Smith, Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Steve Swell, Tomeka Reid, and others. Mr. Hwang has received support from Chamber Music America, US Artists International, the NEA, Rockefeller Foundation and others. Mr. Hwang currently teaches sound design at New York University."

"Jessica Pavone (composer, viola, violin, el.bass) has performed in countless improvisation, avant jazz, experimental, folk, soul, and chamber ensembles since moving to NYC in 2000. She currently plays with Normal Love, in a duo with guitarist Mary Halvorson, with Anthony Braxton's ensembles and as a solo violist. As a composer, The Wire magazine praised her "ability to transform a naked tonal gesture into something special," and The New York Times described her music as "distinct and beguiling...its core is steely, and its execution clear."

Pavone's recent works for solo viola and voice stem from years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form, and sympathetic vibration. She combines her long tone rituals with delay, understated melodies and sparse lyrical content while continuously experimenting with new forms. She is interested in the physicality of performing her somewhat larger-than-comfortable instrument and believes that cultivating physical bodies as a strong container for her thoughts is part of the creative process.

As an instrumentalist, she has personally worked with and interpreted new music by; Aaron Seigel, Andrew Raffo Dewar, Elliott Sharp, Glenn Branca, Henry Threadgill, Leo Smith, Jason Ajemian, Jason Cady, Jeremiah Cymerman, John King, Matana Roberts, Matthew Welch, Tristan Perich, Tyondai Braxton and William Parker; and, has played strings in bands such as Christy and Emily, Pure Horsehair, White Blue Yellow and Clouds, Joy Mega, and The Artificials.

Pavone has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, performing in venues ranging from international music festivals, universities, and art galleries, to community centers and basements. Her music has premiered in venues in New York City such as, Roulette, Issue Project Room, and The Kitchen, and at the Klangbad Festival in Sheer, Germany. In 2011 she was featured in NPR's "The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40." She has received grants and commissions from the Aaron Copland Recording Fund, the American Music Center, New Music USA for her collaboration with choreographer, Anna Sperber, The Kitchen, MATA, The Jerome Foundation, The Tri-Centric Foundation, Experiments in Opera, and the chamber music collective, Till By Turning."

"Cellist-composer Tomas Ulrich received music degrees from Boston University and the Manhattan School of Music. After attending a performance by the great Soviet cellist Mstislav Rostropovich at the age of eight, Mr. Ulrich was inspired to begin his musical journey on the cello. In addition to the traditional classical repertoire, Mr. Ulrich's work clearly demonstrates the influence of such diverse artists as Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Miles Davis,Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Dmitri Shostakovich and Olivier Messiaen. Mr. Ulrich has performed and recorded with such diverse artists as Anthony Davis, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Derek Bailey, Ravi Coltrane, James Moody,Taylor Ho Bynum, Gerry Hemingway, Dom Minasi, Jason Kao Hwang, Dominic Duval, Ayman Fanous, Ben Allison, Ted Nash, Dave Douglas, Kevin James, Karl Berger, Hans Tammen, Coheed and Cambria, Natalie Merchant and Ivo Perelman. He is also a member of the Diller-Quaile String Quartet, which premiered his Quintet for Trumpet and Strings (featuring guest soloist Herb Robertson) in May of 1996. In 2006, Tomas began his recorded musical collaboration with the acclaimed German trombonist Christof Thewes with the release of Quartetto Pazzo "Melancholera" (with Rudi Mahall and Dirk Peter Kolsch). 2007 saw the release of Mr. Ulrich's first CD as a co-leader (Labryinths with Ayman Fanous on the Konnex label). In 2008, Mr. Ulrich released his first CD as a leader. Cargo Cult (with Rolf Sturm-electric and acoustic guitars and Michael Bisio-acoustic bass) released their first CD "If You Should Go" on the Cadence label to great critical acclaim. This ensemble has gone on to release three more CDs on the CIMP label (Tomas Ulrich's Cargo Cult (2009), Lonely House (Covers) (2010), Discovers (2011)). 2010 also saw the release of "Clear Horizons" on the German gligg record label with a new ensemble Tomas Ulrich's TransAtlantic Quartet (with Christof Thewes -trombone, Martin Schmiddi Schmidt-mandolin and Michael Griener-drums). JAZZ NOW has characterized him as "the total package ... incredible chops, great imagination and superb pitch. He fulfills the roles of bassist, guitarist, and additional horn player and is endlessly talented and creative". Jay Collins from Signal to Noise has written that "Tomas Ulrich is surely one of the most accomplished and intriguing cellists in improvised music, with a brilliant technical mastery and ability to play prickly improv, jazz, classical, film music or pretty much anything he desires." Tomas has written music for film, theater and instrumental performance and has concertized in Europe, Japan, South America and the United States. Mr Ulrich can be heard on over 100 CDs in a wide variety of musical styles and settings. Tomas has recently returned from a wonderful tour in Avignon with Bruno Bertrand percussion and Francois Grillot bass. These performances have been released as digital downloads by AMJI and are available on Itunes, Amazon, etc. . Tomas will be performing a solo cello recital in Saarbrucken on August 9th in addition to a series of concerts with Christof Thewes, Martin Schmidt, the Christof Thewes Little Big Band (Concerto for Cello, Mandolin and Big Band), Alexander Schlippenbach and Jan Roder."

"After nearly 40 years of recognition as one of the consummate sidemen on the adventurous music scene - with remarkable artists like Sam Rivers, Carla Bley, Gil Evans, Charlie Haden, Taj Mahal and so many more - Joseph Daley stunned musicians and fans alike with his brilliant CD, The Seven Deadly Sins, released in 2011. The album also received rave reviews and made several Best of 2011 lists. Featuring his Earth Tones Ensemble (a full Jazz orchestra augmented by six additional low-toned horns, and including a seven-member rhythm section and four special guests), this powerfully innovative music mines the same rich vein of musical expression as that of immortals like Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and George Russell.

Whether performing with his large ensemble; with his evocative Ebony Brass Quintet; or in the sparer solo, duo or trio contexts; sheer musicality, deeply-hewn emotion and jubilant innovation are always at the core of Joseph's most singular musical expression. Best known for playing the tuba, Joseph also plays euphonium and valve trombone; but these days his growing reputation as a visionary composer is bringing him worldwide acclaim.

Born in New York City's Harlem, Joseph began his musical studies in elementary school and received high honors and recognition throughout his school years (including the renowned High School of Music and Art), and was a member of the most prestigious ensembles in the New York City school system. During his high school years, he began performing on the Latin music scene - well-known as one of the most powerful foundations of higher musical learning - performing alongside such fine musicians as Rene McLean, Monquito Santamaria, Andy Gonzalez, Alex Blake and many others.

A scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music resulted in his Bachelor's degree in Performance and a Master's degree in Music Education and led to a career as an educator in the New York and New Jersey school systems from 1976 until his retirement in 2005. Heavily dedicated to the education of young people to the highest values in musical understanding and expression, Joseph balanced his extensive educational commitments with recording and performing in the ensembles of some of the most provocative musicians on the contemporary jazz scene. In addition to those mentioned above, Joseph contributed heavily to groups led by other major artists including Muhal Richard Abrams, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jason Hwang and Dave Douglas, and was an original member of Howard Johnson's groundbreaking tuba ensemble, Gravity. He has also been a longtime collaborator with the highly respected composer/ethnomusicologist and master of non-Western instruments, Bill Cole, a relationship that is still intact.

Joseph is also currently a member of the highly eclectic ensemble Hazmat Modine, under the direction of musician and visual artist Wade Schuman. It was Schuman's paintings that helped inspire the creation of Daley's Seven Deadly Sins project, which was developed at the McDowell Colony in 2001.

In addition to his Earth Tones Ensemble, Ebony Brass Quintet, duo and trio collaborations and his solo performances, Joseph's focus right now is on his next recording project, The Seven Virtues, featuring a large string ensemble. He has also designed an extensive series of educational projects for the university level and will be embarking on a series of residency and performance-based projects starting in the 2012/2013 season."

"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."