"Eyvindur (Eyvind) Kang (born 23 June 1971 in Corvallis, Oregon, United States) is a composer and violist. He was raised in Canada and the United States, and has since lived and worked in countries ranging from Italy to Iceland.

A recurring theme in his solo work is the "NADE", the meaning of which Kang is not willing to disclose. Referring titles include "Theme from the first NADE", "5th NADE/Invisible Man", "Theme from the sixth NADE" (all three from the debut album 7 NADEs, 1996); "Jewel of the NADE", "Mystic NADE" (both from Theater of Mineral NADEs, 1998) and "Harbour of the NADE" (Virginal Co-ordinates, 2003). His preferred instrument is the viola.

In 2014 Kang visited Vossajazz in western Norway, for a gig with Bill Frisell's trio Beautiful Dreamers, including with drummer Rudy Royston, for the opening concert. During the concert Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen joined in for a tune."

"Shahzad Ismaily was born to Pakistani immigrant parents and grew up in a wholly bicultural household. While he holds a masters degree in biochemistry from Arizona State University, he is a largely self-taught composer and musician, having mastered the electric and double bass, guitar, banjo, accordion, flute, drums, various percussion instruments and various analog synthesizers and drum machines. Ismaily has recorded or performed with an incredibly diverse assemblage of musicians, including Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Jolie Holland, Laura Veirs, Bonnie Prince Billy, Faun Fables, Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn, Elysian Fields, Shelley Hirsch, Niobe, Will Oldham, Nels Cline, Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing), Graham Haynes, David Krakauer, Billy Martin (of Medeski Martin and Wood), Carla Kihlstedt's Two Foot Yard, the Tin Hat Trio, Raz Mesinai and Burnt Sugar. He has also composed regularly for dance and theater, including for Min Tanaka, the Frankfurt Ballet and the East River Commedia. Recently he composed the score for the critically acclaimed movie Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He was also an Artist in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA in 2008. Currently based in New York , Ismaily has studied music extensively in Pakistan, India, Turkey, Mexico, Santiago, Japan, Indonesia, Morocco and Iceland."

"Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a generation of innovative musicians.

A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing to a wide range of artists such as Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie.

As a youngster, Cuong's intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. Transitioning from his studies in Boston, he moved to New York in 1994 and began his career actively leading various groups while touring extensively throughout the world. As a leader, Cuong has released eight recordings, each making critics' lists of the 10 best recordings of their respective years and has received rave reviews from notable publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper's, the Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, JazzTimes and Downbeat. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory as a trumpet player, blurring all stylistic borders while developing his own compositional aesthetic and sound world.

A recipient of the 2 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group, Vu has garnered internationally acclaim, having been recognized as one of the top 50 Jazz Artists in an article called "The New Masters" from the British magazine, "Classic CD" and has been named the Best International Jazz Artist by the Italian Jazz Critics' Society. Amazon listed Vu's "Come Play With Me" on their "The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time." Each of his recordings as a leader have been placed on esteemed jazz critics' Best Of/Top Ten releases of the year. Most recently Cuong received Europe's Echo Jazz 2017 Awards, International Instrumentalist for his work on his recording, "Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny".

Currently a professor and the chair of Jazz Studies at the University of Washington, Cuong is also a "Yamaha Performing Artist", playing the Yamaha Custom YTR8310Z trumpet."

"Jessika Kenney is unwinding and nourishing a harbor of voices. As a filter for sphygmoresonances, be they in forms of language or indecipherable metonymics, this functioning as process frequently manifests as: the intersection of melodic science (radifs, cengkok, unstable svaras, pulses) with the aural and textual transmissions of translated concepts... the sphygmological space between breathing bodies, canyons, and the asymmetrical harmonics of tuned metal... the exposure of first intention ontic wounds and corresponding temporal suturing.. as well as collective atemporal eversion between eras, iconicities, and untethered evolutions of cyclic inscriptions. She currently lives on Tataviam land near Los Angeles."