"Born in 1956, French Clarinettist Sylvain Kassap has been one of the greatest improv jazz musicians since the late 70s. A major player on the avant-garde scene, Kassap has performed with Louis Sclavis, Michel Portal, Henri Texier, Bernard Lubat, François Tusques, and many other cutting-edge French musicians. He has also played along side a large number of innovative international musicians such as Evan Parker, John Surman, Barre Philips, Sam Rivers, Hamid Drake, Han Bennink.

Kassap uses his clarinets in ways that go well beyond conventional melodic and harmonic expectations. With percussive bursts and textural sounds, Kassap expands the range and vocabulary of the instrument. He has also been a pioneer in fusing the arts, collaborating with actors, dancers and writers. And, he has made occasional forays into contemporary classical music, performing works by John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and other experimental composers. From free improvisation to contemporary and ethnic music, leading French clarinetist Sylvain Kassap explores a world that is rich in colour and finesse, animated by an unquenchable spirit of freedom."

"Sophia Domancich, piano. Born : January 25th, 1955 - Paris (France).

Past Bands : Laurent Cugny, Quoi D'Neuf Docteur?, Pip Pyle's Equip'Out (1984-90), Trio Davenport, Quartet Hors-Série, John Greaves Group, Hatfield and the North (1990), Elton Dean Quintet (1995), Sophia Domancich Trio, Orchestre National de Jazz

Current Activity : Sophia Domancich Trio, Quartet & 'Pentacle' Quintet, Simon Goubert Quartet, John Greaves JazzSongs

Over the last twenty years, Sophia Domancich has become closely associated with the Canterbury scene in the hearts of its fans. Like fellow French citizen Patrice Meyer, she has worked with most of the key figures of the genre : Pip Pyle, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Greaves, Richard Sinclair, Phil Miller and Didier Malherbe all played with her at one point, often over a long period of time.

Domancich started learning the piano at the age of six. In 1968, she entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, where she studied for seven years. Between 1976 and 1978, she earned her living as accompanist for singing and dance lessons in various academies of music, and also at the Caen theatre and the Opera de Paris.

Her first contact with the jazz scene came in 1979 when she played improvised music with such jazz greats as Steve Lacy, Bernard Lubat and Jean-Louis Chautemps. In the early 80's, she worked extensively with band leader Laurent Cugny, both in piano duo and big band contexts (in the latter she met drummer Bruno Tocanne). She also played with various West-Indian and African combos and took part in the Quoi D'Neuf Docteur? big band which also featured Steve Grossman, Jack Walrath and Glenn Ferrys.

In 1983, Sophia Domancich became acquainted with musicians from the Canterbury scene : Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Pip Pyle, the latter becoming her boyfriend for several years. The following year, she and Pip formed L'Equip'Out, a jazz band which went on to record two albums for which she provided most of the original material.

In the meantime, Domancich continued to take part in various jazz bands, including the Trio Davenport, the Quartet Hors-Série, eventually forming her own jazz trio with double bass player Paul Rogers and drummer Bruno Tocanne, later replaced by Tony Levin. This line-up has released three albums to date.

In 1990, Sophia Domancich was invited to perform with the reformed Hatfield and the North for a one-off TV show. She also joined John Greaves' backing band (also featuring Pip Pyle and guitarist François Ovide), playing on "La Petite Bouteille De Linge" and later the acoustic "Songs" (by which time Pyle had left and Rogers joined on double bass).

In 1991, she left L'Equip'Out, and concentrated on her trio work with Rogers and Levin, which eventually gained a lot of attention from the specialised media. In 1997, she was offered to become the pianist in the prestigious Orchestre National de Jazz by its director, Didier Levallet - a major recognition at last! This lasted two years, and Domancich is now back to leading her own small group, now either a trio or a quintet, with Simon Goubert on drums and Claude Tchamitchian (double bass). She is also a member of Goubert's own quartet and sextet."

"Born in 1971 in Mulhouse, from the musical milieu of harmony orchestras, she studied at the Conservatory of Mulhouse, then at the CNSM of Paris (1st Prize of trombone 1992 and chamber music 1991) and Univer- sity Paris X Nanterre (Bachelor of Modern Letters). Attracted by the exploration of new repertoires, she completed her training by studying saqueboute with Franck Poitrineau, and followed some courses of contemporary improvisation notably with Yves Robert. Since 1997, she plays the old repertoire with ensembles La Fenice (Jean Tubéry), Concerto vocale (René Jacobs), Elyma (Gabriel Garrido), Akademia, Il Giardino Armonico, Doulce Mémoire, the Versailles Baroque Music Center, The Talens lyriques (Christophe Rousset), Les Meslanges (T.Van Essen). At the same time, she plays music today (creations by Vincent Bouchot, Etienne Rolin, Martin Matalon, Claude Barthélémy, Jeunes compositeurs concerts at Radio France, ensembles Ars Nova, Zellig, Berson-Aschour duo, Orchestra Poitou Charentes) . It finds more and more in the music resulting from the jazz and the improvisation a space of privileged expression. She plays in the projects of Dominique Pifarély (Dédales), Marc Ducret (Chronicles of the frozen sea and Real thing 3), Joëlle Léandre (Can you here me), Kent Carter (oratorios). She also accompanies poets on their texts, (Lucien Suel, Emmanuel Laugier, Claude Favre, Valerie Rouzeau). She develops personal and collective projects such as "Les Cannibales" with Vincent Boisseau and Julien Padovani (2005-2008), and currently the Quartet Tenements of clover (on poems by Emilly Dickinson) Merch "with Jean-Luc Foussat, Makoto Sato, Jean-Luc, Jean-Luc Mousset, Lucas Mousset and Jean-Luc Petit. Small.

Holder of the C.A. obtained at the age of 21, she teaches the trombone at the Conservatory with Regional Radiation of Poitiers"

Aymeric Avice is a French trumpeter, known for the groups Circum Grand Orchestra, Éléphant Tôk, Jean Louis, Radiation 10, Reno Project, and Sylvain Kassap Sextet.

"Hélène Labarrière (23 October 1963 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French musician in the fields of jazz and improvisation music (double bass and bass guitar)."

"Self-taught drummer / percussionist, professional musician since 1992, Fabien is a "figurehead" of the improvised music scene of Toulouse and beyond. Very committed to the idea of "band", he played mainly in La Friture Moderne, Le Tigre des Platanes, Cannibales & Vahinés, Farm Job, Kazanchis trio, the Tobrogoï, Le Grand Écart du Singe, Rosa Luxemburg New Quintet and in various improvised music projects with, among others, musicians like Heddy Boubaker, Sebastien Cirotteau, Mathieu Werchowski or Christine Wodrascka... Also works with Ethiopians artists such as singer Eténèsh Wassié, krar player Mesele Asmamaw and G.W. Sok former lead singer of The Ex. Also crossed paths of musicians such as: Noël Akchoté, Denis Badault, François Merville, Médéric Collignon, Olivier Sens, John Tchicai, Eugene Chadbourne, Hasse Poulsen, Akosh S...."