"Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list. In May 2012, Spin published a staff selected top 100 guitarist list, ranking Ranaldo and his Sonic Youth bandmate Thurston Moore together at number 1.

Ranaldo was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, studied art and graduated from Binghamton University. He has three sons, Cody, Sage and Frey, and is married twice, first with Amanda Linn in 1981 but later divorced, and now with experimental artist Leah Singer.

Ranaldo started his career in New York in several bands, and joined the electric guitar orchestra of Glenn Branca. In this orchestra he played mainly electric guitar, but also some of Branca's harmonic guitars Branca had designed and built himself. In 1981, he and David Linton briefly joined the band Plus Instruments formed by Truus de Groot. With this line-up they recorded the album February - April 1981, released on the Dutch Kremlin label. After the release of the album, Ranaldo left the band and started Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon."

Gianni Gebbia: soprano alto & sopranino saxophones

Born in Palermo - Italy- May 1st - 1961

STUDIES

Selftaught. In in 1979-80 frequented the sessions at the University of the Streets in NYC lower east side guided by the charismatic alto sax player and social animator Muhameed Salahudeen. He also followed briefly some courses at C.I.M in Paris under the guidance of Jean Claude Forenbach.

FREELANCE COLLABORATIONS

Ernst Reijsiger, Heiner Goebbels, Zabuski Lucien,Miya Masaoka, Evan Parker,Fred Frith, Louis Sclavis, Lindsay Cooper, Lars Hollmer, Sakis Papadimitriou, André Jaume, Steve Buchanan, Yves Romain, Dominique Regef, Jean Pierre Drouet, Sergey Kuriokhin, Vladimir Tarasov, Anatoly Vapirov, Petras Visnaiuskas,Jerome Savary, Fred Giuliani, Vitas Labutis, Tadashi Endo, Masaki Iwana, Motoharu Yoshizawa, Julie Stanzak, Keiki Miridokawa, Heiner Goebbels, David Moss, Claudio Lo Cascio, Otomo Yoshihide, Antonio Carallo, Raul Ruiz, Noel Akchoté, Benoit Delbeq, Paul Rogers, Thierry Madiot, Guillaume Orti, Christophe Marguet, Hubert Dupont, Ernst Reijsiger, Henri Kaiser, Mari Kimura, Damon Smith, Garth Powell, Phil Gelb, Tim Perkis, Gino Robair, Tom Nunn, William Hooker, Lee Ranaldo, Jim O' Rourke, Mimmo Cuticchio, Toti Garraffa, Floros Floridis, Lefteris Agouridakis, Antonello Salis, , Italian Instabile Orchestra, Peter Kowald, Gunther Sommer, Oliver Lake, Glen Velez, Enzo Rao, Tiziano Popoli, Miriam Palma, Lelio Giannetto, Vittorio Villa, Francesco Cusa, Massimo Simonini, Jim Meneses, Jean Marc Montera, Roy Paci, Francesco Cusa, Lukas Ligeti, Xavier Garcia, Nils Wogram, Michael Manring, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Carl Stone, Shinichi Isohata, Ramon Lopez, Jon Raskin, Weasel Walter, Wu Ming 1, Ishibashi Eiko, Yamamoto Tatsuhisa, Yoshihide Otomo, Daniele Camarda, Ichiraku Yoshimitsu, Charles Hayward, Zeena Parkins, Suga Dairo, Isobe Jun, Carl Stone, Alfred Spirli, ARFI Lyon, Barre Phillips, Frank Gratkowski, Koyano Tetsuro, Satoko Fuji, Mederic Collignon, Camille Emaille, Nicolas Perrin, Cecile Lartigau, Jerome Fouquet, Giovanni Verga, Zeno De Rossi, Massimo Pupillo, Vincenzo Vasi, William Winant, Tony Buck, Bob Rutman, Aurelien Bory.FESTIVALS

Imola Jazz at the Rock, International Jazz festival Sofia Bulgaria, Palermo Fusion Time, Gibellina Etnojazz, Varna Jazz festival Bulgaria, Roccella Ionica Rumori Mediterranei, Total Music Meeting Berlin FMP 1990, Sibiu International Jazz Festival Romania, Wuppertal Jazzspektakel, B.I.D; Berlin, The importance of return tickets-Podewil Berlin, Faenza Folkfestival, S.Arcangelo dei Teatri, Noci Europa Jazz festival, Clusone Jazz, BolzanoJazz Summer, Metastasio Jazz 99, Mulhouse Jazz festival 96-98, Rive De Gier, Angelica Bologna, Jazz Bo-Bologna, Ayler Festival Roma, Concentus Musicus Firenze, Verona Jazzitalia, Macchina dei Rumori Palermo, Curva Minore 97-98, Dreamin' California Palermo 98, Suoni del 900 Teatro Massimo-Palermo, Festival Internazionale sul Novecento Palermo 98, Sord- Nud-Palermo 96, Palermo di Scena 96-97-98, Sicilia Jazzestate Catania, Festival Ibleo del Jazz Ragusa 93-94-95-96, Jazz aux Pyramides Welkenraedt- Belgium, Obiettivo Giappone Roma Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Europa Jazz Festival Le Mans-France, Jazz e interferenze Schio, Link Bologna, Druga Godba Lubjana-Slovenia, Ring Ring Beograd 98, Butoh Festial London 96, Theater X Tokyo, Contemporary Sicily-The New School New York, The Red RoomBaltimore,TimeFlies-Vancouver-Canada, Brooklyn College N.Y. Beanbender's Berkeley-California, Fimav 97 Victoriaville Quebéc- Canada, Les Inaccottoumés Paris- Menagerie de verre, International Jazz festival Saalfelden 1999, Controindicazioni 99 Rome, Icebreaker festival Wien 99. Japan tour March 2000, Usa West Coast April 2000 Portland, Munchen 2000, Noci fest. 2000, Womad in Palermo, Rive De Gier October 2000,Groningen Zomer Jazz festival, Butoh festival Palermo 2000, Curva Minore 2000 pa, Akut Mainz 2000, Rive De Gier 2001, Dansem Marseille 2001. Northsea Jazz Festival 2003. Le trois Jours Groningen. Jazz Nomades Paris,Mulhouse jazz 2004, Beyond the Innocence 2005-2006- Osaka, Mediawave Gyior Hungary 2007, Klara festival 2008 Bruxelles, Yokohama Impro Meeting 2008, Castellammare Jazz 2012, Jazz on Bike Groningen 2014, Ruhr Triennale 2014- Essen, Siracusa Jazz Festival 2014, Angelica 2015 Bologna, Novara Jazz 2015.Manchester Festival 2018, Ruhr Triennale 2019, Acireale Jazz Festival 2019, Theater Olympics St.Petrsburg Russia-Budapest Hungary, Huddersfield Festival UK 2019, Wall of Sounds Palermo 2019-2020, Ortigia Sound System 2021, Jazz is Dead Torino 2021, Unerhorth Zurich Festival, Magdeburg Jazz Festival 2022, Improdimensija Vilnius 2023, Tempo Reale Festival Firenze, Salzburger Festspiele 2024.AWARDS (premi e riconoscimenti):

4rth place 1988 Top Jazz poll " Musica Jazz " magazine 3rd place 1989 Top Jazz poll " Musica Jazz " magazine 1st place 1990 Top Jazz poll " Musica Jazz "6th place best italian sax player Top jazz Musica Jazz 2008. Premio Enzo Randisi alla carriera 2022 Enzo Randisi Price for the career in jazz.

"William Hooker is an American jazz drummer and composer.

Hooker has performed as a leader of many ensembles of improvised and new music. "Recognized as an iconoclast, and one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, William knows no genre bounds and ceaselessly searches for new forms of music, always with the intent to inspire."

Accompanying musicians have included: Billy Bang, Thurston Moore, David Murray, David S. Ware, William Parker, Melvin Gibbs, Donald Miller, DJ Olive, Elliott Sharp, Malachi Thompson, Zeena Parkins, Lee Ranaldo, DJ Spooky, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, Mark Hennen, Steven Bernstein, Roy Nathanson, Jason Hwang, Dave Soldier, Sabir Mateen, Glenn Spearman, Joseph Celli, Ellen Christi, Liudas Mockūnas, and many others."

"O'Rourke was born on January 18, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois. He is an alumnus of DePaul University. He has released albums of jazz, noise, glitchy electronica and rock music. O'Rourke has collaborated with Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Derek Bailey, Mats Gustafsson, Mayo Thompson, Brigitte Fontaine, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Merzbow, Nurse with Wound, Phill Niblock, Fennesz, Organum, Phew, Henry Kaiser, Flying Saucer Attack, and in 2006 mixed Joanna Newsom's album Ys. In 2009, he also mixed several tracks on Newsom's follow up Have One On Me.

He has produced albums by artists such as Sonic Youth, Wilco, Stereolab, Superchunk, Kahimi Karie, Quruli, John Fahey, Smog, Faust, Tony Conrad, The Red Krayola, Bobby Conn, Beth Orton, Joanna Newsom and U.S. Maple. He mixed Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album and produced their 2004 album, A Ghost Is Born, for which he won a Grammy Award for "Best Alternative Album". During the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, O'Rourke collaborated with Wilco member Jeff Tweedy and pre-Wilco Glenn Kotche under the name Loose Fur. Their self-titled debut was released in 2003 with a follow-up in 2006 entitled Born Again in the USA. He also mixed the unfinished recordings that made up a planned third album by the late American singer-songwriter Judee Sill, recorded in 1974 and mixed by O'Rourke for a 2005 release.

O'Rourke was once a member of Illusion of Safety, Gastr Del Sol (with David Grubbs) and Sonic Youth. Beginning in 1999 he played bass guitar, guitar and synthesizer with Sonic Youth, in addition to recording and mixing duties with the group. He withdrew as a full member in late 2005, but continued to play with them in some of their side projects. In the early 1993, O'Rourke formed an avant-rock group with Darin Gray and Dylan Posa called Brise-Glace. The band released one studio album, When in Vanitas..., in 1994. They also released a 7" in the same year titled In Sisters All and Felony/Angels on Installment Plan.

O'Rourke has also released many albums under his own name on a variety of labels exploring a range of electronic and avant-garde styles. His most well-known works may be his series of releases on Drag City, which focus on more traditional songcraft: Bad Timing (1997), Eureka (1999), Insignificance (2001), The Visitor (2009) and Simple Songs (2015). The titles of the first four albums all refer to films by the British director Nicolas Roeg; the first three by direct reference to film titles, the fourth being titled after a fictional album within Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth. With music director Takehisa Kosugi, he played for the Merce Cunningham dance company for four years. O'Rourke received a 2001 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award."