"The music of saxophonist and composer Jorrit Dijkstra (Eindhoven, Netherlands, 1966) draws from the jazz tradition in spirit and sound, but has crossed stylistic and cultural borders in order to express a strong, evolving personal vision. He spent his formative years in Amsterdam's vibrant improvisation community playing jazz, free improvisation, and world music. Since moving to the United States in 2002, Dijkstra has deepened his affinity with the experimental forces of American music, while staying in touch with his Dutch musical roots. Jorrit works as a composer and is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music and a faculty member of the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Dijkstra's recent projects include The Whammies play the Music of Steve Lacy, with leading Chicago, Boston, and Amsterdam improvisers, and duos with drummer/composer John Hollenbeck and trombonist Jeb Bishop. In Boston he leads the free improvisation quartet BOLT. In his solo project, he incorporates an array of electronic effect devices to process his saxophone improvisations live on stage. Dijkstra's use of analog electronics - including the Lyricon, a vintage electronic wind instrument from the seventies - extends his already flexible saxophone style into an idiosyncratic mix of cool jazz, free improvisation, and electronic minimalism.

Jorrit's work as a composer balances between similar stylistic boundaries. Commissioned by the North Sea Jazz Festival 2009, Pillow Circles brings together eight top improvisers in a mesmerizing sound world filled with indie guitar-rock and free jazz influences. His ongoing project Music for Reeds and Electronics explores the sonic possibilities of reed and electronics players in different improvisation communities in North America and Europe. Dijkstra has received other commissions from the David Kweksilber Big Band, Tetzepi Big Band, Amstel Saxophone Quartet, Kaida Duo, Duo X, The Harvard Jazz Band, electric guitarist Wiek Hijmans, saxophonist Ties Mellema, and bass clarinetist Fie Schouten. His commissioned works often incorporate electronic soundtracks and various forms of improvisation. Dijkstra's work has won him a Fulbright grant and the prestigious Podium Prize for jazz musicians in the Netherlands.

Jorrit has released eighteen CDs as a leader, and has participated in projects ranging from Anthony Braxton's Ghost Trance and Guus Janssen's opera Noach to a rare live performance of Texas outsider musician Jandek. He studied improvisation and composition with Misha Mengelberg, Steve Coleman, Steve Lacy, Bob Brookmeyer and Lee Hyla. He is co-founder of the artist-run label Driff Records. Jorrit is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music and a faculty member of the New England Conservatory in Boston."

"Pandelis Karayorgis is a Boston based jazz/improvised music pianist, composer and educator.

In the last twenty years mostly led or co-led numerous groups in performances at festivals and clubs in Europe and the United States and Canada. Recordings appear on labels such as Hat Art, HatOLOGY, Clean Feed, Not Two, Leo Records, Nuscope, Boxholder, Okkadisk, Cadence, Accurate, Leo Lab, Ayler and more recently on Driff Records, a new artist-run label co-founded by Pandelis Karayorgis and Jorrit Dijkstra.

Some of the most extensive recording/performing collaborations have been with Nate McBride, Curt Newton, Ken Vandermark, Mat Maneri, Guillermo Gregorio, Jorrit Dijkstra, Luther Gray, Jef Charland, Randy Peterson and Dave Rempis.Pandelis Karayorgis performed and recorded with Joe Maneri, Han Bennink, Mary Oliver, Jeb Bishop, Steve Swell, Frank Rosaly, Jason Roebke, Keefe Jackson, Tony Malaby, Michael Formanek, Forbes Graham, Matt Langley, Jeff Galindo, Taylor Ho Bynum, John Lockwood and Eric Rosenthal.

Also performed with Josh Abrams, Chad Taylor, Jason Adasciewicz, Jacob William, Laurence Cook, Eric Hofbauer, Jeff Parker, Tim Daisy, Jason Stein, Mike Reed, Josh Berman, Charles Waters, James Falzone, Nori Tanaka, Daniel Levin, Kresten Osgood, Jeff Platz and Charlie Kohlase.

Notable projects include The Pandelis Karayorgis Quintet, The Whammies, The Pandelis Karayorgis Trio (whose first trio CD "Heart And Sack" was featured on National Public Radio's program Fresh Air), the mi3, Construction Party, System of 5, the quartet Matchbox, the large group Bathysphere and more recently, the quintet Cutout.

Born in Athens, Greece in 1962, moved to Boston in 1985. Prior to that, studied piano and performed in various jazz groups in Athens while pursuing a degree in Economics. Earned BM and MM degrees in music from Boston's New England Conservatory while studying with Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Dave Holland and Joe Maneri (composition). Studied and performed extensively Thelonious Monk's and Lennie Tristano's music and in 1991 compiled a collection of all of Monk's compositions."

"Tony Malaby (born January 12, 1964 in Tucson, Arizona) is a jazz tenor saxophonist. Malaby moved to New York City in 1995 and has played with several notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias's Open Loose, Fred Hersch's Trio + 2 and Walt Whitman project, and bands led by Mario Pavone, Chris Lightcap, Bobby Previte, Tom Varner, Marty Ehrlich, Angelica Sanchez, Mark Dresser, and Kenny Wheeler. Other collaborators have included Tom Rainey, Christian Lillinger, Ben Monder, Eivind Opsvik, Nasheet Waits, and Michael Formanek. His first album as a co-leader was Cosas with Joey Sellers."

"Alto, tenor and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has been a mainstay of Boston's jazz scene for over twenty years. Whether leading his two newest bands, performing in a dozen others or writing over 50 compositions, his music spans a broad range of styles with an emphasis on the contemporary and the improvised.

Born and raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (11/28/56), Charlie began playing saxophones at 18. After private studies with Stan Strickland and Roswell Rudd , he moved to Boston in 1980.

In 1989, he formed the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet , an ongoing project that has performed locally and nationally for a decade and half. Their long-awaited live 2-CD set, "Play Free Or Die," has been released on the Boxholder label to critical acclaim. Kohlhase also leads the CK5, a second quintet that recently released its live debut, "CK5 Live!" Charlie's two newest bands, Explorer's Club and Saxophone Support Group , are charting new territory. Explorer's Club , another quintet for Kohlhase, builds upon his long relationship with New England saxophonist Matt Langley. SSG is an ever-changing quartet to octet of local sax luminaries.

Other recent activities include work with the Nate McBride Quartet, Matt Steckler's Dead Cat Bounce, and Chris Allen's Central Artery Project. He also performs with The Estate, the Charlie Kohlhase/Matt Langley Saxophone Duo, and the Chuck Gabriel Septet.

In addition, he co-led groups with the great Danish/Congolese saxophonist John Tchicai for New England tours in 1997, 1998 and 2003. Charlie was also a member of Either/Orchestra from 1987 to 2001, playing throughout North America, Europe and Russia. His recordings with Tchicai and Roswell Rudd have received critical acclaim.

Charlie was an artist-in-residence at Harvard in 2003 with Dave Douglas and Roswell Rudd. That same year, he recorded with Anthony Braxton's Genome Project and worked with violinist/composer Leroy Jenkins at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. Charlie has also recently been touring in a trio with John Tchicai and Garrison Fewell .

Charlie also teaches at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts and offers private lessons.

He has also been active in jazz radio for many years and currently hosts "Research and Development," a program devoted to modern jazz heard on WMBR, 88.1FM in Cambridge, Massachusetts and on the web."

"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."

"Forbes Graham born 1977 in Washington, DC. Forbes Graham is a trumpet player, electronic musician, and composer living and working in Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked with a diverse array of musicians and currently is a member of Para Quintet, Rock Flint Contemporary Ensemble, Wild May, Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, Grizzler, Construction Party, Equal Time and Citizens Orchestra. He is the founder of the Rock Flint Artists Retreat, and has appeared at numerous festivals including High Zero, Full Force, and Vision."

"Jeb Bishop was born in Raleigh, North Carolina during the Cuban missile crisis. He began playing the trombone at the age of 10, under the tutelage of Cora Grasser. Other influential teachers during junior high and high school included Jeanne Nelson, Eric Carlson, Richard Fecteau, Greg Cox, and James Cozart.

He majored in classical trombone performance at Northwestern University from 1980-82, studying with Frank Crisafulli. Deciding he did not want to pursue a career as an orchestral musician, he returned to Raleigh in 1982 and took up engineering studies at NC State University. Raleigh's developing underground rock scene attracted him, and from 1982-84 he played bass guitar in rock bands in the Raleigh area.

At the same time, he developed an interest in philosophy, eventually majoring in the subject, and spent 1984-85 studying philosophy at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Returing to Raleigh in 1985, he spent the next few years working at menial jobs and playing guitar, bass, cheap keyboards, drums, etc., in rock bands including and/or, the Angels of Epistemology, Egg, and Metal Pitcher.

In 1989 he left Raleigh to pursue graduate studies in philosophy, first at the University of Arizona, then at Loyola University of Chicago (where he was awarded the Crown Fellowship in the Humanities). During 1991-92 he returned to Europe, spending the summer of 1991 studying German at the Goethe-Institut Iserlohn (now closed), and then pursuing independent studies in philosophy at the French-language division of the University of Louvain.

Returning to Chicago in 1992, he completed his M.A. at Loyola in 1993. By this time he had already begun to make connections with improvising musicians in Chicago, having joined the Flying Luttenbachers as bassist (later adding trombone) in late 1992, and playing guitar occasionally in a quartet with Weasel Walter, Ken Vandermark, and Kevin Drumm. Other bands during this period included the Unheard Music Quartet (with Vandermark, Mike Hagedorn on trombone, and Otto Huber on drums) and the Rev Trio (with Walter and saxophonist Joe Vajarsky). Bishop played electric bass in both these bands.

In late 1995, Bishop joined the Vandermark 5 as one of its founding members, and remained with the band through the end of 2004. During this period he also became associated with many other groups, including the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, School Days, Ken Vandermark's Territory Band, and his own Jeb Bishop Trio, and became a very frequent participant in ad hoc and free-improvised concerts in Chicago. Bishop performed in the inaugural concerts of two of the longest-running free-music concert series in Chicago: the Myopic Books weekly concerts (originally at Czar Bar; with Rev Trio) and the Empty Bottle Wednesday night concert series (with a quartet of Terri Kapsalis, Kevin Drumm, and Jim O'Rourke). He curated the monthly Chicago Improvisers Group concerts at the Green Mill from 1999-2002, and co-curated the weekly Eight Million Heroes concert series at Sylvie's in 2005-6.

Bishop has made dozens of recordings with many different groups, has toured North America and Europe many times, and maintains a busy performing schedule."

"Nate McBride, who was born in 1971, is a very versatile double-bassist and electric bassist, and has performed with such important musicians as Dennis Gonzalez, Pandelis Karayorgis, and Ken Vandermark. McBride is a Boston native, and recently relocated to Chicago, Illinois.

He has played in the groups: Bathysphere, Bridge 61, Dennis González Boston Project, Dull Thud Trio, FME, Jason Adasiewicz's Sun Rooms, Joe Morris Quartet, Joe Morris Trio, MI3, New Fracture Quartet, Pandelis Karayorgis Quintet, Pandelis Karayorgis Trio, Powerhouse Sound, Predella Group, Riot Trio, Spaceways Incorporated, The Engines, The Frame Quartet, The Whammies, Tripleplay, Wheelhouse"

"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."

"Andrew Neumann is an American artist working in a variety of media, including sculpture, film and video installation, and electronic music. He has received numerous awards and residencies a Guggenheim Fellowship and a LEF Foundation Grant. He has had solo shows at bitforms Gallery in NYC and Seoul, Korea, The DeCordova Museum, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Boston Cybverarts Gallery, The Childrens Museum in Boston, as well as solo shows for the Boston Cyberarts Festival. His CD's are available on Sublingual Records. His videos have been shown on PBS, The Worldwide Video Festival, Artist Space, and elsewhere. He has had solo music/video performances at Issue Project Room, Experimental Intermedia and Roulette, in NYC. During 2001 he was an Artist in Residence at the iEAR Studio at Rensalear Polytech Institute. He has also had residencies at MacDowell, YADDO, Ucross Foundation, Steim, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Art/OMI, Teton ArtLab, iPark and the Experimental Television Center."