"Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, Billy Squier, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scoffield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago's and New York City's "downtown" scene.

John Zorn credits Mars as "one of the true saxophone players--someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player."

In 2001 Mars received a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Record with his group Liquid Soul.

Despite his busy touring schedule with Liquid Soul and The Psychedelic Furs, Mars manages to stay active on the Chicago underground improvising scene. In recent years he has toured and recorded with the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, Switchback, Full Blast, Scorch Trio, the Vandermark 5, Boneshaker, Chicago Reed Quartet and Cinghiale, teaming him with such musicians as Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, William Parker, Ikue Mori, Kent Kessler, Fredric Lonberg Holm, Peter Brotzmann, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ab Baars, Mike Reed, Jeb Bishop, Harrison Bankhead, Dave Rempis, Kidd Jordan and Matts Gustafson.

He performs weekly in Chicago along with Jim Baker, Steve Hunt, and Brian Sandstrom in the improvising quartet "Extraordinary Popular Delusions". As a bandleader, he continues to perform and record CDs with his own free-jazz groups, the NRG Ensemble, Witches & Devils, Slam, XmarsX, Mars Trio, Boneshaker and The Soul Sonic Sirkus which features improvising musicians and aerial circus performers. Along with Die Warsau's Van Christie, Mars has started Ratking Music, a production company focusing on music for film and television.

In addition to performing and creating music, Mars has been an educator in the field of woodwinds and jazz improvisation for over thirty years. Mars held the position of Woodwind Instructor at Bard College for two years. In the last few years Mars has presented Master classes and clinics to a number of private and public institutions including, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the University of Chicago, Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL), and June Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art (Auburn, AL)."

"For more than fifteen years, cornetist, improviser, composer, and music presenter Josh Berman has been an essential contributor to Chicago's active improvised music scene. His work encompasses both developing opportunities for presenting improvised music, and performing in a variety of highly collaborative formats. He's a co-founder of critically acclaimed Umbrella Music, and curator of the Sunday night music series at the Hungry Brain. He's performed as bandleader of his own groups, Josh Berman Trio, Josh Berman's Old Idea, and Josh Berman and His Gang, and as co-leader of Chicago Luzern Exchange.

In addition to his work as bandleader, Berman has performed and recorded with some of the most internationally respected musicians and composers in jazz and improvised music: Bill Dixon, Ab Baars, Keefe Jackson, Joe McPhee, Jason Adasiewicz, Mike Reed, Michael Moore, Ken Vandermark, Frank Rosaly, Rob Mazurek, Jason Stein, Jeb Bishop, Dave Rempis, Michael Zerang, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Paul Lytton. He is also a frequent collaborator with dance artists; his collaboration with dancer Ayako Kato and musician Jason Roebke was awarded a CROSSCUT grant for New Collaborations in Sound/Movement from Experimental Sound Studio and Links Hall. Berman was named in the DownBeat critics' poll among Rising Stars, Trumpet. He has toured the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.

In 2009, Berman and his group Old Idea released their first full length CD/LP, Old Idea, on Delmark. Josh Berman and His Gang's There Now, also on Delmark Records, came out in 2012. And 2015 saw the release of Josh Berman Trio's A Dance and A Hop on Delmark. The albums have garnered critical acclaim in publications including The New York Times, DownBeat, Jazz Times, the Chicago Reader, and the Chicago Tribune."

"Jim Baker was born in Chicago a number of years ago and has been playing in and around Chicago and elsewhere in the world for a few decades, mostly on piano and analog synthesizer; mostly in improvisational contexts; in situations involving, amongst others, Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, Michael Zerang, Mars Williams, Brian Sandstrom, Steve Hunt, Edward WIlkerson Jr, David Boykin, Rob Mazurek, Guillermo Gregorio, Nicole Mitchell, Vincent Davis, the Thing XXL, Tortoise, Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Paul Hartsaw, Janet Bean, Damon Short, and numerous others.

For a number of years, Mr Baker was the house pianist at the weekly jam sessions at Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge; and for most of the past decade, has played weekly with the improvising quartet Extraordinary Popular Delusions (the other three Delusions: Messrs. Williams, Sandstrom, & Hunt) , who currently play nearly every monday night at Beat Kitchen in Chicago."

Brian Sandstrom is a Chicago based guitarist and bassist known for his work with NRG Ensemble.

Steve Hunt is a drummer/percussionist in groups Caffeine, FJF, NRG Ensemble, Witches & Devils.

"Peter Maunu is the archetype 21st Century musician -- a master at using technique and technology to forge great art.

The creative breadth and beauty of Peter Maunu's textural guitar work can best be appreciated by examining his musical roots. He began his career as a classical violinist and concert master, earning a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music while still in his early teens. After hearing the groundbreaking work of Hendrix and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", Peter became fascinated with the sonic possibilities of the guitar and it soon commanded much of his interest. His orchestral approach to playing has always infused his guitar work.

Peter's musicality and command of many styles has led to recording and live performances with an eclectic group of artists including Airto, Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty, Heart, L.A. Express, The Pointer Sisters, Wang Chung, Lou Gramm and Bobby McFerrin. In the late 70's, he and several Bay Area friends -- Mark Isham, Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio -- formed the pioneering instrumental alliance Group 87, which released two ahead-of-its-time albums. Maunu's longtime involvement with composer Mark Isham has encouraged his experimental side, leading to Peter's many contributions in film music. His solo album "Warm Sound in a Gray Field" is a showcase for his adventurous compositional style."

"Kent Kessler (born January 28, 1957 in Crawfordsville, Indiana) is an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde jazz scene.

Kessler, born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, grew up on Cape Cod and began playing trombone at age ten. He and his family moved to Chicago when he was 13, and a few years later Kessler became intensely interested in jazz. While attending St. Mary Center for Learning High School, he began taking lessons from Kestutis Stanciauskas (Streetdancer) in electric bass and jazz theory in the middle of the 1970s. In 1977 he formed the ensemble Neutrino Orchestra with percussionist Michael Zerang and guitarists Dan Scanlan and Norbert Funk. He spent three months in Brazil during 1980-81 and spent time studying intermittently at Roosevelt University in Chicago; he and Zerang also formed a group called Musica Menta, which played regularly at Link's Hall.

Kessler began playing double bass in the 1980s and it became his primary instrument when he was asked in 1985 to join the NRG Ensemble, who toured Europe and recorded for ECM Records under the leadership of Hal Russell until his death in 1992. In 1991, he gigged with Zerang and guitarist Chris DeChiara; in need of a hornist, they called Ken Vandermark, who had been considering leaving the Chicago scene. Kessler and Vandermark would go on to collaborate extensively on free jazz and improvisational projects such as the Vandermark 5, the DKV Trio and the Steelwool Trio. In the 1990s and afterwards he worked with Chicago musicians such as Hamid Drake, Fred Anderson, and Joe McPhee, and also with European musicians such as Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Misha Mengelberg, and Luc Houtkamp.

In 2003, Kessler released a solo album, Bull Fiddle, on Okka Disk. Kessler performs alone on nine of the twelve tracks, and with Michael Zerang on three."

"Krzysztof Pabian is a Chicago-based acoustic & electric bass player, improviser, producer & composer.

Krzysztof hails from his native Poland as a classically-trained bassist. Since coming to United States he has mastered his instrumental facility and musical sensibility with the best teachers and players including Chicago Symphony's Joe Guastafeste, Stephen Lester and Michael Hovnanian, and jazz greats such as Larry Grey, what is dramatically illuminated in the technical and improvisational arena of his playing.

While studying at Roosevelt University and later at renewed Northwestern University, where he graduated with two Masters degrees in classical and jazz music, he participated in several major music festivals such as Spoleto USA and Spoleto Italy, where he performed and recorded for various musical groups. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and for several years was a member of Civic Orchestra of Chicago and an array of new music ensembles working with such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Lawrence Foster, Zubin Mehta, Sir Georg Solti, Robert Spano, Christopher Wilkins, Pinchas Zukerman.

While at Northwestern he had a chance to study and play with visiting artists such as Max Roach, Danilo Perez, Peter Erskine, Judy Roberts, Ron Blake and Lincoln Center Jazz Sextet.

He shared the stage in various groups and settings with artists such as Eddie Henderson, Hamid Drake, Mars Williams, Jeb Bishop, Michael Zerang, Dave Rempis, Jason Stein, KT Sullivan, Jon Weber, Mark Walker, Dan Phillips, Ernie Adams, Howard Levy, Rusty Jones, Jarek Smietana, Adam Czerwinski, Jim Baker, Avreeayl Ra, Tim Daisy and Tim Mulvenna among others.

While focusing on improvisational approach, he navigates seamlessly between jazz and classical techniques that contributes for his unique sound and approach.

Krzysztof also produces, mixes and writes for other artists out of his Oknomedia recording studio."