“This is not about virtuosity, in spite of Rothenberg’s superb technique. In the way he combines circular breathing, overblowing, playing through half-opened keys and the technique of using the keys percussively, he forms tonal loops of timeless beauty. Other kinds of music might entertain you, cheer you up or pump the blood, but his clarifies the mind and throws your soul wide open”.

Manfred Pabst, Neue Züricher Zeitung, Sept. 1, 2002.

Composer/Performer Ned  Rothenberg has been internationally acclaimed for both his solo and ensemble music, presented for the past 25 years in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He leads the trio Sync, with Jerome Harris, guitars and Samir Chatterjee, tabla. Recent recordings include Intervals, a double-cd of solo work, and Are You Be, by R.U.B. (Rothenberg/Kazuhisa Uchihashi/Samm Bennett) on Rothenberg's Animul label.  Chamber music releases include Ghost Stories, on Tzadik and Power Lines on New World, along with Port of Entry, Sync’s release on Intuition.  Other collaborators have included Sainkho Namchylak, Paul Dresher, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Yuji Takahashi and Evan Parker.

“There are few musicians who are truly revolutionary. Robert Dick is one of them”

Bill Shoemaker, Jazz Times

Robert Dick -- improviser, composer,  author, teacher and inventor -- is known worldwide for redefining the flute,  creating revolutionary visions of its musical role.  His music is rooted in free improvisation, new jazz, and classical music, contemporary and traditional.  Dick has performed solo concerts throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.  He has released numerous solo recordings and performed and recorded with Ursel Schlicht, New Winds, Tambastics, the Soldier String Quartet, the A.D.D. Trio, King Chubby, Paul Giger, Jaron Lanier, Randy Raine-Reusch, Barry Guy, Mari Kimura, Klaus Kugel and many others. His grants, fellowships and commissions include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Composer Fellowships, a Koussevitzky Foundation Commission, and two Meet the Composer commissions. For the past quarter century, Dick has contributed to the evolution of the flute. He is presently collaborating with Brannen Brothers Flutemakers, the leading maker of fine flutes worldwide, in the production of his invention, the Glissando Headjoint®, which does for the flute what the whammy bar does for the electric guitar.

“the total package...incredible chops, great imagination, and superb pitch. He fulfills the roles of bassist, guitarist and additional horn player and is endlessly talented and creative.”

Jazz Now

Cellist-composer  Tomas Ulrich has performed with jazz musicians such as Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas, improvisers such as Derek Bailey and Anthony Braxton, and classical and new music ensembles worldwide. In addition to his love of classical music and jazz, Ulrich has been inspired by the great guitarists of his era (particularly Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa). Tomas Ulrich has written music for theater, film and instrumental performance and has concertized in Europe, Japan, South America, Canada and throughout the United States.  His performances can be heard on over 30 CDs in a wide range of musical  settings and styles.

Embracing classical, jazz, the world of spontaneous improvisation and interdisciplinary performances with dance and the spoken word, bassist Ken Filiano fuses the rich traditions available to the double bass, bringing out the many voice inherent within this instrument; leading critics to praise him as “a first rate musician” and a “richly sonorous player” who “knows the bass role, but fills it in unexpected ways.”

Ken tours widely, playing across the United States, Canada, Europe and South America; and has been included at such festivals as the DuMaurier International Jazz Festival, Bergamo Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot Festival, the Charles Ives Festival; having performed with such artists as Warne Marsh, Vinny Golia, Barre Phillips, Bertram Turetzky, Joelle Leandre, Bill Perkins, John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Roswell Rudd, Ted Dunbar, Jimmy Cleveland, Don Preston, Paul Smoker, Joe Labarbera, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, as well as at Carnegie Hall with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra.  Among his nearly two dozen recordings are numerous projects for Nine Winds Records which feature his own compositions as well as highlight his 20-year improvisatory collaboration with saxophonist Steve Adams.

“Klaus Kugel, a highly deft and perceptive percussionist, is ideal for such an ensemble of soloists” (Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany)

Klaus Kugel is one of the most inventive and adventurous German drummers. He attracted attention worldwide through projects with Petras Vysniauskas, Karl Berger, Tomasz Stanko, Charlie Mariano, Kent Carter, Michel Pilz, Theo Jörgensmann, Kenny Wheeler, Vyacheslav Ganelin, Bobo Stenson, Glen Moore, Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Robert Dick, and many others.

Currently, Klaus Kugel divides his time between Cologne and New York.  Over the past 20 years, he gave numerous concerts and appeared at festivals throughout Europe, the Baltic States, Canada, USA, Syria, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and China. Together with Albrecht Maurer, he founded the new European label Nemu Records