Improvisation is a passion of the Austrian saxophonist and painter Edith Lettner and in New York she has found unique partners to communicate with via music. Edith´s language has been shaped by playing with musicians from all over the world (world music, creative jazz, improvisational music) and her cooperation with artists from other art genres. This and her numerous stays abroad (Senegal, Armenia, New York) have made her an incredibly versatile artistic personality.
Warren Smith was a co-founder of Max Roach´s M’Boom ensemble and leader of the New York based Composer‘s Workshop Ensemble. Smith is a master of all things percussive, from the vibraphone, marimba, gongs to the drum set. Warren has worked with Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Nat King Kole, Sam Rivers, Tony Willimas, Janis Joplin, Quincy, Jones Count Basie and many other musical giants.
Brooklyn born poet Steve Dalachinsky has read his poetry to audiences in the USA and abraod for decades often improvising with the finest musicians of the contemporary jazz scene such as William Parker, David Liebman, Susie Ibarra, Matthew Shipp, Roy Campell, Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, Mat Maneri, Federico Ughi, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Rob Brown, Tim Barnes and Jim O’Rourke. In 2014 he won the „Chevalier de L´ Ordre des Arts et Lettres”, a very distinguished award bestowed by the French government.
Ras Moshe was born in Brooklyn and he started studying music in public school, with his father and his grandfather. Although he is trained in earlier forms of “jazz”, his preferred mode of improvisation is in the later or “free” developments of the music. Ras has also been writing and reciting poetry since childhood. He believes in the positive effect his music will have on social and personal change. “He has a great smile and a heart of gold. His quiet demeanor is misleading because when he plays, he explodes with excitement.“ Don Minasi, All About Jazz
