WORLD & FUSION
Riley Lee- began playing the shakuhachi in 1971. He is the recipient of two of the oldest and most venerated lineages of traditional shakuhachi, which can be traced back to the Zen Buddhist komusô, or "priests of nothingness" of the Edo period in Japan. In 1980, he became the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master. Riley's music is meditation. It has been used worldwide in yoga and tai chi classes, and by massage, acupuncture, and other bodywork therapists. http://www.rileylee.net/
Akihisa Kominato - A celebrated meastro of the shakuhachi. Akihisa is known for his deep expression of the traditional music of Japan, but also world renowned for his ability to collaborate and blend with many different musical styles. 福島県出身・1978年12月7日生まれ・Ｂ型 民謡小湊流家元の長男として生まれ、5歳より両親の手ほどきを受け、舞台活動を開始。1985年少年少女民謡大会において最優秀賞受賞。 1995年より故人間国宝、山口五郎氏に師事。1997年、東京芸術大学音楽学部邦楽科尺八専攻に入学。2001年3月、同大学卒業。現在、伝統邦楽、古典に加え、民謡、ポップス、ジャズなどジャンルにこだわらず、テレビ、ラジオをはじめ国内外でのコンサート、イベントなど多方面で活動中。http://www.kominato.com/aki/
Edgar Meyer – called “the best bassist alive” by San Diego Magazine – began studying bass at the age of five. Throughout a lifetime of performing and composing, he has turned the double bass – an instrument with, as The New Yorker once put it, a “relatively unchronicled history” – into a modern virtuoso instrument that is equally at home in classical music and in the American vernacular. Meyer says that “music is a common language with many different dialects.” Melody and rhythm “are fundamental, crossing all lines and creating a spectrum, not a bunch of little boxes.” Accordingly, Meyer has appeared as a guest performer on recordings by a wide range of musicians, including Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, James Taylor, Lyle Lovett, the Indigo Girls, the Chieftains, and others. www.edgarmeyer.com
Ravi is a wonderful musician multi instrumentalist who's talents range from overtone singing, flutes and guitar, to percussion and drum set with his featured talent focused on the beautiful West African Kora. Ravi has recorded and performed with a wide range of musicians including The Yard Birds, Talvin Singh, Hari Prasad, and so many amazing artists from all corners of the world. Ravi is based out of London and is available for recording, live concerts, film work and music workshops. www.ravi-art.co.uk
James Hoskins has set new standards for the expression range of the cello. He has developed a brilliant Middle-Eastern style for the cello and is one of the great free music and rock improvisers today. James also plays a variety of other instruments ranging from percussion and piano to Middle Eastern lutes (saz) and folk oboes (Zurna). He has a variety of music available and works as a free lance artist touring the US, Europe and Japan. www.cellohoskins.com
Akihisa Matzura is a brilliant world class musician / multi instrumentalist who is also equally gifted as a producer. He works with many of Japan's most talented artists in genre's ranging from Pop to World to Traditional. Check out his many works and projects on the link below. www.ravenjam.com
Timothy Quigley is a multi-instrumentalist and composer living in Brooklyn. Known for his versatility, Timothy is accomplished in playing the western drum set as well as congas, doumbek, def, riq, and frame drums. Timothy's eclectic sound and abilities have led to recordings and performances with many well known jazz, world, and new music artists. He has also worked as a composer and session musician for modern dance, film and television. www.timothyguigley.com
Mamadou Diabate - A brilliant exponent of the beautiful West African Kora. Mamadou is descended from a long line of "Jeli", Manding storyteller/musicians. Cousin to the Toumani Diabate, Mamadou is considered a lineage holder of his Tradition yet is pioneering new musical collaborations and creating fresh inspired directions for the Kora. www.mamadoukora.com
Gao Hong, a Chinese musical prodigy and master of the pear-shaped lute, the pipa, began her career as a professional musician at age 12. Gao has performed throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the U.S. in solo concerts and with jazz musicians, and musicians from other cultures. She has performed at many major festivals worldwide and has been the featured soloist with many of the finest symphonies around the world. Her brilliant abilities to improvise, combined with her open minded musicianship, put her in a category by herself as a pipa maestro of the first order. www.chinesepipa.com
R. Carlos Nakai - Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world's premier performer of the Native American flute. Nakai began his musical studies on the trumpet but his musical interests took a turn when he was given a traditional cedar wood flute as a gift and challenged to see what he could do with it. His first album, Changes, was released by Canyon Records in 1983 and since then he has released over thirty recordings with Canyon plus additional albums and guest appearances on other labels. www.rcarlosnakai.com
Miguel Espinoza is not only one of the world’s great traditional flamenco guitarists, but he is a visionary and an amazing innovator on the guitar by any standard. He is regarded as one of the most creative guitarists of our day. His project with Ty called, "Curandero" is has been revered as a ground breaking band since its inception in 1995. A brilliant performer, Miguel works as a free lance guitarist and composer and is not only in high demand for his teaching/workshops but he is also one of the world’s great Flamenco dance accompanists as well. http://www.myspace.com/miguelespinozaguitar
Jesse Manno is a musicians musician. One of the most sought after modern dance accompanists in the US, Jesse is one of these rare musicians who can play several instruments at once generating all the parts of an entire band. He is versed in piano, Turkish oud and saz, Greek bouzouki, drum set, dumbek, bass, bamboo flute, guitar, and is a wonderful singer. Jesse is also an amazing composer and has over 80 theater/film/dance scores and a number of CDs available. www.jessemanno.com
John McDowell is an international award winning pianist, percussionist, producer, composer and instructor. His touring and recording credits include: the platinum selling band Rusted Root (Welcome To My Party), and Krishna Das and many more. John formed the band Mamma Tongue and also has performed with Sting and Carlos Santana. He has co-produced several albums including: Pilgrim Heart, Live on Earth by Krishna Das, and A Night of Sufi Music by the Jerrahi Dervishes. www.johnmcdowell.net
David Darling - "Maverick cellist" is the phrase most often assigned to Grammy Nominated Artist, David Darling, but it hardly captures the richness, diversity, breadth and sense of humor of a man who literally redefines the way the cello is played and the way music is taught. His playfully unconventional teaching methods have helped open the world of music and improvisation to thousands of individuals. His vast number of collaborations include: Paul Winter, Ralph Towner, Glenn Moore, Collin Walcott, Paul McCandless, Jan Garbarek, Paul Horn, Jan Christensen, Steve Swallow, Glenn Velez, Bobby McFerrin, Spyro Gyra, Allaudin Mathieu, Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai, Arlo Guthrie, Michael Jones, Baba Olatunje, Glasharfe, Western Wind Ensemble, Coleman Barks, Joseph Campbell, Don Campbell, Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams and many more. www.daviddarling.com
David Nichturn is a songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and composer for film and TV. Emmy award winner and Grammy nominee, David is perhaps best known for his hit song, "Midnight at the Oasis". David has collaborated with artists including Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jerry Garcia, Brand New Heavies, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, The Chieftains, Patti LuPone, Maria Muldaur, David Grisman, The McGarrigles, David Bromberg, and Dr. John. He has written title songs and underscore for One Life to Live and As The World Turns. David composed the music for the film "The Big Picture", starring Kevin Bacon and Martin Short, among many other film and TV credits. www.nudgie.com/DNbio.html
Yair Dalal, composer, violinist and oud player is perhaps the most prolific Israeli ethnic musician today, With global recognition (WOMAD appearances from Seattle to Sidney) Over the last decade he has put nine albums, covering wide and varied cultural territory. Much of Dalal's output reflects the strong affinity he has for the desert and its habitants. Dalal's family came to Israel from Baghdad and he has included much Iraqi material in his work to date. During the past years he has collaborated with top musicians from all over the globe including celebrated western classical conductors such as Maestro Zubin Mehta, Israeli Chamber Orchestra and Doron Solomon, L.Shankar, Hamza el Din, Michel Bismuth, Armand Aamar, Cihat Askin, Ensemble Kaboul and so many more. Yair Dalal is a peace activist in all means; besides his musical endeavors, he devotes much time and energy to helping to remove ideological barriers between people and musicians from different cultures and, in particular between Jews and Arabs. www.yairdalal.com
Vanessa Compton grew up in Vermont where her father, a professional singer-songwriter, and her artist mother both influenced her from an early age. During her childhood she started playing classical cello, recorder, guitar and piano. During her teens she performed throughout the East Coast, England and Wales singing in Village Harmony Choir. In 2003, she spent a semester in Senegal where she studied the kora, a West African harp/lute. In 2005, she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from CU-Boulder with an emphasis in ceramics. In July 2008, Vanessa studied palm wine guitar with living master Koo Nimo in Kumasi, Ghana. In addition, Vanessa is a passionate rock climber and has climbed extensively throughout the lower 48, France and Greece. Currently, Vanessa spends part of her time working in her studio in Vermont’s remote Northeast Kingdom, and rocklimbing in world-class Hueco Tanks outside of El Paso, TX. www.krinshawstudios.com
Donna De Lory has been around the big top of American pop music for most of her life. Raised in a musical home, her grandfather played cello and upright bass for the Warner Bros. Studios orchestra, her mother was a singer and dancer, and her father, keyboardist and producer Al De Lory, made records with Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew and even played on the Beach Boys' landmark Pet Sounds album. Donna made her own professional debut at age 8. She also sang vocals on albums by Barry Manilow, Kim Carnes and Santana. De Lory's vocal on a demo tape led to her landing her breakthrough gig as one of Madonna's two singing/dancing stage companions. Soon Donna found herself adding Sanskrit chants to her repertoire, which meant that she had to adjust her notions of what qualifies as a performance. While a collection of ancient Indian mantras set to modern beats may seem like a departure, for Donna De Lory, this seamless blend of east and west, devotion and pop, is just the next bold step in her continuing musical evolution. www.donnadelory.com
George Harrison (February 25, 1943 – November, 29 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer. He achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles, and is listed number 21 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Best Guitarists of All Time". Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles, as well as those of their Western audience. www.georgeharrison.com
Geneveve Walker is a brilliant violinist whose musical expertise spans a number of genres. Her musical upbringing and training focused on Classical and later she branched out into jazz, folk and various fusion styles. She has recorded on numerous CDs and is in high demand for tours with many different groups. Genevieve has toured through Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, and Brazil. She tours frequently with chanting legend Krishna Das, and the band Stars.
Sara Indrio is a percussionist specialized in Latin American Percussions, and a singer/songwriter. But foremost Sara is a musician who seeks to cross barriers of technique and genres by playing a variety of different instruments and by engaging in a series of different projects that spans from writing for movies to research in the Music Psychology field. Common for all her work is that it encompasses her artistic strive to reach the heart and finding the counterpoint between light/darkness, sorrow/joy, hope/despair etc. After many years of being one of the most sought-after session musicians in Scandinavia, she now also offers an important contribution to the Danish singer/songwriter scene. Her albums “Dark Clouds, Silver Linings” and “While We Dream” were well received by Danish reviewers and radio hosts, but the tradition on which the music leans and refers to reaches beyond borders. It bears the distinct trademark of Sara’s voice and her style of writing both music and lyrics that in short can be described as poetic. www.saraindrio.com
