Brother Ah and The World Music Enemble with Brother Ah (woodwinds, trumpet and percussion), Nantambu Milton Russ ll (percusssion), Vattel Cherry (double bass), Imani (voice), Jimmie Dye (cello), Madd X (guitar), Ryan Tucker (guitar). Robert Northern (AKA Brother Ah) is a unique performer, educator, lecturer, composer and arranger whose music is equally developed in the Western and non-Western traditions. His primary instruments are French Horn and Flute. He has played and recorded on French horn with many of the centuries musical greats including Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Sun Ra, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Max Roach, John Lewis and many more. His classical performances include the New York Metropolitan Opera (stage band), George Solti, conductor; the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski; conductor; Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, Raymond Page, conductor; symphony orchestra in Vienna, Austria and West Germany and Broadway Theater orchestras in New York City. Listen to an MP3 of Brother Ah
	Toshi Makihara (Solo) Born in Japan, Toshi Makihara has been a central figure in the vibrant improvisational new music scene in Philadelphia over a decade. A devotee of the pure live improvisational performance experience, Toshi has performed with many experimental music ensembles and dance and theater companies. He studied percussion with Yoshisaburo (Sabu) Toyozumi in Tokyo and composition with Joel Thome in New York. He was a featured performer at The High Zero Festival 2000, Baltimore, and has recorded with numerous well-known musicians including jazz bassist William Parker and others. Makihara creates his highly original music using percussion instruments from various cultural traditions blended with his unique home made instruments, sound objects, and electronics. Listen to an MP3 of Toshi Makihara
[no picture at present]	Todd Margasak (cornet) Philadelphia-based cornetist Todd Margasak explores the territory between so-called "non-idiomatic, free improvisation" and bebop. While Cadence and Jazz Weekly have likened his playing to Bobby Bradford's, Margasak is as likely to emit sounds akin to a tea-kettle's whistle or a rip saw's rip as he is to recall moments in the jazz continuum. The cornetist is a frequent collaborator with Philadelphia percussionist Toshi Makihara. Margasak recently relocated from Chicago, where he often performed with Chicago mainstays Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, Kevin Drumm, Guillermo Gregorio, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and others.
	Paul Murphy (drums), with Joel Flutterman (piano) and Vattel Cherry (bass) Master Percussionist Paul Murphy formerly of Trio Hurricane (with the legendary Glenn Spearman and bassist William Parker) and Jimmy Lyons' Group, "is one of the more obscure figures in free jazz, but he deserves more credit for his powerful and responsive trap work." (-- Boston Phoenix). He has played with pianist Jimmy Lyons, bassoonist Karen Borca, and many other greats of contemporary jazz. "Drummer Paul Murphy is perhaps best known for his long and productive association with the late great alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons. Mr. Murphy's uncommon musicality and consummate technique are still a revelation. Even when he's riding the beat as though he were Max Roach urging Dexter Gordon to let go, Mr. Murphy's precision and delicate touch allow him to contain his explosions in a way that is beyond the ken of most contemporary drummers. His sizzling and pumping combine to drive things along with strangely two-fisted grace"-Byron Coley 1998 Listen to an MP3 of Paul Murphy
	With over 30 recordings, Joel Futterman has long been considered one of the most innovative yet enigmatic new music pianists in the world. However, his penchant for solitude has kept him from the concert stage most of his life. In 1960, while only 14, he was performing in the after hours jazz clubs in Chicago behind almost every jazz musician that came through town. Performing seven nights a week for over a decade with folks like Gene Shaw, Hal Russell, Richard Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Ira Sullivan, Joel completely burned himself out. In 1973, he packed up and moved to Virginia to begin a personal musical odyssey of exploration that continues to this day. He currently performs and records in a trio with tenor saxophonist Edward "Kidd" Jordan and AACM founding member, drummer Alan Fielder. "Creative expression is being conscious of consciousness." -- Joel Futterman
	F. Vattel Cherry is the founder of Vattel Cherry's Bassrespänse, a collective of four improvising double bassist/composers. Their first recorded effort was an interpretation of Strange Fruit for a Billie Holiday tribute CD produced by the Baltimore CityPaper. Vattel has studied with bassists Linda McKnight, Keter Betts and Fred Hopkins. He has worked with many brilliant musicians including, Charles Gayle, Brother Ah (Robert Northern) , John Tchicai, William Parker, David Murray's Big Band, Cecil Taylor's PTHONGOS and Charli Persip's Superband. On over a dozen CD's as a sideman, Vattel has three CD's as a leader, Is it because I'm Black, Disciplines (with Vattel Cherry's Virtue) and For Those Who Heal.
	Lafayette Gilchrist (piano), with Hamid Drake (percussion) and Jaribu Shahid (bass) "I want to develop something unique here in Baltimore," Says pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, who has made the city his base of operations for his ever-growing musical career. Gilchrist is currently working with saxophonist and composer David Murray's renowned Octet nationally and internationally, one of the most important and celebrated groups in new jazz. In recent years, he has also taught creative music performance at University of Maryland, Baltimore Country. Lafayette also leads and composes for his own band, the New Volcanoes, which play every Thursday at The Ottobar in central Baltimore. Listen to an MP3 of Lafayette Gilchrist
	L3 (Brian Kooken, Wes Mattheu, and Calvin Tullos) The free-form improvisation and original compositions of L3, featuring guitarist Brian Kooken, drummer Wes Mattheu, and multi-instrumentalist Calvin Tullos deliver inspiring creative statements that are sonic inventions on a high level, mixing elements of jazz, rock, and free improvisation to achieve a distinct musical language. Listen to an MP3 of Brian Kooken
	Jackie Blake (with his group Kahana, including Micahel Gayle, piano) Jazz improvisor playing Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute. Jackie Blake is a Baltimore native and master musician who has been actively involved in creative jazz music for over 30 years. He has performed with Ethel Ennis, Jean Carn, Ernie Andrews and his own own group, "Kahana." He brings an extremely sophisticated musical sensibility to the stage, directly linked to his strong spirituality that bears witness to a life of love and peace. Listen to an MP3 of Kahana Listen to an MP3 of Jackie Blake
	Michael Gayle, jazz pianist and composer, comes from a line of noteworthy musicians. His great-grandfather was "Piano Slim" Addaway, colleague of Earl Hines. Gayle's father, Charles Gayle, is a legendary force on the international avant-garde jazz scene. Carrying on the tradition, Gayle's music is technically demanding and forward moving. His sound encompasses the harmonic exploration of Thelonius Monk, the fluidity of Bud Powell, and the energy of Cecil Taylor. A versatile performer, Gayle is at home in any venue: the concert stage, in the jazz club, and in church. His compositions include numerous orchestral works, jazz songs, and three stage musicals.