Jamaaladeen Tacuma

Jamaaladeen has always stretched the mold of what and how a bassist is supposed to play. He has re-defined his instrument's artistic potential. In the 1970's, his creatively free approach to the bass caught the eye of saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Tacuma became a member of Coleman's Prime Time. He toured with and performed on some of Coleman's historic recordings : "Dancing In Your Head", "Body Meta", and "Of Human Feelings". Tacuma continued to press the musical envelope with his debut album in 1983 entitled "Showstopper" and latest historical recordings “FOR THE LOVE OF ORNETTE” features Ornette Coleman and Bon Vivant with Free Form Funky Freqs is a trio with Vernon Reid and G.Calvin Weston He has worked with diverse artists: Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Marc Ribot, Derek Bailey, Pharoah Sanders, Grover Washington Jr., Peter Murphy, The Roots among others. He has worked with orchestras led by Anthony Davis at Carnegie Hall. And in the past few years he is recognized for his artistic excellence worldwide with the "PARALLEL CULTURE" AWARD 2009, Marcus Garvey Foundation 50th Anniversary Award 2011 and The Pew Fellowship in the Arts 2011, The MacDowell and Headlands Center for the Arts residency fellowships. Jamaaladeen continues to tour worldwide, performing at the best jazz festivals and clubs in Europe and Asia. 

Robert Mitchell

Robert Mitchell is an award winning pianist, composer, bandleader, teacher, and poet. He has released 13 albums, and has leads the bands Epiphany 3 and TRUE THINK. His latest release in 2024 is a solo piano improvisation ep - A Study (In The Key Of Now) on 577 Records (NYC). He has worked with (amongst many) - Billy Harper, Phil Ranelin, Steve Coleman, Courtney Pine, Julien Lourau, Dayme Arocena, Alicia Olatuja, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Ty, Shirley Smart, Orphy Robinson, Basement Jaxx, Matana Roberts, Jhelisa Anderson, Soweto Kinch, Empirical and Norma Winstone. He has won the Hamlyn Award for Composition, A Broadcast Award (as MD on Jazz 625 Live BBC4) and has composed commissions for the London Sinfonietta and Jazz South. His large scale work Invocation was performed at the QEH in 2014 with the BSC, Goldsmith Big String, Panacea and combined youth chorus. Robert is a Piano Professor at the Guildhall School Of Music & Drama, YMM and a mentor at Black Lives In Music. Robert is a Steinway Artist. His second collection of poems - City Of Sanctuary - was released in 2023 (on Common Tone Press - Seattle). He is an Artist-In-Residence at Morley College.

'There are two poems by Mr. Mitchell included in the liner notes, both of which show him to be a wonderfully thoughtful, articulate and probing poet of the highest order.' – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery NYC

Photo by J.Henriot