Hans Lüdemann (b. 1961) studied jazz piano with Joachim Kühn and classical piano at the Hamburg Conservatoire. He then studied with Dave Holland and Anthony Davis at the Banff Centre in Canada as well as jazz piano with Frank Wunsch and Rainer Brüninghaus at the Cologne Musikhochschule. Lüdemann has performed with Eberhard Weber and Jan Garbarek, Paul Bley, Marc Ducret, Heinz Sauer, Chiwoniso, Mark Feldman, the hr Jazz Ensemble, and Angelika Niescier, among others. He works, first and foremost, on his own projects which are characterized by his predilection for African music. These projects include the TRIO IVOIRE, solo programmes, the trio ROOMS, the T.E.E. Ensemble and duos with Reiner Winterschladen and Toumani Diabaté. Lüdemann’s music is recorded on more than 20 CDs, among them “Aphorisms” (1991), “the natural piano” (1995), “Futurism” (1998), “Touching Africa” (2006), “Between the Keys” (2009) and the CD box “die kunst des trios”. He is a regular guest on international concert stages, clubs and festivals. As a composer, Lüdemann has written a body of works from solo to orchestral music. From 2003 to 2007 he was a member of the federal composition jury for the Villa Massimo. Lüdemann was a lecturer at the Cologne Musikhochschule from 1993 to 2008 and has taught at the European Academy of Montepulciano/Italy between 2001 and 2007. In 2009/10 and 2015/16 he was Cornell Visiting Professor at the Swarthmore College/USA.
Aly Keïta (b. 1969) is an Ivorian balaphone player whose family had been musicians for generations. He spent his childhood in Abidjan and Mali, where Keïta learned to play a traditional pentatonic balaphone. His teacher was Zouratié Coulibaly. In 1986 he met Georges Makinto, who encouraged him to play jazz music. Keita, who creates all instruments by himself, developed his own diatonic balaphone, which opened up new possibilities and styles. His performance is characterized by a refined taste and the absolute balance between tradition and modernism, perfection and authenticity, with his audience being infected directly by his enthusiasm. Keïta has performed with internationally renowned artists such as Pharaoh Sanders, Amadou & Mariam, Trilok Gurtu, Lukas Ligeti, Rokia Traoré, Joe Zawinul, Gilles Renne, Philippe Sellam, Linley Marte, Hans Lüdemann and Steve Argüelles.