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.

"A very special talent" Sheila Jordan"She breathes music". Koen Scherer/ Draai om je oren"Tander is an enrichment for the Dutch jazz vocal scene...she is on a level where everything is possible musically" Rinus v.d. Heijden/Jazzenzo„Music is an almost sacred space in which I can be Me“, she says. Young German Afghan vocalist Simin Tander can tell stories even without words, trusting her music to do the speaking, with her voice as an universal instrument. Improvisation is important to her. Also impulsiveness and spontaneity. Her own compositions breathe depth, intensity, improvisation, sophistication and astonish one with their changing moods and language. „Something embracing“, as Simin puts it, is a mark they all bear. Jazz-icon Sheila Jordan is so impressed by Simin´s voice that she has taken her into training. „It was a very special encounter“, says Jordan. Simin Tander studied at the ARTEZ conservatoire in the Netherlands, at which she completed her jazz-singing Bachelor and Master of Music with distinction. Through many performances in diverse projects she has made herself a name in the Dutch jazz scene. In the past years she has performed at many festivals, notably at the „North Sea Jazz Festival“ (in 2004 with I Compani and in 2009 with her own quartet), the „Women in Jazz Festival Halle“, the international jazz congress Jazzahead and has been collaborating with well-known musicians like Frans Vermeerssen, Harmen Fraanje, Florian Weber and Eric Vloeimans. In Holland she has achieved several enthusiastic critics and awardings, like the "Young VIP Tour 2010"- a tour through 12 important Dutch Jazz venues, the first price of the "Vlaardingen Jazz Concours", the third price of the "Dutch Vocal Jazz Competition" , the "Jazzimpuls Tour 2011" which consits of 12 concerts through Holland's theatres. In addition to that Simin has already performed at foreign stages, like Catania Jazz Festival/ Sicily, Casa Del Jazz/ Rome, Bohemia Jazz Fest/ Czech Republic.
German thriller fans might know Simin's touching voice from the soundtracks of the cult thriller "Tatort" or two episodes of "Der Kriminalist" (ZDF).
Her debut CD has been recorded lately and will be released in April of 2011 on the German label Neu Klang.

Tamara Lukasheva was born in Odessa. Since she was a child she was surrounded with the sounds of music, because both of her parents are musicians, sincerely devoted to the music.
From 2003 to2007 Tamara was studying at the Musical College in Odessa (Jazz Vocal and Jazz piano class). In spring of 2008 on the International Contest of Young Jazz Bands, Tamara won the ''Special Price" for the best vocal performance'. From this moment her career began. In 2009 she founded, together with remarkable jazz pianist Roksana Smirnova, the duo ''Horizon'' and toured Ukrainia and Russia. Another collaboration, with a legendary Jazz pianist U. Kuznetsov lead to creative experiments, which were highly appreciated by the audience in Ukrainia and Bulgaria.
Since October 2010 Tamara lives in Germany and started to study at "Hochschule für Musik und Tanz" in Cologne. Already one month after later the Tamara Lukasheva Quartet has been founded.
From 2012 until 2013 Tamara was member fot the German National Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzo). She worked with a number of outstanding musicians like Matthias Schriefl, Bodek Janke, Paul Hubweber, and the WDR Big Band.

Christian Thomé (b. 1970) – His previous oeuvre made Christian Thomé work with various musical styles. His projects range from contemporary jazz and freely improvised music to world music, experimental electronic and pop music to classical music. As a sideman, Christian Thomé has worked with the great musicians of the national jazz scene, like Dieter Manderscheid, Markus Stockhausen, John Goldsby, and Till Brönner and many others. In addition, he has worked with big orchestras like the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra or the Philharmonic Orchestra of Trieste. He toured the Middle East with the world-music ensemble Schäl Sick Brass Band for the Goethe Institute and performed on many festivals at home and abroad. He tours with various ensembles, such as Trio Ivoire, Niobe, Trio Stockhausen/Comisso/Thomé, Nanoschlaf, Alony and the Bliss. Thomé is a lecturer of jazz percussion, jazz ensemble and subjectrelated teacher training at the Institute of Music at the University of Osnabrück. In addition, he works as a private and music school teacher.