Jazz Festivals worldwide has seen Alex Sipiagin performing with the likes of Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, the Mingus groups, etc. Born on June 11, 1967 inYaroslavl, Russia, Alex began studying the trumpet at age 12, studying at the Moscow Music Institute and the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow where hereceived his Baccalaureate. In 1990, Alex participated in the International Louis Armstrong Competition sponsored by the Thelonius Monk Institute in WashingtonD.C. winning top honors and soon after relocated to the jazz mecca of the world, New York City.

Alex soon became a favored player for various bands including the Gil Evans Orchestra, Gil Goldstein's Zebra Coast Orchestra, the George Gruntz ConcertJazz Band, drummer Bob Moses' band Mozamba, Mingus Big Band as well as the Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra, and the Dave Holland Big Band, Sextetand Octet groups.

In 2003 he recorded with Michael Brecker's Quindectet touringalso with the Michael Brecker Sextet. Alex has also worked with Eric Clapton, Dr.John, Aaron Neville, Elvis Costello, Michael Franks, Dave Sanborn, Deborah Cox, legendary producer Phil Ramone, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc., and many of the recordings he has been involved in has been nominated and/or won the Grammy's (Dave Holland Big Band's "What Goes Around," and "Overtime,"Michael Brecker's Qindectet "Wide Angles").

As a soloist, Sipiagin has eleven recordings out to his credit and has toured extensively throughout Europe, U.S., Japan and Russia with his own group. Healso teaches at the Groningen Prince Claus Conservatory, Academy of Music, Basel, Switzerland as well steady professorship at NYU.

Recorded 15 solo albums for one of prestiges jazz label "CrissCrossJazz" His recent album of his compositions and arrangements "Balance 38-58" features such noted musicians as Eric Harland, David Binney, Adam Rogers and Matt Brewer.

Chris Potter was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family soon moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he spent his formative years. Potter showed an early interest in a wide variety of different music and easily learned several instruments including the guitar and piano. He quickly realized after hearing Paul Desmond that the saxophone would be the vehicle that would best allow him to express himself musically.
He played his first professional jazz gig on alto sax at age thirteen after mastering the complex musical language of Charlie Parker. He developed a devoted local following while performing with the Columbia jazz musicians Johnny Helms and Terry Rosen, as well as with others in the jazz community.
After leaving Columbia upon his graduation from Dreher High School, Potter attended college in New York City, first at the New School, and later at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon his arrival in New York he began performing with Red Rodney and gained a reputation as a rising new star of the saxophone.

b. 1961, Milltown, New Jersey, USA. Kikoski began playing piano at the age of six, encouraged and taught by his father, himself a part-time musician. While a teenager, Kikoski was working jazz gigs at various venues in New Jersey. He attended the Berklee College Of Music and during this time played locally as a member of a trio that included Ira Coleman and Terri Lyne Carrington. After graduating from Berklee in 1984, Kikoski played with many noted jazz musicians of the day and also worked with the Woody Herman Alumni Band. In particular, and most significantly, was an encounter with Roy Haynes who immediately hired him for a European tour. Kikoski spent 15 years with Haynes. After this time, he began another long-running stint, this time with the Mingus Big Band and the Charles Mingus Orchestra. Among numerous musicians with whom Kikoski has worked are Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Chick Corea, Peter Erskine, Al Foster, Tom Harrell, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland, Ingrid Jensen, Joe Locke, Brian Lynch, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Chris Potter, Red Rodney, John Scofield, Mike Stern, and Toots Thielemans.
Among regular members of his working trio have been bass players Avishai Cohen, James Genus and John Patitucci, and drummers Billy Hart, Victor Lewis and Jeff Watts.In addition to numerous homeland engagements, Kikoski has toured Japan and Russia as leader of his own trio, and in 2001 he toured with the Brecker Brothers Acoustic Band. He continued working with Haynes through the late 90s and into the early 00s. In addition to his playing, Kikoski is also a talented composer and arranger. His work as an arranger includes several charts of songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as part of BeatleJazz, a trio he formed with bass player Charles Fambrough and drummer Brian Melvin. However, it is as a pianist that he is best known, displaying astonishing technical facility and brilliantly inventive improvisational gifts. He is also expert in the use of various electronic keyboard instruments.

Matt Brewer was born in Oklahoma City but spent most of his youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born into a musical family, Matt was surrounded by music from an early age, both his father and grandfather being jazz musicians, and his mother an avid music lover and radio DJ (who, even before Matt was born, would play classic jazz albums for him). After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy, Matt attended the inagural class of The Juilliard Jazz Program and studied with bassists Rodney Whitaker and Ben Wolfe. After spending two years at Juilliard he decided to leave school to make time for his busy touring schedule. Since then he has worked with artists such as Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Lee Konitz, David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, Antonio Sanchez, Vijay Iyer, Adam Rogers, Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, Aaron Parks, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and many others. He recently recorded his second album as a leader on the Criss Cross Jazz label. He is an adjunct faculty member at The New School, and has been a frequent guest artist/teacher at the Banff Center.