Michael Waldrop is a drummer, percussionist and composer known for his critically acclaimed CDs on the grammy nominated Origin label--Origin Suite, Time Frames & Time Within Itelf--and his critically acclaimed trio CD Triangularity. He has performed and recorded extensively in a variety of settings during his career. He recently was a featured artist at the JEN Conference in 2016 and 2019 with his big band from the Origin CDs. He excels in all aspects of percussion performance while specializing in drumset and mallet instruments. He is currently the Professor of Percussion at Eastern Washington University. He teaches jazz drumset, classical percussion, percussion ensembles and percussion methods at EWU. He has a Bachelors degree in percussion performance from the University of North Texas, a Masters in Jazz Studies from the University of Memphis and a Doctorate in Performance from the University of North Texas. Dr. Waldrop's career has been extensive and varied, ranging from rock and jazz styles to performances as a classical percussionist in symphonic, chamber music and solo recital settings. He was a member of the Grammy nominated One O'Clock Lab Band at UNT and recorded two CD's with the group and has been on several tours, including a European tour of the Broadway production "42nd Street," and a tour of Turkey with Prix di Rome prize-winning composer, Kamran Ince. In addition, he has performed with Maureen McGovern, Della Reese, Randy Brecker, Marvin Stamm, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Eliane Elias and Slide Hampton. Dr. Waldrop was also a member of Blue Note Recording artist, Bob Belden's quartet. He has played and recorded with many of the greatest percussionists in the world including Gordon Stout, Brad Dutz (Gordon Goodwin) and Jose Rossy (Weather Report). He has played on many recording projects ranging from the Warner Bros. movie, "Christmas Vacation," national commercial jingles and three CD's of original jazz. Dr. Waldrop was the Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion at Mesa State College in Colorado from 1999-2004. While in Colorado, he was Principal Percussionist with the Grand Junction Symphony as well as Director of the Western Colorado Jazz Orchestra. For the past two years he was Professor of Percussion at the University of Toledo. While there he performed in the Faculty Jazz group with legendary jazz vocalist, Jon Hendricks. He was a member of Jack Cooper's Jazz Orchestra of the Delta based in Memphis and was also a member of the Spokane-based Bob Curnow Big Band. Dr. Waldrop's former teachers include: Robert Schietroma, Ron Fink, Henry Okstel, Greg Bissonnette, Ed Soph, Gordon Stout, Frank Shaffer, Keith Copeland and masterclasses with Leigh Stevens. He endorses Yamaha percussion instruments and Vic Firth sticks and mallets and is a clinician for both companies. He is available for clinics and performances in both the jazz and classical percussion idioms and is an artist endorser for Vic Firth sticks and mallets as well as Yamaha percussion.

Martin Gjakonovski ( * 1970 in Skopje , Macedonia ) is a living in Germany jazz bassist Macedonian origin . He is considered one of the most prominent jazz players in Europe.Gjakonovski comes from a musical family; his mother was a jazz singer and his father founded and directed the Radio Jazz Big Band Macedonia. Martin Gjakonovski learned from the age of six violin and moved with 14 years to double bass. He soon formed his own band, the trio Spato. Since 1991 he studied at the Cologne University of Music. He worked in groups of Paul Kuhn, Lynne Arriale, Olivia Trummer, Paul Shigihara, Nicolas Simion, Bojan Z, Anders Berg Krantz, Omer Klein and the Frankfurt Jazz Big Band. With musicians such as Roman Schwaller, Andy Middleton, Tony Lakatos and Charlie Mariano, he was on the major European festivals, such as in Zagreb, Brussels, Bilbao, Krakow and Leverkusen. He produced an album with Hugo Read and Thomas Cremer in Frankfurt Jazz Trio and belonged to Markus Burgers Septer Bourbon. Previously, he played more than eighty jazz and world music CDs a, inter alia, with Dusko Goykovich, Paul Kuhn, Nicolas Simion, Antonio Faraò / Bob Berg, Michael Sagmeister, Anke Helfrich, Torsten Goods, Ferenc Snétberger, Dejan Terzic European Assembly, Claudius Valk Trio, Ratko Zjaca / Simone Zanchini / Adam Nussbaum.