The Claudia Quintet has walked a unique path in contemporary jazz since their founding in the late 1990s. Unlike most jazz ensembles where the particular musicians may come and go, drummer, composer and leader John Hollenbeck always wanted Claudia to be a ‘band’ with a sound not only determined by the compositions and the instrumentation, but with the actual players who perform the music. This concept is why Claudia has had an immediately identifiable sound since its inception. In that sound, the exceptional artistry and individuality of each musician is skillfully revealed throughout Hollenbeck’s original compositions.
 
Over the past decade, the group has released six CDs that are critically acclaimed worldwide and whose appeal extends well beyond, as well as including traditional jazz audiences. The group’s first album, “The Claudia Quintet,” was released on the Blueshift CRI record label. The group has since established a long time relationship with the Cuneiform label, releasing five albums with them.
 
Read more at claudiaquintet.com
 
Claudia Quintet official site
Claudia Quintet on Facebook
 
Photo credit: Signe Maehler (Courtesy of Cuneiform Records)

Goonj Beyond Boundaries is an idea initiated by Jazzmandu founder Navin Chettri to explore elements of Nepali folk/classical music, and jazz with musicians coming from various backgrounds in NY. An opportunity to exchange musical energies with some artists and friends who have been to Jazzmandu and the collaborations they had in Nepal was something they wanted to recreate and share in NYC. On May 28 2014 Goonj had their debut performance at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn featuring Jamie Baum, Matt Moran, Manu Koch, Kenny Warren and Trifon Dimitrov who now will reunite for the Nepal Relief Concert with Jordan Perlson replacing Navin Chettri on drums. As a special treat they will be joined by jazz great Dave Liebman.
 
Matt Moran official site
Manu Koch official site

Sarodist Anupam Shobhakar and guitarist Joel Harrison’s recording, “Leave the Door Open” features original compositions and arrangements of songs from India and America, performed by a remarkable group of New York-based jazz musicians. This recording stands out as a true collaboration between a classical Indian musician and a jazz-based American. Both Shobhakar and Harrison are steeped in their own traditions, yet are open and admiring of each other’s history. Shobhakar hails from the Maihar Gharana, a family whose contribution to the world of Indian instrumental music includes Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, and Nikhil Banarjee. He also grew up listening to jazz and rock music while mastering the classical tradition. Harrison has released 17 cds, leading all manner of unorthodox groups. He and Shobhakar met when Harrison received a Guggenheim Fellowship and invited Shobhakar to be featured soloist in a 75 minute composition for classical percussion quartet, guitar, sax, bass, and drums entitled “Still Point- Turning World.”
 

Joel Harrison official site
Anupam Shobhakar official site

KJ’s performances will move you to laugh, to dance and even to cry. Her voice is powerful, lyrics full of intelligent insight, and her musicianship impeccable. KJ’s eclectic, yet unified, performances reach out to many different types of audiences without compromising her music and beliefs. She performs the unusual feat of being both highly individual and quite accessible. Kj’s special blend of urban folk & jazz has earned her four Independent Music Award nominations.
 
In 2009 she was named as one of Jazz.com’s top female vocalists. She is consistently praised for her pathos, originality and impeccable musicianship. KJ is affectionately known as the “triple threat” because she is an award-winning, one of a kind songwriter, guitarist and performer.
 
KJ Denhert official site
KJ Denhert Facebook

“Beat Kaestli is an award winning, internationally touring vocalist, composer and producer based in New York. He has performed at renowned festivals and clubs on 5 continents and released 5 solo CDs, including the critically acclaimed Chesky Record release “Invitation” and 2014’s “Collage”, a tribute to French music and culture. He’s been featured on TV and radio worldwide and The New York Times called him “A likably suave jazz singer” and JazzTimes Magazine found his music “Spellbinding”. Two of his CDs were part of the Official Grammy Selection in 2010 and have been showcased on Swiss Air International.”
 
Beat Kaestli official site
Beat Kaestli Facebook

Xiomara Laugart
 
Those who have entered Cuba through Jose Marti International Airport in Havana will know that upon arrival, they are greeted by beautiful video images of Old Havana on TV screens and the sultry voice of Xiomara Laugart singing “Hoy mi Habana”. And it is no coincidence because Xiomara Laugart is “The Voice of Cuba”. She has been representing her country and her people, performing at venues around the globe for over 30 years and with the greatest of international talents. She is a living legend in her native Cuba where she has recorded more than 15 albums. Born with a fusion of rhythms in her veins, she began her career at the age of 15. Soon thereafter, her voice categorized her as a true prodigy, gifting her with the remarkable flexibility to interpret musical genres from the traditional to contemporary Cuban music. From the moment she took the highest award in the “Adolfo Guzman” contest for Cuban music in 1980, she has become one of the most brilliant representatives of Cuban song.
 
Axel Tosca Laugart
 
Born on January 27, 1984, in Cuba, Alex Tosca Laugart is one of the most dynamic young pianists on the scene. At the age of seven, Laugart became interested in the piano. He was influenced by Miriam Valdez, sister of the famous Cuban virtuoso Chucho Valdez, and Rosa Maia Tolo. Laugart credits Tolo with helping mature his style and musicality. Laugart benefitted from a wide range of musical experiences growing up in Cuba. Amadito Valdez, the great timbalero with the Buena Vista Social Club, was a musical mentor and an important part of Laugart’s decision to come to the United States in July of 2005. His arrival came with the opportunity to perform with “Havana Night” in Las Vegas for two years. During that time, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic scouted discovered Laugart. They began rehearsing, and Laugart performed with the group in Washington, DC, on New Year’s Eve, 2007. The gig was at BB King’s, and is still one of the most memorable in the young pianist’s career.

SUSAN PEREIRA – vocal/percussion
 
Vocalist, pianist, percussionist, composer and arranger Susan Pereira has been one of the most versatile musicians on New York’s Brazilian music scene since 1983. While deeply rooted in traditional Brazilian styles, her broad background in jazz and world music has enabled her to develop a distinct musical personality. Fluent in Portuguese, she is a singer who blends a silky, rich tone with superior vocal technique and is a particularly skilled lyric interpreter and scat singer. She leads the acclaimed Brazilian jazz group Sabor Brasil, co-founded with drummer Vanderlei Pereira, and has appeared with the group at a variety of notable festivals and clubs, including the Rochester Jazz Festival, the Savannah Jazz Festival, the Hartford Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Lincoln Center Jazz’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and Birdland among many others. Apart from Sabor Brasil, Susan has performed as a vocalist and/or percussionist with many top names in Brazilian jazz as well as in traditional samba percussion ensembles, both in the U.S. and Brazil, at venues such as the Blue Note, the Kennedy Center, the Syracuse Jazz Festival, the Village Gate and Rio de Janeiro’s Armazén Digital Leblon and Sambodromo. Susan Pereira and Sabor Brasil’s recent CD, Tudo Azul (Riony Records), was the second most added jazz CD at college radio during its “add” week.
 
JAMIE BAUM – flute
 
Internationally known, NYC jazz flutist/composer/clinician Jamie Baum, has toured the US, and over 20 countries in Europe, Japan, South America and South Asia working with several renowned musicians as a leader and sidewoman ranging from George Russell, Mick Goodrick, Randy Brecker, Donald Brown, and Kenny Barron to Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Paul Motian V. M. Bhatt and Karaikudi Mani. Receiving critical praise for four CD’s as a leader, Sight Unheard (w/ Dave Douglas) and Moving Forward, Standing Still on the Omnitone label (w/Ralph Alessi and George Colligan) received four stars from DownBeat. Her most recent Solace (Sunnyside) has made several “Best CDs of ‘08” lists. She was nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for “Flutist of the Year “ in ’05, ‘06 and ’09, has been in the DownBeat Critics Polls every year since ’98 in the list of best flutists and has won several awards for her compositions. Baum also toured for the DOS/Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador program from ’99 to ‘’03 and performed with her own quartet at Kathmandu’s Jazz festival, JAZZMANDU 2003. She is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and an adjunct teacher at The New School Jazz Program in NYC teaching private lessons.
 
Jamie Baum official site
 
DARIO ESKENAZI – piano
 
A resident of NYC since 1990, Dario Eskenazi has been a pianist arranger and composer very much in demand in the jazz, Brazilian and Latin circles around the city. He recorded more than 5 albums and toured extensively with Paquito D’Rivera for over 10 years with whom he won three Grammy Awards. Also he is a former member of the Caribbean Jazz Project with whom he recorded “The Gathering” a 2003 Grammy Award Winner for Best Latin Jazz Album. Dario has played and recorded with Dave Samuels, Dianne Schurr, Mongo Santamaria, Ruben Blades, Gato Barbieri, Hiram Bullock, Jon Lucien, Romero Lubambo, Dave Valentin, Tito Puente, Hendrik Meurkens, Rosa Passos, Leny Andrade and Herbie Mann among others. As a composer arranger, he recently finished the score for the feature film “The Last New Yorker” a mix of jazz and orchestral music.

Nepali American Saxophonist, Composer, and Educator, Pawan Benjamin, started his musical training at a young age in Madison, Wisconsin, receiving guidance and mentorship from jazz luminaries such as bassist, Richard Davis, AACM founder Roscoe Mitchell, and many others in the Madison area. Pawan’s knowledge of Western harmony, and the Jazz tradition, paired with his knowledge of the music of India and Nepal, has allowed him to play in musical scenarios across the globe with world class artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Ranjit Barot, Taufiq Qureshi, Mike Stern, Candido Camero, and many more.
 
Featured in the performance will be a few traditional Nepali instruments.
 
First, the Bansuri, or Bamboo flute, is a staple in the traditional folk and more recently classical music of Nepal and Northern India. The sonority of the instrument represents the signature sound of the Himalayas, and is also the traditional instrument seen with Lord Krishna.
 
The Madal is a traditional Nepali drum, that comes in many different sizes and is the most popular drum used in Nepal. The drum is the backbone of Nepali folk rhythm and is heard in the music of almost every region of Nepal.
 
Pawan Benjamin official site