Wu Man is an acclaimed performer on the pipa, a four-stringed Chinese lute with ancient roots that, due in large part to her efforts, has become a leading instrument of contemporary music in both East and West. Wu Man performs both traditional and contemporary music on the pipa, and many new works have been commissioned specially for her. She was a founding member of the Silk Road Ensemble, the Aga Khan Master Musicians and has played an active role in cross-cultural music making.
Basel Rajoub is a saxophonist and composer-improviser whose inspirations include traditional Middle Eastern rhythms and melodies as well as jazz. Born in Aleppo, Syria, he graduated from the Damascus High Institute of Music and creates new music that brings together musicians from the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Europe. A winner of Radio Monte Carlo’s Moyen-Orient Music Award, Basel Rajoub divides his time between performing, teaching, composing, and recording. Currently based in Geneva, Basel performs as a member of several ensembles, and is the founding member of the Soriana Project.
Feras Charestan is from the city of Al-Hasakeh, in the northeast of Syria, and studied qanun at the High Institute of Music in Damascus. He has performed as a qanun soloist with symphony orchestras and has been a member of popular bands as well as contemporary music ensembles, creating new music rooted in Middle Eastern traditions. Feras Charestan currently lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
Abbos Kosimov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, into a musical family. A disciple of the honoured Uzbek doira player Tuychi Inogomov and winner of the Competition of Percussion Instruments of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, Kosimov established his own doira school in 1994 and his ensemble, “Abbos,” in 1998. Kosimov performs internationally with Zakir Hussain and Randy Gloss’s percussion group Hand’s OnSemble and recorded with Stevie Wonder.
Yurdal Tokcan is a Turkish oud player, guitarist, and composer who bridges the worlds of classical Ottoman makam, Sufi music, and contemporary cosmopolitan musical styles and genres. Born in 1966 and educated at Istanbul Technical University’s Turkish Music State Conservatory (Türk Musikisi Devlet Konservatuarı). He began his professional career as a member of the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble, founded in 1987 by revered tanbur player Necdet Yaşar under the aegis of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2015, Yurdal Tokcan became the ensemble’s artistic director. Mr. Tokcan is known not only for his mastery of the oud, but for his explorations of intercultural composition and performance in the domains of both “East-West” and “East-East” collaborations, in particular through his adaptation of oud technique to the fretless guitar. Of his many recordings released in Turkey, several have also been released internationally, most notably Passion (Hisleniş), an album of solo oud improvisations.
Vincent Segal is an inspired cellist with a discography as prolific as it is eclectic, he has continued to pursue the most unexpected experiences and collaborations possible. This is evidenced by his numerous collaborations with artists from all walks of life such as Chuck Brown, Elvis Costello, Blackalicious, Nana Vasconcelos, Brigitte Fontaine, Sting, Marianne Faithfull, Cesaria Evoria and Papa Wemba. In addition to his participation as a solo cellist in numerous original film scores Vincent Segal has composed the original music for numerous films. Always eager for new musical projects and a fervent supporter of musical fusion, Vincent Segal continues to explore unknown territories, in search of mastery of the greatest number of genres, ranging from contemporary music to electro, including jazz, improvised music and world music.
Vincent Peirani is a Virtuoso accordionist, to whom the world of jazz devotes international recognition, and expresses himself with remarkable ease in a large number of musical genres moving across boundaries with ease. His open-mindedness and boundless curiosity have led him through countless collaborations to shape his music with multiple influences. It is with an insatiable curiosity that he explores musical languages, whilst bringing a touch of personal magic, and manages to breathe new life into well-known music. His music, as much as his personality embrace different worlds and takes the listener on a new adventure.
