Joe Morris (bass); Sam Newsome (saxophone); Francisco Mela (drums)

Downbeat Magazine called guitarist Joe Morris, “the preeminent free music guitarist of his generation.”  Will Montgomery, writing in WIRE magazine, called him, “one of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S.” He was born in New Haven Connecticut in 1955. He began playing guitar at the age of 14 first playing rock music, progressing to blues, then to jazz, free jazz and free improvisation. He released his first record Wraparound (riti) in 1983. He has composed over 200 original pieces of music. In 2000 he began performing and recording on double bass in addition to guitar.

New York-based saxophonist and composer Sam Newsome often works in the medium of solo saxophone, an approach for which he gained world-wide critical acclaim with his 2009 recording, Blue Soliloquy: Solo Works for Soprano Saxophone. This recording received a five-star review in Downbeat magazine. Newsome has since released several critically acclaimed solo saxophone CDs. Ed Enright, from Downbeat magazine, called one of them, The Straight Horn of Africa, “a modern masterpiece.”

Francisco Mela is a favorite among jazz's elite instrumentalists, including such luminaries as Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, John Scofield, Ingrid Laubrock, and Esperanza Spalding, among many others, all of whom cite his charisma, sophistication, and life-arming spirit as an extension of his incredible talents as a composer and drummer.