Ramón Valle (born 1964) was only seven years old when he started studying the piano at the Escuela Provincial de Arte in his home town of Holguín, Cuba. He graduated from Havana's Escuela Nacional de Arte in 1984. His exceptional talent was discovered in 1985 when he performed in a double concert with fellow Cuban pianist, Emiliano Salvador, who died prematurely seven years later. As solo artist and as leader of the jazz quartet Brújula, Valle appeared at numerous festivals (Mexico DF, Bogotá, Havana Jazz Festival) and was soon an established name in the Cuban and Latin American jazz scene. In 1991 Silvio Rodríguez, founder of the Nueva Trova, asked him to join his band Diákara, which he stayed with until 1993.
The greatest talent among our young pianists,’ Chucho Valdés, prominent musician and founder of Irakere, used these words to introduce Ramón Valle on his debut album Levitando (1993). On this first CD, Valle revealed himself as a pianist with a sound of his own. Although the influence of classical music and especially of the triumvirate Jarrett-Corea-Hancock can be heard, the remarkable thing about Valle's music is his ability to weld these diverse influences to create a unique style that eludes traditional categories. Rather than being a pianist who plays Latin Jazz or Cuban Jazz, Valle is a Cuban jazz pianist. He produces pure, contemporary jazz. Although clearly present, his Cuban roots never form the basis of his pieces. In his own words: ‘I am a Cuban musician who falls within the category called 'jazz', but my music borders on many other musical forms. Sometimes I feel like a troubadour, because I tell stories, stories without words.’ At the same time, Valle charms his audiences with the charisma and expressiveness he brings to his renditions. His relationship with the piano is completely physical. His musical stories grip and enchant from the first. They tell themselves.
When he first performed in Europe -invited by Barcelona's Jamboree Jazz Club- critics were struck by Valle's virtuosity and technical perfection. Under the headline "Well-Earned Success", Spain's leading newspaper El País described him as: A pianist an with incredible technique. Besides being extraordinarily rhythmic, there are also depths of subtlety in his touch. His version of contemporary jazz is unexpected, versatile and seductive. A pianist with a great future.
After this European debut, Ramón Valle went on to great success at other European and Latin American venues. That same year saw the release of Piano Solo, his second CD. Comprised once again of his own compositions, it was characterized by great originality and powerful lyricism, but especially by Valle's ability to evoke diverse atmospheres within a single composition. In 1998 Ramón Valle settled in Europe, where his tours of Germany, Spain and Scandinavia have elicited unanimous praise: Valle is pure energy... a whirlwind that drags along everyone and everything... Valle is risk, challenging the audience with unbounded creativity that refuses to bow to the slightest concession... Valle is Jazz... Valle demonstrates that the world of jazz needs to reserve a separate chapter just for him.
The audience was witness to this at his first appearance in the North Sea Jazz (2000), where Valle was described as the great surprise of the festival. And again, at the 2001 edition of the North Sea Jazz he demonstrated why, together with his quartet and the Canadian flutist/saxophonist Jane Bunnet. The press wrote about his compositional and pianistic skills: Ramón Valle composes themes of unsurpassed beauty, then takes intense delight in tearing them apart. But what blissful staccato! His piano is "free" but never freaky. Warm romantic themes, which he caresses lovingly, then suddenly strangling them with equal lovingness. Valle never loses himself in his battle against his own romanticism. He stays in command, even teasing audiences with his 'Jazz Cubano'.
In 2002 Valle first recorded with the German label ACT, Danza Negra. It is a personal, unorthodox view of the work of Ernesto Lecuona, one of Cuba's great classical composers. Surrounded by his quintet, with Perico Sambeat on alto sax and Horacio 'el Negro' Hernández drums, Valle created with this contemporary interpretation a bridge between Cuba and jazz, between the present and the past. In the same year Valle was discovered at international festivals such as the Montreux Festival, the Leverkusen Festival and, in his own country, at the festival de Jazz Plaza Habana as a pianist and composer who is clearly following his own path in his music. In 2002 Valle met the trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and their musical rendez-vous resulted in a performance by the Ramón Valle Quitet featuring Roy Hargrove during the North Sea Jazz 2003. Hargrove commented on Valle after their first concert together: ‘I was totally blown away. There is lots of sensitivity in his playing. The music was incredible. Ramón is such a great talent. He' s got a good touch and amazing dexterity and nice ideas. He knows how to play soft and he still like builds so many things. There's so many bags he can reach from. It’s really a pleasure listening to him and play with him as well.’In January 2003 Valle proved his talents as orchestra leader and composer in the large hall of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where Mixed-up Mokum was premiered, a composition for the city of Amsterdam commissioned by the Amsterdams Foundation for the Arts. It is intended for an ensemble of ten musicians, and moves in the shadowy area between jazz, improvised music and classical music. In four movements Valle tells us about his first impressions of Amsterdam.
On his second CD with ACT, No Escape (2003), Ramón Valle not only makes a name for himself as a composer of brilliantly unique music, but once again excels as a Jazz musician beyond categorization, a master of all the facets of contemporary playing. Valle shows with highly original compositions how he tries to makes a new inroad into Cuban jazz. His own approach is, as he puts it himself 'not one hundred percent Cuban, but one hundred percent me, my trio. I would like to break with the label Latin Jazz that everybody knows so well and that people associate with hot congas.’ In No Escape Valle explores his earlier narratives further, in close collaboration with his musicians who each have their defined role in the trio. ‘That is what I am looking for in my music: three rhythmic levels, three melodic lines who meet on the way. Three communicating vessels. This album is the result of a conversation with my musicians. Music is talking, raising your voice, voicing your opinion. Every day when I sit down at the piano is another quest for new words. For my own voice.’

“I believe that Christof has become, quite candidly and without sounding pathetic, the best saxophonist in Europe today. Every time I hear him I am totally fascinated. He has in the mean time reached a level of skill that is almost spooky.” Volker Kriegel, 2002 Christof Lauer was born on 25th May, 1953 in the German town of Melsungen/Hessen. He started piano lessons at the age of six and, later, learnt the cello. He studied cello at Dr Hoch’s Conservatory in Frankfurt. In 1971 he changed to tenor saxophone and within a year had begun jazz and saxophone studies at the Music High School in Graz in Austria under Professor Dieter Glawischnig. He undertook his first tours with his own quartet and was also a member, during his student years, of bands in Vienna and Munich.
Within a year of his return to Frankfurt in 1978 he was a member of the legendary jazz ensemble of the radio station, Hessischer Rundfunk, under the direction of Albert Mangelsdorff and joined the group “Voices” with Heinz Sauer, Ralf Hübner, Bob Degen and Thomas Heidepriem. At the age of 26 he was already regarded as one of the most important jazz musicians in Germany. In the following years he was almost permanently on the road, taught jazz classes at Dr Hoch’s Conservatory and received in 1986 the jazz prize of Südwestfunk, the South West German radio. 1990 saw the release of the first album in his own name: Christof Lauer (with Joachim Kühn, Palle Danielsson and Peter Erskine). This was followed in the next years by two more albums as leader: Bluebells, 1992, with Wolfgang Puschnig, Bob Stewart and Thomas Alkier and Evidence, 1996, with Anthony Cox und Daniel Humair. His debut recording Christof Lauer was immediately awarded with the prestigious German record critics’ annual prize. Lauer was invited to be a soloist in the NDR Big Band in 1993, which was in the process of making a transition from traditional to modern avant-garde big band. In 1994 he became a member of the United Jazz Rock Ensemble and in 1996 a permanent member of Albert Mangelsdorff’s quintet.
His fruitful collaboration with the ACT label began in 1999 with Fragile Network (ACT 9266-2). His fourth album as leader (with Michel Godard, Mark Ducret, Anthony Cox and Gene Jackson) underlines Lauer’s quality as a unique rich composer and arranger as well as an excellent soloist. It brought him once again the annual prize of the German critics. “Lauer has for long been his own man and as “Fragile Network” once again shows, one of the best European saxophonists.”(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) In that year he was invited by the well-known Turkish ney player Kudsi Erguner to take part in a world music project which brought together classical music of the Ottoman Empire with western improvisation and jazz rhythms. The CD Ottomania (ACT 9006-2) strikingly documented this special musical encounter. Another important encounter also took place in the same year 1999. Christof Lauer made the acquaintance of the outstanding pianist Jens Thomas and this soon evolved into an intense musical collaboration and friendship. Their collaboration was first demonstrated by the first duo album Shadows In The Rain (ACT 9297-2), which reinterpreted the music of pop star Sting in a most original manner. On four of the tracks they were accompanied by the Cikada String Qurtet, for whom none other than Colin Towns wrote the arrangements. The album won the quarterly German jazz critics’ prize and the annual prize of French magazine “Jazzman” (CHOC de l’année).
Following this Lauer and Thomas had the chance to take part in a number of prestigious tours in Europe and Asia and played, inter alia, at the Paris Jazz Festival.After the success of their debut as duo, the two musicians set up a second chamber music project together, this time based on original compositions. Pure Joy (ACT 9415-2) released in April 2003. “Simple, compact compositions such as rarely exist in jazz” is how Lauer described the rationale for a tight interactive performance free of the stylised jazz conventions. “Stunning, melodies almost too good to be true, performed by two musicians who are amongst the best and most high profile currently to be heard on the European jazz scene,” wrote German magazine Jazzpodium and Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung swooned: “Christof Lauer and Jens Thomas have hijacked for the jazz universe a beauty and wildness which are without boundaries. One can only imagine what surprises these amazing musicians have in store for the future.” With Heaven (ACT 9420-2) Christof Lauer has delivered just such as surprise for the end of 2003: church music, which was in fact for Lauer, the son of a pastor, the first form of music of any type that he experienced as a child. He has had the desire to record sacred music in a church, and not before time. His friendship with Norwegian Geir Lysne has at last led to the long-planned project: together with Norwegian Brass the recordings for Heaven were made in the Vålerengen Kirk in Oslo, a choice of unexpected reworkings of classic Christmas songs and religious music, for which Geir Lysne is responsible as arranger and musical director and including two very special guests from Norway, Sondre Brantland and Rebekka Bakken.
Lauer found a new outlet in the collaboration with pianist Eric Watson. The American pianist, currently living in Paris, and Lauer had known each other for a long time. In April 2003 they were on tour together in France playing a quartet repertoire that Watson had especially composed for Lauer as a guest star with his own regular trio - comprising bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Ed Thigpen: These pieces, recorded in Summer 2003, were titled Road Movies (ACT 9429-2) and were released in September 2004.
One thing is for sure: Very few musicians can offer as much intensity as Christof Lauer, as the recordings with his new trio aptly demonstrate on Blues in Mind (ACT 9446-2), which will be released in January 2007. The flexibility of the fascinatingly matched partners and the scope of the compositions enable Lauer to express all aspects of his art. German Lauer, Frenchman Michel Godard (tuba & serpent) and British drummer & pianist Gary Husband all contribute compositions to this CD of exclusively original material – pieces that open up a great variety of worlds. Each track offers new colours and tonal hues, held together by the authority of the three players.
In the past 30 years Christof Lauer has appeared in all manner of various formations with an incredible continuity – on all continents of the earth and international festival from Montreux to Istanbul and from Havana to Beijing, both with his own bands or as sideman. The variety and creative energy of Lauer’s encounters and projects time and again reflects his deepest held conviction: “Jazz is communicationú”

Gerardo Núñez Guitarist Gerardo Núñez, born in Jerez de la Frontera (Andalucia, Spain), is one of the outstanding pioneers of the Flamenco Nuevo. Flamenco Nuevo artists stand out due to their fusion of different musical genres and styles. In Núñez’ case this led to a remarkable number of collaborations with artists of the most diverse genres. Núñez collaborated with tenor star Plácido Domingo, pop-idol Julio Iglesias, harp player Andreas Vollenweider or rock band Mecano. Another example for his musical openness was his unique quartet with trumpet player Enrico Rava, accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano and bassist Eberhard Weber. Nuñez also made a name for himself as the composer of several popular Spanish songs.
Gerardo Núñez had his international breakthrough with the album "Flamencos de Nueva York" in 1989. Famous Flamenco-critic Alvarez Caballero commented on Núñez playing: „Rarely ever the Flamenco guitar has shone more due to powerful prowess.” Guitar Player magazine added: „An outstanding virtuoso – but his musical taste and masterly fusion of styles are even more remarkable.” His ACT 2000 debut "Jazzpaña II" (ACT 9284-2) brought Gerardo Nuñez another great success and introduced contemporary Spanish jazz to a major audience throughout Europe. Together with the likes of Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez, saxophonist Perico Sambe at, drummer and percussionist Toni Di Geraldo, FrancoSpanish bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and the Gitano singer Esperanza Fernandez, Gerardo went to the Sonoland Studio in Madrid. Further invited musicians were guitarist Fareed Haque, saxophinist Michael Brecker and arranger Colin Towns. "Jazzpaña II" turned out to be a well-received album from both listeners and media and reached #1 of the German Jazz Charts.
With the 2003 ACT album "Le nueva escuela de la guitarra flamenca – The New School Of Flamenco Guitar" (ACT 9413-2) Núñez presented a fascinating project based on his collaboration with five young Flamenco guitarists.
The 2004 album "Andando el tiempo" (ACT 9426-2) shows the state of modern flamenco guitar today: 11 tracks take one on a journey through the infinite distances that lie between flamenco and jazz, a journey for which only Gerardo Núñez can act as guide.
“Travesía” (ACT 9534-2) is Gerardo Núñez most recent record and a further proof of his border-crossing musical way of thinking. Pop, funk, jazz and Latin freshen Gerardo Núñez’s flamenco, which he combines with extraordinary technique and great passion. On this recording, his wife, the famous dancer Carmen Cortéz (for whom he has written some songs), and his daughter Isabel, join in with their hands and feet by clapping and tapping. Also featured are prestigious jazz musicians including saxophonist Perico Sambeat and pianist Albert Sanz, as well as the legendary percussionists “Cepillo”, who co-produced the album. Their common venture is “la travesía”, the crossing; whereas the Africans sail across the Mediterranean Sea to their new home, these musicians are crossing borders in music.

Born: April 16t, 1958 in Halmstad, Sweden. Ulf Wakenius. A jazz guitarist extraordinaire acclaimed and celebrated all over the world. Between 1997 and 2007 Ulf held what may have been the most prestigious spot in jazz for a guitarist: a chair in the Oscar Peterson Quartet.This was the coronation of a career which included many record-breaking moments.Wakenius guitar duo Guitars Unlimited rocked Scandinavia in the early 80s, culminating in the 1985 Melody Grand Prix, which was seen by 600 million viewers, probably the largest audience a jazz guitar duo ever had. Shortly after that Wakenius started a extremely successful and long-lasting collaboration with the legendary bass player Niels-Henning Örsted Pedersen.( NHOP), and both of his duo albums with bass icon Ray Brown, topped the US Jazz Charts.The last few years he's been touriing the world with the amazing Korean singer Youn Sun Nah.

Oscar Peterson has publicly described Ulf as one of the greatest guitarists alive in the world today and many of today’s most acclaimed jazz guitarists are among Ulf’s fans, including Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, John Scofield and Mike Stern. Great Rhythmic feel combines with a extraordinary lyrical touch- his emphasis is always on melodies and groove. He has been filmed by Clint Eastwood. His next release on ACT will be Ulf Wakenius-Solo "Momento Magico"

Meanwhile there is a growing number of projects which not only stress the similarities but which offer a more balanced view on the contributions of both cultures. Chano Dominguez and Vince Mendoza: Their names alone nip reservations and fear of yet another musical platitude originating from the varied pool of folklore in the bud.
When it comes to music, the Spaniard, who was born in the flamenco-stronghold Cadiz, is bilingual: Dominguez is fluent in both languages, that of jazz as well as that of flamenco (an art form where the piano is anything but at home). Already for quite some time he is a leading figure in bringing together both cultures, even more than that: Dominguez is currently the driving force of this symbiosis and the one who delivers the most convincing results.
~~Vince Mendoza could make good use of his Jazzpaña-experience for another engagement with Iberian culture. El Viento. The García Lorca Project was the title of a production recorded in 2008, whose foundation was laid ten years before during a concert on the occasion of the one-hundredths birthday of the lyricist Federico García Lorca. Spanish vocalists and instrumentalists as well as dancers had guest appearances in this project, invited by the Dutch Metropole Orkest, an orchestra combining big band and stringband-elements in one.
One year later Dominguez made use of the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis' recording of Kind of Blue to produce a flamencojazz-version of the legendary album, consistently entitled: Flamenco Sketches. Finally, in 2011 he was united with the creative minds behind the idea of the grand intercultural building of bridges almost two decades earlier: Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band.
This time the pianist's own compositions, arranged by the guest conductor of the orchestra, were performed. The improvisatory aspect was also more pronounced than in Jazzpaña. The Spaniard was joined by three compatriots, the percussionists "El Piraña" Suárez and Daniel Navarro (the latter also a dancer) and the singer Blas Córdoba. The success of Soleando – well documented on the present recording from the Cologne philharmonic hall – demanded a follow-up: In 2013 the pianist, Grupo de Chano Dominguez, Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band went on a celebrated tour of Spain, Portugal, and Oman and also fitted in a stop-over at the Leverkusener Jazztage.