Singer-songwriter and guitarist Raul Midón has earned renown as one of music's most distinctive and searching voices. He is "a one-man band who turns a guitar into an orchestra and his voice into a chorus," according to The New York Times. Midón has collaborated with such heroes as Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, along with contributing to recordings by Jason Mraz, Queen Latifah and Snoop Dogg and the soundtrack to Spike Lee's She Hate Me. The New Mexico native, blind since birth, has released seven albums since 1999, including the hit studio productions State of Mind (Manhattan/EMI, 2005), A World Within a World (Manhattan/EMI, 2007) and Synthesis (Decca/Universal, 2009). Midón's most recent release is the captivating CD/DVD Invisible Chains – Live from NYC. Attuned listeners can hear the inspirations of Donny Hathaway and Richie Havens in his work, as well as Sting and Paul Simon. But Midón's questing musicality makes him, as the Huffington Post put it, "a free man beyond category."

A vibrant presence on screen, Midón can be seen in the documentary on Hancock's star-studded album Possibilities, and he is featured collaborating with soul icon Bill Withers in the documentary Still Bill. Midón has also demonstrated his progressive techniques by performing for the series of "TED Talks." Ever since being told by some when he was a child that his blindness meant that "you can't do this, you can't do that," Midón has lived a life devoted to shattering stereotypes. His forthcoming album has the singer-guitarist adding producer-engineer to his portfolio of talents, with special computer software for the blind enabling him to engineer sessions on his own in his home studio. This project – which includes collaborations with Withers, R&B singer-songwriter Lizz Wright, Cameroonian jazz bassist Richard Bona and Grammy-winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves – underscores why People magazine called Midón "an eclectic adventurist."

Vince Mendoza has been at the forefront of the Jazz and contemporary music scene as a composer, conductor and recording artist for the last 20 years. He has written scores of compositions and arrangements for big band, extended compositions for chamber and symphonic settings while his jazz composing credits read like a “who's who” of the best modern instrumentalists and singers in the world today. Mendoza is the Music Director and Chief conductor of the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra, the only full time symphonic Jazz orchestra in the world. He is frequently seen working with the Metropole Orchestra at concerts, festivals and recordings with the likes of Elvis Costello, Herbie Hancock, The Brecker Brothers, Vicente Amigo, Joe Lovano and Ivan Lins and with repertoire of composers as diverse as Bernstein, Stravinsky, Ellington, Josef Zawinul and Ennio Morricone. In addition, he appears frequently as a guest conductor with orchestras throughout Europe, the U.S., Japan, Scandinavia, and the U.K. He conducted the premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s “A Man Descending” with the Scottsh Chamber Orchestra. Mendoza’s performance of the music of Brazilian guitarist Guinga with the Los Angeles Philharmonic was part of a U.S. national broadcast. His early solo albums on Blue Note Records, 'Start Here' and 'Instructions Inside', were critical triumphs that featured such artists as John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Ralph Towner, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine and others. 'Start Here' was voted one of Jazziz Magazine's 'Top Picks' and Mendoza was recognized as 'Best Composer/Arranger' by Swing Journal's critics poll in Japan. His 6th solo CD, "Epiphany" features his compositions played by the London Symphony Orchestra. Mendoza's arranging has appeared on many critically acclaimed projects that include dozens of albums with song writing legends such as Björk, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin and Joni Mitchell. He has 4 Grammy awards and 16 nominations. He was the orchestral voice behind the score to Lars van Trier's "Dancer in the Dark" featuring Björk, as well as the orchestrations on her CD titled "Vespertine", and the orchestral CDs of Joni Mitchell, “Both Sides Now” and “Travelogue”. Mendoza has also written commissioned compositions and arrangements for the Turtle Island String Quartet, the Debussy Trio, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, the Metropole Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, West Deutsche Rundfunk and the BBC. His music was featured at the Berlin Jazz Festival . He has performed major works at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals. His new CD of chamber music Blauklang (ACT 9465-2) will be released by ACT music in fall 2008. Blauklang is the final part of an ACT trilogy in collaboration with Vince Mendoza and the WDR that began in 1992 with the Grammy-nominated Jazzpaña (ACT’s very first production, ACT 9212-2) and continued with Sketches (ACT 9215-2).