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Badal Roy was born in India and he arrived in New York in 1968 with a pair of tablas and eight dollars in his pocket. Soon he received his big break: an invitation to record with John McLaughlin and Miles Davis successively. Badal went on to record on Miles Davis's albums On the Corner, Big Fun, Agartha, Pangaea and others. He was one of the first Indian musicians to effectively meld Indian music and instruments with jazz and funk. Today Badal Roy is the foremost exponent of tabla in jazz music. He has played with not only Davis and McLaughlin, but also artists as diverse as P-Funk, Herbie Mann, Dave Liebman, Don Cherry, Pharaoh Sanders, Dizzy Gillespie, Lonnie Liston Smith, Andreas Vollenweider, and Yoko Ono. He has been an integral part of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time since 1988 and is presently collaborating with Brazil s Duofel, an instrumental guitar duo. Badal is also a key member of Michael Wolff's Impure Thoughts as well as a part of the Miles Davis alumni band Children On The Corner. Badal is currently in production on a project with drummer Mike Clark, producer/dj Kentyah and others. For more, see Badal's Myspace page.

Vic Juris is a Jersey City native who first picked up a guitar at the age of ten. With no musicians in the family, he taught himself to play and was soon appearing with rock and R&B bands throughout the tri-state area. In his late teens Vic discovered jazz and classical music. From there it was on to a career with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Chico Hamilton, Mel Torme, Eddie Jefferson and Nancy Wilson. During the 1980s Vic started performing frequently in Europe with Michel Legrand, Richie Cole, Bireli LaGrene, Gary Peacock, and many others. Vic has been a member of the David Liebman group since 1991. This band has recorded 10 CDs, traveled throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, and the United States and is still going strong. Vic Juris also tours and records as a leader. On Steeple Chase Records Vic's band has recorded Night Tripper, Pastels (1997), Moonscape (1998), Remembering Eric Dolphy (2000). His CD Songbook was a top 10 pick in 2000. Vic has also recorded on Double Time Records' Music of Alec Wilder. Vic's 2004 release of Blue Horizon listed him as a top pick for the year 2004, and after that he released A Second Look and some concert DVDs on the Mel Bay label.

Vic Juris is also a leading jazz educator. He has written two books published by Mel Bay: Vic Juris Inside/Outside: Original Play-Along Modern Jazz Guitar Solos and Modern Chords: Advanced Harmony for Guitar. He teaches at Rutgers University, The New School and Lehigh University, and he has conducted clinics throughout the US and Europe. See VicJuris.com for more.

Lewis Porter a jazz pianist and keyboardist. He is known for a free and open attitude, and an ability to contribute to any type of musical situation. For example, he performed with faculty members of the Ali Akbar Khan School of Indian Music in 1973, and he has performed recently with such artists as Wycliffe Gordon, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Liebman, Joe Morris, and Jane Ira Bloom. The critics have written in 2007 that Dr. Porter plays "with a lively glitter and amazing sense of assurance." "Mixing experimental with traditional," he "plays up a storm." "Porter is a deep thinker" whose music is "founded upon depth and cunning use of space"--"subsequent listens divulge previously unnoticed surprises." His latest CD, recorded live at Siena Jazz, is Italian Encounter (Altrisuoni.com). Dr. Porter is a Professor of Music at Rutgers University in Newark, and is also known worldwide for his teaching and for his publications, especially John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Dr. Porter is known for his frequent appearances as a speaker on radio and for Jazz At Lincoln Center. His full schedule and extended audio and video clips are at Lewisporter.com and MySpace.com/Lrpjazz

Karttikeya is a musician of many instruments and a composer in many styles. In kirtan, Karttikeya plays the South Indian Naal drum, djembe and a plethora of percussion. He also plays the acoustic and electronic drum set in a variety of settings, including rock, jazz and funk, as well as country and blues. After graduating magna cum laude from the Berklee College of Music with a B.A. in Music Production and Engineering, Karttikeya immersed himself in Hindu sadhana, living and studying for many years at the feet of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Currently, Karttikeya furthers his musical education through regular drum study at The Collective in Manhattan. The past few years have found him playing alongside esteemed artists such as Badal Roy, Perry Robinson, Dave Stringer, Wynne Paris, Suzin Green and many more. Karttikeya strives to blend the best of East and West into each of his projects.