Composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph has spent over four decades performing worldwide, releasing over 30 recordings showcasing his compositions and percussion skills. He leads ensembles such as Moving Pictures, Hu Vibrational, and Go: Organic Orchestra, known for its unique music notation and conducting system. Rudolph has collaborated with a diverse array of artists including Don Cherry, Jon Hassel, and Philip Glass. He is recognized as a pioneer of World Music, co-founding the Mandingo Griot Society in 1978 and pioneering fusion with Moroccan Gnawa music in 1988 alongside Hassan Hakmoun.

Alexis Marcelo is a pianist from New York City cultivated in the creative and forward-thinking traditions of African-American Music. He began his studies at the Harlem School of the Arts at an early age and eventually studied composition and improvisation with Dr. Yusef Lateef at the University of Massachusetts, where he developed a unique sound rooted in Autophysiopsychic music. As an improviser, Marcelo draws inspiration from both musical and non-musical sources, which include other musicians, the audience, and the immediate environment, with the hopes of creating a soulful experience that conveys those indescribable feelings from the heart.

Marcelo has performed all over the world with multiple artists in a diverse array of genres over the years, most recently sharing the stage with saxophonists James Brandon Lewis, Adam Rudolph, Ava Mendoza, and JD Parran. He is currently performing in the New York City Metropolitan Opera’s production of Anthony Davis’s Malcolm X.

Ralph M. Jones was born, raised, and mentored in Detroit. He has been active as a performance artist in the African-American Instantaneous Compositional Tradition for over 40 years. As an internationally recognized artist, he toured, performed, and recorded with Dr. Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Wadada Leo Smith, Issa Abramaleem, Norman Connors, Kenn Cox, The MC5, Wayne Kramer, Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures and Go Organic Orchestra, and his ensemble, Seekers of Truth Revolutionary Ensemble (SOTRE), among many other stellar artists.

Jones earned his master’s degree in African-American Studies and his B.A. in Ethnomusicology, both from U.C.L.A. He has taught for 19 years in the CSSSA summer program at Cal-Arts, 5 Years at Oberlin College and four years at Spelman College. Ralph has also taught numerous master classes in musical concepts and performance in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, among other schools throughout the world.

Shezad Dawood (b.1974) was born in London, where he lives and works. He studied at Central St Martin’s, the Royal College of Art and Leeds Metropolitan University. Dawood is a Senior Research Fellow in Experimental Media at the University of Westminster.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Dawood interweaves stories, realities, and symbolism to create richly layered artworks spanning painting, textiles, sculpture, film and digital media. Fascinated by ecologies and architecture, his work takes a philosophical approach, asking questions and exploring alternative futures through what Dawood describes as ‘world-building’ and ‘imagineering.’ His practice is animated by research, working with multiple audiences and communities to delve into narrative, history and embodiment.