Violinist, composer, improviser, bandleader, and (yes) singer Jenny Scheinman has been a major force on the Brooklyn creative jazz scene since her arrival in the borough from the West Coast in 1999. She has made weekly appearances at the Barbès club in the Park Slope neighborhood when not on tour or involved in other competing projects, using her residency there as a laboratory for trying out a variety of musical approaches and configurations, exploring styles from avant jazz to country-folk singer/songwriter fare. Scheinman has become a high-profile player far afield from her Brooklyn digs, however, recording and touring as a member of Bill Frisell's ensembles and backing up such comparatively mainstream artists as Norah Jones and Sean Lennon. It's not unusual to spot her in televised performances with the latter two stars, including an appearance in the string section behind Lennon on a segment of The Late Show with David Letterman. Scheinman has also exercised her formidable improvisational chops in a trio setting with legendary drummer Paul Motian and pianist Jason Moran at New York City's Jazz Standard club.

Scheinman was born and raised on the West Coast (although both her parents were from New York) and made her first professional appearances as a violinist in the Bay Area -- her first recording, Live at Yoshi's on the Avant label (a Japanese sublabel of DIW curated by John Zorn), was recorded at the venerable Oakland, CA, nightspot in September 1999 with the violinist leading a quartet featuring bassist Todd Sickafoose, drummer Scott Amendola, and guitarist Dave MacNab. Landing in Brooklyn that same year, she hit the ground running and hasn't stopped since, recording albums for Tzadik (The Rabbi's Lover, Shalagaster) and Cryptogramophone (12 Songs), her supporting bands including a who's who of modern creative jazz talent, including Frisell, Myra Melford, Ron Miles, Greg Cohen, Kenny Wollesen, and Trevor Dunn. In 2007, she headed out on tour with a quartet including guitarist Nels Cline (whose public profile had expanded well beyond avant jazz circles thanks to his involvement with Wilco), bassist Sickafoose, and drummer Jim Black. Scheinman has proved to be an evocative and even compelling live performer, melding diverse stylistic approaches with skill, artistry, and deep emotional commitment. ~ Dave Lynch, All Music Guide

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Nels Cline (born in Los Angeles in 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. Currently he is the lead guitarist of the rock band Wilco. Nels began to play guitar at age 12 when his twin brother, Alex Cline took up the drums. Cline is not classically trained. This gives him a unique avant-garde style that many other jazz guitarists fail to match, due to their probable conventional training. He is noted for his apt use of effects pedals and looping devices, which enhances his style and gives his approach to guitar and music a distinct sound.

Cline is known for his improvisational work and for the diversity of his musical projects. He has played with jazz musicians Charlie Haden, Gregg Bendian, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Berne, Vinny Golia and the late bassist Eric von Essen, a longtime musical companion in the L.A. jazz group Quartet Music.

Cline has also performed and recorded with punk rock hero Mike Watt in his touring bands The Crew of the Flying Saucer and The Black Gang, as well as with members of Sonic Youth and country music legend Willie Nelson, and in the jazz/punk/improv band Banyan with Watt and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins. He frequently participates in jazz projects with his twin brother, Alex, however their first actual duo together was in Culver City, California, during their 50th birthday show.

Nels's first appearance on an album was on Vinny Golia's 1978 record, Openhearted, and his first work as a bandleader was 1988's Angelica. In the late 1980s, Cline formed the Nels Cline Trio, which featured his guitar playing complemented by Mark London Sims at bass and Michael Preussner at drums. The trio released several 7 inch demos and one album, before replacing Sims with Bob Mair at bass. This new trio released three albums before splitting up, featuring some of Cline's most melodic works, before he ventured into a freer and more minimalist territory in the decade to come. Shortly before the end of the trio, Nels recorded two albums, In-Store, and Pillow Wand, with Sonic Youth frontman and guitarist, Thurston Moore. In 1999, Cline paired up with jazz drummer Gregg Bendian to record a modern rendition of John Coltrane's 1967 album, Interstellar Space. On Interstellar Space Revisited: The Music of John Coltrane, Bendian and Cline boldly interpret Coltrane's already obscure piece using their musical backgrounds and talents, and create an album whose music is written by Coltrane, but whose sound is distinctly associated with musicians who perform it. Cline's current outfit is the improv/free jazz ensemble The Nels Cline Singers, with which he has recorded two albums, Instumentals and The Giant Pin, his most recent work as a leader. The Nels Cline Singers are currently signed with Cryptogramophone Records.

Cline has performed on over 100 albums in the jazz, pop, rock, country, and experimental music genres. He continues to expand his audience as a member of the Grammy-winning rock band Wilco, which he joined in early 2004. He was later featured in the cover story of Guitar Player Magazine for his newfound collaboration with the band.

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Jim Black has been playing drums for twenty-eight years. Born in 1967, he grew up in Seattle, WA, playing music ranging from garage rock to big band swing. In 1985 he went to Boston, MA to attend the Berklee College of Music. During this time he recorded numerous albums, performed in Europe and taught summer classes at Berklee. In 1991 he moved to Brooklyn, NY, and has since become one of the most in demand drummers in the jazz/new music scene today.

In addition to co-leading and composing for the groups Pachora and Human feel, Jim records and tours extensively with diverse individuals and groups including Ellery Eskelin; Chris Speed's yeah NO; Tim Berne's bloodcount; Dave Douglas' Tiny Bell Trio; Uri Caine's Mahler, Bach, and Berio Projects; and Laurie Anderson.

Jim is currently recording and performing with his quartet AlasNoAxis, and his latest CD, "Habyor", is available on Winter & Winter Recordings. He also regularly performs with the collective Balkan-music-inspired quartet, PAcHORA, featuring Skuli Sverrisson, Brad Shepik, and Chris Speed.

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A Bay Area native, Sickafoose spent some years in Los Angeles studying bass with Charlie Haden and composition with the great, late Mel Powell. Since then, he's been recording and performing with a ton of innovative folks and genre benders including Ani DiFranco, Don Byron, Trey Anastasio, Jenny Scheinman, Nels Cline, Ron Miles, Myra Melford, Adam Levy, Skerik, Stanton Moore, Bobby Previte, Scott Amendola, Will Bernard, Jessica Lurie, Erin McKeown, Gina Leishman, Carla Bozulich, Noe Venable, Etienne de Rocher, James Carney, Erik Deutsch, Shane Endsley, Tony Furtado, and Darol Anger.

The consistency of his personal voice within wildly diverse collaborations prompted the LA Weekly in 2004 to call Todd "one of the most comprehensive musical minds of this coast". Since 2005, Todd has been living in Brooklyn, NY.

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