(from Harmonia Mundi):
http://harmoniamundi.com/espana/artistes_fiche.php?artist_id=666 Isabelle Faust studied the violin with Christoph Poppen and Dènes Zsigmondy. In 1987 she won First Prize in the International Leopold Mozart Competition, and in 1993 the Premio Paganini in Genoa. The renowned magazine Gramophone gave her its Young Artist of the Year Award for her first recording of sonatas by Béla Bartók, in 1997.
Jimmy Haslip played on the Brother to Brother album of Gino Vannelli. He is a founding member of the Yellowjackets and made 2 solo albums; Arc (1993) and Red Heat (2000).
Recognised for his mature and insightful musical interpretations, the young English 'cellist Richard Harwood began his studies with Joan Dickson, before continuing with other eminent teachers such as Steven Doane, David Waterman, Heinrich Schiff (University of Music and Dramatic Art, Vienna) and Ralph Kirshbaum (Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester). He complemented his studies by taking master classes and lessons with Mstislav Rostropovich, Janos Starker, Steven Isserlis...
Daniel Barenboim, KBE (born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings. Currently, he is general music director of La Scala in Milan, the Berlin State Opera, and the Staatskapelle Berlin; he previously served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de Paris.
After 26 years at the forefront of British chamber music, the Schubert Ensemble is firmly established as one of the world’s leading exponents of chamber music for piano and strings. Regularly giving over 50 concerts a year, the Ensemble has performed in over 40 different countries. In the last eighteen months it has performed in major concert halls in Europe and North America, including London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Hall, Oslo’s Konserthus and for the Coleman Chamber Series in California, and given a four-concert Brahms series for BBC Radio Three at St. George’s, Bristol.
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.
Lee Morgan (10 July 1938 - 19 February 1972) was an American hard-bop jazz trumpeter. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. In 1956 he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label; eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death.
April Verch is a Canadian fiddle and stepdancing champion and singer. Though her musical roots lie deep in the fiddling of her native Ottawa Valley, her repertoire also features traditional and contemporary tunes ranging in source and inspiration from Quebecois to the Appalachians, from Bluegrass to Brazilian. She has toured with the group Bowfire but also has her own April Verch Band.
http://aprilverch.com/site/press/.
Yngwie Johann Malmsteen (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerb
Jeff Loomis was the lead guitarist for the ground breaking metal band Nevermore. A player of many influences and styles, Loomis is often seen as one of the world's most talented and gifted metal guitarists. In 2008, he released a solo album entitled 'Zero Order Phase' (Century Media), featuring special guest appearances by fellow guitarists Ron Jarzombek and Pat O'Brien, legendary jazz bassist Michael Manring, and OFZ producer Neil Kernon.