A leading drummer on the national scene, Texas-born Eric Harland has performed with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Joe Henderson and McCoy Tyner, and has played on more than 70 recordings with such artists as Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussain. In DownBeat’s 65th Annual Readers Poll, he was included in the short list of top drummers, in the company of masters like Roy Haynes and the late Elvin Jones. In 2010, Harland claimed DownBeat's top spot in the Rising Star Drummer category of the Annual Critics Poll for the third straight year. His debut recording as a leader, Voyager, Live by Night, was released in 2011 and features saxophonist Walter Smith III, guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Taylor Eigsti and bassist Harish Raghavan. 

Edward Simon was born in the coastal town of Punta Cardón, Venezuela, where he grew up in a family of musicians surrounded by the sounds and rhythms of Latin and Caribbean music. Settling in New York City in 1989, he played with numerous jazz masters, including Herbie Mann, Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard and Don Byron. He has produced elevn critically acclaimed albums as a leader, including two New York Times top ten jazz records of the year: Edward Simon (Kokopelli, 1994) and Simplicitas (Criss Cross, 2005). In 2010 Simon was named a Guggenheim Fellow, and his latest trio CD, Danny Boy, has recently been released.