Misha Piatigorsky
Vibrant jazz pianist, composer and producer, hailed by the Boston Globe as the artist who “beautifully merges the worlds of serious jazz and pop,” — Misha blends powerful melodies with an unusual harmonic sensitivity. It's a sound with a deeply personal yet cosmopolitan dimension, reflecting his experience as a Russian-Jewish émigré growing up in urban America. The great nephew of legendary cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, with international upbringing followed by international acclaim, he works in New York City to advance the modern jazz sound beyond the standards. He leads a number of projects including The Sketchy Orkestra – his innovative ensemble band some 20 people strong.
Vinicius Gomes
Born in São Paulo - Brazil and currently living in New York, Vinicius is a guitarist and composer that explores the dialogue between modern jazz and Brazilian music, as registered on his debut album, Resiliência (2017). His second album, "Changes", in collaboration with spanish saxophonist Santi De la Rubia, featuring drummer Jorge Rossy and bassist Doug Weiss was recently released in 2021.
His career includes collaborations with saxophonist Seamus Blake (with whom he toured south America in 2019),, grammy Award winner drummer Edu Ribeiro’s trio, accordionist Toninho Ferragutti (recording two albums including the Brazilian Music award winner “A Gata Café”), mexican singer Magos Herrera, Zizi Possi (as a guitarist and musical director), Thiago Espirito Santo and many others.
Vinicius was part of the Focus Year Program in Basel- Switzerland, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Billy Childs, Dave Liebman, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Guillermo Klein, Mark Turner, Julian Lage, Norma Winstone, John Hollenbeck, Jim Black and others. With the Focus Year Band Vinicius won the 2019 Keep An Eye Award in Amsterdam.
He has been performing extensively in Europe, Latin America and the U.S. in festivals such as Vienna Jazz (Austria), Offbeat (Switzerland), Riviera Maya Jazz (Caribe - Mexico) Portón del Jazz (Spain), Savassi Jazz (Brazil), Festival de Jazz de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Capão Jazz (Brazil), Jazz a la Calle (Uruguay). Vinicius has performed with his own project and as a collaborator in important venues such as Bimhuis (Amsterdam), Smalls (NY), National Sawdust (NY), Blue Note (NY), JazzForum (NY), Duc Des Lombards (Paris), Sunset Sunside (Paris), Hot Club de Lyon, B-Flat (Berlin), Zigzag(Berlin) Bird’s Eye (Basel), Porgy And Bess (Vienna), Washington D.C, San Francisco, Budapest Jazz Club, Lisboa, Zurich, Luzern, Kohln, London, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Colombia, Paraguay and Chile.