PACO SÉRY/ LINLEY MARTHE (ZAWINUL SYNDICATE)

At the age of nine, Paco Séry learned to play self-taught on a self-built drum kit. In 1978, already a local celebrity, he met Eddy Louiss, who took him to Europe. The collaboration with Louiss lasted seven years. He also played with Nina Simone for two years. After a jam session with Jaco Pastorius in Paris in 1985, Pastorius hired him for his European tour. Between 1995 and 2007 he played with Joe Zawinul's band The Zawinul Syndicate.

Zawinul said of him: “The best drummer I've ever heard or played with, and I've played with all of them.”

Séry has worked with the following artists, among others: Monty Alexander, Mino Cinelu, Dee Dee Bridgewater, André Ceccarelli, Billy Cobham, Michel Colombier, Manu Dibango, Eddie Gomez, Jean-Michel Jarre, Salif Keïta, Éric Le Lann, Didier Lockwood, Ray Lema, Bernard Lubat, Claude Nougaro, Michel Portal, Mike Stern, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter and Henri Salvador.

In Mauritius, Linley Marthe taught himself bass guitar, double bass and piano as a self-taught musician. He worked as a musician and music producer and, after a collaboration with François Jeanneau, moved to Paris in 1993, where he underwent academic training and still lives today.

Marthe is regarded as one of the most original and virtuoso electric bassists of our time. He first played in Philippe Sellam/Gilles Renne's African Project and was active with Joe Zawinul from 2003. He has also played with Cheb Mami, Mino Cinelu, Dave Liebman, Andy Emler, Trilok Gurtu, Didier Lockwood, Richard Galliano, Lionel & Stéphane Belmondo, Sylvain Beuf, Flavio Boltro, Nguyên Lê, Michel Portal, Baptiste Trotignon, Louis Winsberg, Francis Lassus, Kadero Ray, Chander Sardjoe and Hans Lüdemann. He was also involved in recordings by piano rising star Grégory Privat.

Ben Kraef is a German-Montenegrin saxophonist and composer based in Berlin. Ben graduated from the University of Music “Hanns Eisler”, Berlin and obtained a Master of Arts from The City College of New York in 2009 where he was also awarded the Billie Stoller Scholarship to an outstanding scholar and musician in 2008. The list of internationally renowned musicians Ben has been performing and recording with includes luminaries Lalo Schifrin, Fred Hersch, Pee Wee Ellis and Till Brönner as well as pop groups such as „Wir Sind Helden” and the radio big bands of HR and WDR.

Uri Gincel is one of the most in demand and respected Jazz pianists in Berlin. Gincel´s style can be described as heavily rooted in tradition but with sensibility and understanding of bringing jazz into the modern age. His playing is dynamic, lyrical and above full of energy and power! Born in Tel-Aviv, Gincel came to Berlin in 2009 and quickly became an influential part of the Jazz scene, Uri toured the world with many projects, including "Uri Gincel Trio” and “Bonaparte” and studied under some major musicians as Arnie Lawrence and Walter Blending Jr.