Jerry Douglas an American Dobro player is often referred to as "Flux" by his peers, a nickname given to him as a result of his ability to play at amazing speeds with the slide. In addition to his eleven solo releases and countless special projects, Douglas's stellar fretwork has graced over 1600 albums encompassing a wide range of musical styles. As a sideman, he has recorded with artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Peter Rowan, Béla Fleck, Emmylou Harris, Phish, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Ricky Skaggs, Bill Frisell, John Fogerty, Nanci Griffith, Tony Rice, Elvis Costello, and James Taylor, as well as performing on the landmark O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. As a producer, he has overseen albums by the Del McCoury Band, Maura O'Connell, Jesse Winchester and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. He has been part of such notable groups as The Whites, J. D. Crowe and the New South, the Country Gentlemen, and Strength in Numbers. Since 1998, Douglas has been a key member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, touring extensively and playing on a series of platinum albums.When not on the road with Alison Krauss + Union Station, Douglas tours with his band in support of his extensive body of work. In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Douglas a National Heritage Fellowship.He has recently collaborated with Scottish fiddler Aly Bain serving as musical director and playing on the all-star roots-music summit Transatlantic Sessions III series for BBC Scotland. Douglas' main instrument is a Beard Resonator Guitar. Douglas has received twelve Grammy Awards. He has also won the Country Music Association's 'Musician of the Year' award three times, in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

A world class guitar hero, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, an international recording artist with over a dozen acclaimed solo albums to date, and a soundtrack composer for film and television, GARY LUCAS is on the move in 2007. Dubbed "The Thinking Man's Guitar Hero" by The New Yorker recently, "the legendary leftfield guitarist" by The Guardian, "Guitarist of 1000 Ideas" by The New York Times, and "a true axe God" by Melody Maker, the British world music magazine fRoots recently described Gary Lucas as "without question, the most innovative and challenging guitarist playing today." Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke recently wrote: "Gary Lucas is one of the best and most original guitarists in America" in a glowing review of Gary's latest album "COMING CLEAN" which has received 4 star rave reviews internationally. Gary was also selected recently by the editors of Down Beat Magazine as one of their "Hot 66 6-Stringers", alongside John McLaughlin, Richard Thompson, B.B King, and other guitar legends. GARY LUCAS tours the world relentlessly both solo and with several different ensembles, including his longtime band GODS AND MONSTERS, whose ranks once included the late singer JEFF BUCKLEY. Gary co-wrote two of Jeff Buckley's most famous hits, "Grace" and "Mojo Pin" when Jeff was in his group, songs which later became the title track and the first track on Jeff's double platinum Sony album "Grace"— which MOJO recently named the #1 Modern Classic Rock Album. Gary and Jeff's early collaborations can also be heard on the recent JEFF BUCKLEY and GARY LUCAS album "SONGS TO NO ONE", which charted internationally with worldwide sales approaching 100,000. Other notable recent GARY LUCAS releases include "THE EDGE OF HEAVEN", an album of Gary's lush arrangements of classic Chinese pop tunes from the 1930s, which received international raves everywhere from Rolling Stone to the Wall Street Journal to the Hong Kong Music Weekly. Gary also recently released a compilation of the best of his early band and solo work entitled "OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY", which garnered a 4-star MOJO review which stated: "This album confirms Gary Lucas as THE psychedelic guitarist for the post-modern set."

For more info visit: www.garylucas.com

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya is the global musician of modern India. From an early age of four Debashish has been into performance on the Hawaiian guitar. His parents honed his skills in the basics of Hindustani music. With intense training from Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra, Pt. Gokul Nag and Pt.Ajoy Chakraborty, Debashish formed a new approach to the slide guitar rendition of raga music. Indianising the foreign instrument. Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya was the first to add the taraf and chikari strings and also changed the string positions while developing an entirely new technique of tuning and playing raga music on the Hindustani slide guitar. His imagination was furthered by training from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Debashish's development of new slide guitars and his musical excellence sets him apart from other artists, both on the international circuit and among Indian musicians who play Indian music on western instruments. A designer musician, Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya has designed 19 guitars and currently tours the world with his Trinity of Guitars named- Chaturangui, Gandharvi and Anandi which he has patented. His work has earned him President of India Award in 1984, seeing his worldwide recognition so much the Asiatic Society honoured his contribution to Indian music in 2005, and recently his latest album 3 Calcutta Slide Guitars won the BBC Planet Award for World Music.

For more info visit: www.debashishbhattacharya.com

Ken Wessel is a versatile, sensitive and soulful guitarist and composer. A vital and personal voice on the jazz guitar, Wessel has worked in projects playing jazz, ranging from straight-ahead to free music and continues to explore world music. He has performed in 26 countries at major jazz festivals, concert halls and in radio and television appearances. Ken worked with revolutionary jazz artist Ornette Coleman for over 12 years (1988-2000), touring the world as a member of Prime Time, Ornette's groundbreaking ensemble. Ken can be heard on Ornette Coleman's critically acclaimed Polygram/Verve CD, Tone Dialing. Performing "Skies of America," Ornette Coleman's seminal work for symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble, Ken has appeared with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic and London's Philharmonia Orchestra. He has worked with artists from different shades of the jazz spectrum, including Gloria Lynne, Arthur and Red Prysock, Steve Turre, David Leibman, and Johnny Hartmann. Wessel has also shared the stage with musicians from the pop world, including Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, and can be heard on Donald Fagen's new album Morph the Cat. Ken has a strong interest in world music, particularly with North Indian music, and he has performed with Debashish Bhattacharya, Samir Chatterjee, Karaikudi Mani and others, creating points of intersection between jazz and Indian music. Wessel co-leads a trio with jazz tabla master Badal Roy and bassist Stomu Takeishi. The ensemble combines jazz with North Indian music, mixing odd meters and deep grooves with a strong group empathy. Their CD, Daybreak was included in JAZZIZ magazine's Top 10 Critics' Picks of 1998. They have performed together extensively throughout North America. In 1995, Ken and Badal toured India and the U.S. with their composition, "Testimony," which was commissioned by the Battery Dance Company. As a U.S. Jazz Ambassador, Ken has toured South Asia and South America, visiting India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bengladesh and Venezuela in 2002-03. Ken is an active composer (he has received numerous "Meet the Composer" grants) and also leads his own ensembles. His quartet, which has performed extensively in the Northeast, features original compositions by Wessel. About his most recent trio, CD, Jawboning, Derek Taylor in All About Jazz wrote, "...based on this auspicious debut my money says Wessel is one to watch." A dedicated jazz educator, Ken is currently on the faculties of the Music Conservatory of Westchester and Rutgers University. He has given clinics and Master classes at numerous institutions in the U.S. and overseas, including Yale University, Manhattan School of Music, Maihadol University in Thailand and Columbia University.