Italian clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi was born in Perugia and studied both modern classical music and jazz improvisation. At first, he focused on performing modern compositions under the direction of figures like John Cage and Gunther Schuller, among many others. However, in 1992, he cut the jazz-oriented recording Coloriage with accordionist Richard Galliano, which helped make a name for him on the European jazz scene. Eventually, Mirabassi chose to focus solely on jazz; he went on to perform at numerous high-profile jazz events in Europe and beyond, and began recording regularly for Egea in the mid-'90s. 1995's Fiabe was a duo outing with pianist Stefano Battaglia, and the 1996 quartet session Come Una Volta helped him win an Italian award as the year's top new talent. 1997's Cambaluc was a larger-scale outing that teamed him with Galliano, his brother Giovanni on piano, guitarist Battista Lena, organist Riccardo Tesi, and the Namaste Clarinet Quartet. Mirabassi teamed with guitarist Sergio Assad for the 1999 duets album Velho Retrato, and formed a regular trio with accordionist Luciano Biondi and tuba player Michel Godard. This lineup dominated 2000's acclaimed Lo Stortino; the same year, Mirabassi recorded Luna Park with a horn-heavy sextet. 2001's 1 - 0 augmented the trio with mandolin player Patrick Vaillant, and Mirabassi also recorded with Rabih Abou-Khalil that year.

Edmar Castañeda is a Colombian harpist. He performs his own compositions as well as tapping into native music of Colombia and Venezuela.
He was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category "Best Latin Jazz Album" with his album Family. In fall 2021, Castañeda's performance was heard in Disney's latest film, Encanto, which features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Castañeda acts on the soundtrack and serves as music consultant on Encanto. Upon arriving in the United States in 1994, Colombian-born Edmar Castañeda has made a name for himself as the preeminent jazz harp virtuoso. Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition with a diverse set of styles and genres while bringing unbridled attention to a somewhat unfamiliar instrument: the harp. Singlehandedly, Castañeda has cemented the harp’s place in jazz with innovative technique and heartfelt creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with music titans such as Sting, Bela Fleck, John Scofield, Ricki Lee Jones, Hiromi, John Patitucci, Pedrito Martinez, Marcus Miller, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ivan Lins, The Yellowjackets, Paco De Lucia, and Paquito D’Rivera.
NPR’s “Fresh Air” touts, “...his technique is the real astonishment. Castañeda juggles lead, rhythm and bass lines, using a variety of hard and soft string attacks to keep those voices distinct - all without giving up the groove...His amazing technique...raises the bar for every harpist.”
The New York Times notes, “...Castaneda...engages modern jazz in ways that honor...cultural origins, and he has the capacity to astonish by virtue of his fingerstyle technique.” Moses Sumney highlights his “5 Favorite NPR “Tiny Desk Concerts” and says, “My brain cracked open when I first saw this. Some classical instruments are so ingrained in our heads for sounding one way; Edmar restructures what we know of harp, defiantly expanding the bounds of the instrument.”

Cast: Gabriele Mirabassi (Clarinet), Edmar Castaneda (Harp)