Mira Opalińska (b. 1982, Rzeszów, Poland) is a unique and engaging pianist based in Poland with over fifteen years experience performing in a variety of musical settings: from classical chamber music and concertos to jazz groups and big-bands.

A prodigious talent, Mira gave her first major solo performance in the Rzeszów Philharmonic Hall aged eleven, entering her first major competition shortly thereafter—the International Chopin Piano Competition in Göttingen, Germany. Laureate of many international competitions, her formative years saw her give numerous performances on the European concert and competition platform as well as broadcasting on national television and radio (TV Polonia, TVP Rzeszów, RP Rzeszów).

By the turn of the new millennium, Mira was expanding her horizons and exploring improvisation. In 2001 she was accepted to Poland’s most prestigious jazz institution—the Bednarska Jazz School (PSJ) in Warsaw—studying with the internationally recognised pianist Andrzej Jagodziński. Under the watchful eye of this renowned pedagogue, Mira immersed herself in the country’s rich jazz scene.

A move to Scotland in 2006 heralded a new stage in Mira’s burgeoning international career, the ensuing years also providing a period of continued study at the University of Strathclyde from where she graduated in 2010 with 1st Class Honours. Returning to Rzeszów in 2011, Mira continues to draw on her grounding in both classical and jazz disciplines, with regular performances in the UK and her native Poland.

Pauli Lyytinen (b. 1983) is a versatile, curious and experimental musician / composer with a self-confessed obsession for sound. With periods of study in Sao Paulo, Helsinki, Göteborg, Stockholm and Aarhus, and a masters degree in nordic jazz, one could be forgiven for expecting a player of ‘academic’ leanings—but the truth is far more intriguing. Regardless of genre, his approach to music is always organic, improvisatory and experimental in spirit. A truly creative and boundless talent, Pauli continues to explore the possibilities of his instrument, utilising extended sounds and techniques, pushing and probing the role of saxophone.

Nokia Young Talent 2004 nominee and Winner of the Jukka Perko Saxophone Competition 2007, in recent years Pauli has been concentrating on his own bands and projects, with some forty tours and numerous festival and club concerts since 2006. With a wide musical range from hardcore-free to experimental pop music, his most active bands at the moment are: Elifantree, Defekt, Kauhukakara, Raoul Björkenheim Ecstasy, Dramophone, Minor De Luxe and Astro Can Caravan. 

Douglas Whates (b. 1981, Ipswich, England) is a composer and bassist of British, German and Italian descent. Spending his formative years in the UK and the Middle East, he began his musical education aged 9—studying trumpet, piano and later guitar—his focus ultimately migrating and settling on double bass in his mid-twenties.

A gifted composer, he studied contemporary classical composition with Dr. Gordon McPherson at the RSAMD, graduating in 2004 with first class honours. He has had major works performed by the London Sinfonietta, Hebrides Ensemble, Paragon Ensemble; and cites the theme music for Nemesis Inferno—one of the UK’s most advanced roller coasters—as one of his more unusual commissions. His compositions are regularly performed throughout Europe and beyond.

As a bassist, his output encompasses a wide gamut of genres—ranging as it does from the classically informed World music of the uniquely constituted acoustic chamber ensemble Frevo Quartet, to an original take on European jazz with the Mira Opalińska International Quartet. Also with pianist Opalińska, Cinema Paradiso is a duo project which explores and reflects upon the rich tapestry of cinematic composition.

Olavi Louhivuori (b. 1981) grew up in Jyväskylä, Finland, surrounded by music and musicians. In 1998 Olavi enrolled at the Finnish Music Conservatory of Jyväskylä for 3 years, continuing his studies in 2003 at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, with Jukkis Uotila. Winning the competition of the ‘Young Nordic Jazz Groups’ three times (Joona Toivanen trio 2000, Ilmiliekki Quartet 2002 and Sun trio 2006) gained him numerous performances around the world, while his own group, Oddarrang, was awarded the highly coveted Jazz-Emma award for best jazz album 2006.

Besides playing drums, Olavi is also an accomplished composer; studying composing in Sibelius-Academy with Kari “Sonny” Heinilä and writing for a wide array of ensemble and his own group, Oddarang. The debut album from this quintet was awarded the Jazz-Emma (the equivalent of Grammies in Finland) for the best jazz album of the year 2006. In 2008 Louhivuori released his first album Inhale Exhale as a solo drummer.

For the past few years Olavi has performed with internationally acclaimed artists such as Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, Mats Eilertsen, Teppo Hauta-aho, and is a member of Tomasz Stańko’s new quintet.