Downbeat Magazine calls New York City-based jazz trombonist Mariel Bildsten “irrepressibly spontaneous.” Mariel has earned global distinction through her performances with Jon Batiste, Roy Hargrove, Jennifer Hudson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and the Mingus Big Band at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, London’s O2 Arena, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Apollo Theater. Her lyrical and swinging style has thrilled audiences around the world. Her records Backbone (2020) and Steppin' Out! (2023) received rave reviews.

Mariel Bildsten’s band has performed for sold out crowds at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Times Square, The Bickford Theatre, and the Caramoor Jazz Festival. She is featured in a monthly residency at the Django Jazz Club in New York City and released an album "Steppin' Out!" in August 2023. Mariel Bildsten’s band will be performing this year at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Perth International Jazz Festival, the Tilles Center Jazz Festival, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Argentinean born artist Sol Liebeskind has started her musical journey in 2009. She remains to be one of the most influential artists in the Jazz/ Soul scene in Buenos Aires, having participated multiple times at the Buenos Aires International Jazz Festival (2011, 2014, 2015); been an artist in residence at the prestigious Jazz Club Thelonious, having played dozens of shows in the past 10 years; she has released 3 albums as a solo artist (Soul Life Music Love in 2011, Building Bridges in 2016, and Love Child in 2019); and has also performed at some of the most important music venues in Buenos Aires such as Teatro Colón, Usina del Arte, Teatro San Martin, Anfiteatro Parque Centenario, among many others.

In 2015 she moved to New York City where she currently resides. There, in 2019 she recorded her latest album and has performed in New York countless times during the past 5 years at prestigious venues such as : Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Bowl, National Sawdust, Trinity Hip Hop Festival, Arthur's Tavern to name a few. She has also collaborated with artists such as Emanero (Argentina), Tomi Morano (Argentina), Bocafloja (Mexico) and Hache ST (EEUU) and has played shows in cities around the world such as London, Paris, Switzerland, Barcelona and San Francisco. 

The Dirt Whisperers are Eric Simons on guitar and vocals and Bradford Reed on pencilina and drums. Simons has played with Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, Brian Jackson of Gil Scott Heron, The Dukes of Brooklyn, Tractor Supply and Revel in Dimes. A Kansas native, Eric is heavily influenced by his home state’s blues, country, gospel and early jazz, but his style can sound as rooted in the Mississippi Delta as anywhere else.

Bradford Reed’s pencilina, his own invention, is an electric ten-stringed collision of the hammer dulcimer, slide guitar, koto and fretless bass. Reed played with King Missile III (and produced 4 of their records) and in the original band of The Blue Man Group as well as Satellite and The Harpoonist. Reed has also scored numerous films and TV shows, including Superjail! on Adult Swim and Ugly Americans on Comedy Central.

Stylistically the music of The Dirt Whisperers is grounded in traditional blues and classic soul, but it traverses many genres, adding in touches of gospel and Americana, while never losing track of good old American rock and roll. Eric’s guitar can growl or whisper or even call on the steely sounds of a National Resonator. Both drums and bass are simultaneously covered by Bradford on a minimal drum kit and the pencilina which constantly adds in unexpected tones and textures that are often difficult to explain. There might be a bow tantalizing the strings or harmonics ringing from the sticks, which act as movable bridges, riding the strings like a ship on the high seas. While the collaboration of Simons and Reed may seem experimental (and it can be!), The Dirt Whisperers pride themselves on singing and playing melodies that will hook your eardrums while their beats get your ass shaking.

https://linktr.ee/thedirtwhisperers

https://soundcloud.com/user-393434657-462379043

Oskar Stenmark is a flugelhorn and trumpet player from Gothenburg, Sweden, but is currently residing in New York. Oskar has studied with: Lew Soloff, Phil Markowitz, Dave Liebman, Jim McNeely, Jan Allan, Gregory Gilbert, Anders Jormin, Dominic Derasse, Scott Wendholt, Per Ivarsson, Tony Padlock, Luis Bonilla, Lars Lindgren, Peter Asplund, Frank Green, Johan Åkervall, & Klas Nilsson. Oskar leads his trio, quartet and octet, and has worked with Maria Schneider Orchestra, David Byrne, Timbuktu (SWE), Bohuslän Big Band and La Barriada (Havana).

Oskar Stenmark NYC Quartet plays traditional melodies from Sweden, inherited from Oskar’s ancestors mixed with New York jazz. The lyrical melodies will give you a Nordic flavor, but the rhythm, harmony and feel can only be found in New York City. Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, Oskar is the 7th generation in a family of professional musicians. He eventually picked up the trumpet and received a Bachelor in Improvisation from the University of Gothenburg in 2013. Oskar moved to New York a year later to pursue his musical dreams, he received a Master’s in Jazz Performance and composition from the Manhattan School of Music in May 2016.

Stenmark has performed with stars such as Chris Potter, Dave Liebman and the multiple GRAMMY award recipient Maria Schneider Orchestra. The quartet features some of the most sought after musicians in New York, hailing from the U.S. and Sweden. Oskar plays flugelhorn exclusively, an instrument that blends better with the traditional melodies. Oskar has recorded an album with the original melodies at Studio Epidemin (Gothenburg), it was released in May 2014 and is available on Spotify and iTunes. Oskar currently resides in New York, working with the tradition and music of his ancestors.