Lluc Casares (1990). Devoted to music since a very early age, Lluc grew up surrounded by the sounds of Sonny Stitt and Louis Armstrong, but also the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and Earth, Wind and Fire to just name a few. His father, Pau Casares, was his very first clarinet teacher and mentor. Nowadays, Lluc lives in New York City being part of the prestigious Artist Diploma Ensemble at the Juilliard School of Music. Through his career, he has performed with Dr. John, Nicholas Payton, Frank Wess, Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Jon Faddis, Jesse Davis, Arturo Sandoval, Wendell Brunious, Grant Stewart, Perico Sambeat, Ben Van Gelder, Joris Roelofs or Benjamin Herman among others.


Lluc got his Bachelor’s degree at ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya) and his Masters at CvA (Conservatorium Van Amsterdam) studying with the local legend Ferdinand Povel and having the chance to spend one semester at Temple University (Philadelphia) with Dick Oatts.

He has recorded more than 20 albums as a sideman and his first as a leader, RED (Temps Records, 2015), made possible for him to play under his name at the most important venues in Amsterdam and Barcelona. His second album, Sketches Overseas (Outside In Music, 2018), features Joel Ross, Philip Dizack, Addison Frei, Mark Lewandowski, Francesco Ciniglio and is coming out this fall. Lluc also performed in major jazz festivals around Europe like the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Marciac Jazz Festival, Jazz Middelhein, Baloise Session, and Festival de Jazz de Terrassa among others.

Within the education field, Lluc taught at the CSMIB (Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears) in Palma de Mallorca from 2015 till 2017 and at the Torino Conservatory and several international schools in Shanghai with the Juilliard AD Ensemble. Lluc also conducted successfully his very first Summer Jazz Workshop in Barcelona in 2018. He’s also a D’Addario artist using its reeds, mouthpieces and ligatures among other accessories.

Duo Astrov / Gussarov is an impressionist, fragile sounding formation from Estonia. 

Soundscape of the duo derives from the tradition of contemporary classical music, but also finds it's inspiration from improvised musical forms.

Artjom Astrov is a guitarist and composer. At the moment he studies jazz music at The University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy with Ain Agan and Robert Jürjendal.

Ilja Gussarov is a flutist and also a composer. After years of studying classical music, he now studies jazz at the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy under the guidance of Raul Sööt.

Čudars - Draksler duo was formed in 2013 in Amsterdam. Since their existence the duo has been playing extensively and internationally (The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Argentina, Brasil, Peru). They have been developing their specific language through original compositions and free improvisation. Their influences come from the common jazz education and experiences in improvised and contemporary classical music. Their research of sound is expanded by occasionally substituting the piano with the Fender Rhodes or the church organ, by their usage of percussion instruments, and by participating in interdisciplinary projects (visual arts). The duo is interested in pushing the boundaries of sound possibilities of the particular setup, trying to incorporate their varied individual musical experiences and influences. 
Čudars-Draksler duo has been selected as "Young VIP Artist 2015". Same year they released their debut album "Miniatures from our Living Room", available here: www.cudars-draksler.bandcamp.com 


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