Paul Mindy

Percussionist, singer and composer, Paul Mindy, also a percussion teacher is one of the most eminent specialist of brazilian music living in France. His renowned skills and his strong personality as a percussionist leads him to play with great musicians such as : Richard Galliano, Trilok Gurtu, Ayrald Petit, Carlo Rizzo, Franck Tortillier, Dave Samuel, Baden Powell, or Nicia Ribas d’Avila, one of his inspiring master._

He is a permanent member of the group QUAI n°5(Decca/Universal), a surprising quintet which is revisiting classical western music standards. Today his work is more oriented to researches of existing links between musical worlds apparently different._

His carreer had been granted with many prizes and honours : _ 1988 – Prize Georges Brassens_ 2001 – Assemblée Nationale’s Prize_ 2002 – Charles Cros Académie’s Prize_ 2005 – ADAMI’S prize_ 2008 – Disque d’Or for the « Comptines du Baobab » (Edition Didier Jeunesse)

Ravi Prasad

His versatile talent and great artistic freedom find their roots in his childhood, growing up in a family of Radjas in Kerala (South India).
In 1985, he moves to France carrying a solid reputation as a carnatic (sacred) songs singer and is soon interested in jazz, electro-acoustic and contemporary music. A compulsive interest translating itself into collaborations with Bernard Lubat, Gérard Marais or the great flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler (several tours in Germany, Spain).
But above all Ravid Prasad is a show-man. He teams up with choreographer Régine Chopinot for 3 creations with the “ Ballet Atlantique ” (Hue Festival in Vietnam, Festival of Avignon, tours in India) and gets interested in the musical and mythical tradition of his homeland with “Malbar Experience” (collaboration with musicians from the Reunion island) and with “Ponguël”, a musical in which he is first of all an actor along with Céline Arnaud. The retreat he took from his own culture allows him to dissociate himself from a millennial tradition in the first “Indian Polyphonies” ever composed, as well as the Indian symphony “Mythia” created in 1996 at the UNESCO Palace and the Olympia to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the United Nations.
His taste for acoustic experimentation and musical crossbreeding knows no limit, Ravi Prasad will therefore always be found where he is least expected.

Carlo Rizzo

Carlo Rizzo was born in 1955 in Venice (Italy). He studied to become a painter at the Fine Arts Academy of Rome but he abruptly switched his focus to music wich had been until then a past time. In 1979 he discovered the tambourine with Alfio Antico and Raffaele Inserra, two traditional percussionists from Southern Italy. He continued studying the tambourine on his own and little by little discovered the traditional repertories as well as ancient and modern music, covering the entire range of possibilities for hand played percussions. From musician he grew into an inventor. He designed a new instrument, a polytimbral tambourine that adapts to all types of repertories which he mastered with virtuosity and develops with his own sense of improvisation. Since 1988 he has formed a lot of musical groups in traditional, contemporary or jazz music

Adel Shams el-Din

_Born in Cairo in 1950 where he learns his art in a traditionnal way. He met Fathi Guened, a famous egyptian composer who initiate him to the derboukka. Today, his total mastery of even the most complex rhythmic cycles have made him a much respected performer on the riqq. (little frame drum with cymbalettes) He is one of the mainstays of the Al-Kindi Ensemble ever since it was created in 1983, with whom he has performed with the most beautiful voices of Middle East (Lotfi Bouchnak, Sheikh Hamza Chakour…). He is also accompanist for Fawzy Al-Ayedi in duo or other formations.