Andrés Vial (pronounced Vee-al) is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser and educator from Montréal.
He has collaborated with Joe Chambers, Peter Bernstein, Ingrid Jensen, Malika Tirolien (Bokanté), Ivan Neville, Michael Blake, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, André White, Kevin Dean, Greg Cohen, Al McLean, Kalmunity, Gamelan Giri Kedaton and many others.
An esteemed drummer and educator, Billy Hart is one the foremost jazz performers of his generation, capable of balancing propulsive swing with a nuanced sense of group dynamics and improvisational flow. Following his early years backing Shirley Horn and Jimmy Smith in the 1960s, Hart emerged at the forefront of the ’70s fusion movement, playing with Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band, as well as Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and others. Though Hart led few of his own sessions during the first two decades of his career, albums like 1977’s Enchance and 1985’s Oshumare found him balancing experimental elements with acoustic post-bop traditions.
