The Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME) was a loose collection of free improvising musicians, convened in 1965 by the now late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts. SME performances and recordings could range from Stevens–Watts duos to gatherings of more than a dozen players.
John William Stevens was an English drummer, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble.
Tim Berne is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones.
James "Blood" Ulmer is an American jazz, free funk and blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been called "raggedly soulful".
John Wallace Carter was an American jazz clarinet, saxophone, and flute player. He is noted for the acclaimed Roots and Folklore series, a five-album concept album set inspired by African American life and experiences.
Louis Tebogo Moholo, is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation.
Emanem Records is a record company and independent record label founded in London, England in 1974 by Martin Davidson and Madelaine Davidson to record free improvisation.
Kevin Norton is an American percussionist and composer active in the New York City jazz and contemporary music scenes. He has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Paul Dunmall, Milt Hinton, Fred Frith, David Krakauer, Joëlle Léandre, Frode Gjerstad, Wilber Morris, James Emery, Bern Nix, and many others. In 1999, he founded Barking Hoop Recordings, a record label dedicated to releasing new and original music. Kevin Norton has also spent summers at camp Encore/Coda in Maine teaching music theory classes and private percussion classes. The label has released 11 CDs to date, which feature Norton's own groups as well as artists such as Anthony Braxton, Kevin O'Neil, Billy Stein, and the String Trio of New York.
Ken Filiano is an American jazz and orchestral bassist based in Brooklyn, New York.
Nine Winds is an American jazz record label that was founded in 1977 by Vinny Golia.
Wayne Edward Peet is an American jazz pianist and organist, active chiefly on the West Coast jazz scene.
Ira John Rapson, III was an American jazz trombonist and educator.
Baikida Carroll is an American jazz trumpeter.
Øyvind Storesund is a Norwegian Rock and jazz musician known from playing in the Norwegian bands Cloroform and Kaizers Orchestra.
Anders Hana is a Norwegian musician (guitar), composer and marine biologist, known as a veteran of the bands Noxagt, Ultralyd and Moha!, and a series of wildlife projects in northern Norway.
Frode Gjerstad is a Norwegian jazz musician with alto saxophone as principal instrument, but he also plays other saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He has collaborated with Paal Nilssen-Love, Borah Bergman, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Bjørn Kjellemyr, Terje Isungset, William Parker, Sabir Mateen, John Stevens, Johnny Dyani, Kent Carter, and since 1979 has contributed to more than 50 recordings.
Rich Halley is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. He has released 24 recordings as a leader. As Down Beat described him: “Oregon-based saxophonist Rich Halley has been turning out smart brawny music for a couple of decades”. All About Jazz called his music “a sublime balance of the cerebral and visceral”.
Eivin One Pedersen was a Norwegian jazz musician from Stavanger, Norway.
Jon Rune Strøm is a Norwegian jazz musician.
