Barry Wallenstein was born in New York City. He received his PhD in Literature and Modern Poetry from New York University in 1972. From 1965 until 2006 he taught literature and writing at the City College of New York where he founded the journal Poetry in Performance and the Poetry Outreach Center. His poems first appeared in 1964, and since then he has published nine collections. In the early 1970's he began collaborating with jazz artists in the performance and recording of his poetry, including saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler, and pianist John Hicks. He currently performs in New York City with pianist Adam Birnbaum and the internationally known French horn artist Vincent Chancey. In recent years, he has worked with Serge Pesce in France, Massimo Cavalli in Portugal, and the band Drastic Dislocations in Switzerland. In 2012 he composed lyrics for 8 ballads by the saxophone artist and composer, Pepper Adams. Taken from his website
Mike Hobart is an renowned and soulful saxophonist who has played with the likes of Esther Phillips and Maceo Parker. His first inspirations were the flowing freedoms of Miles Davis’ 1960s quintet and the soulful blues of Ray Charles, but a lot has happened since then. In Feb 2016 The Mike Hobart Quintet launched their album Evidential which 'puts it all together, adds new beats and keeps it swinging hard.' according to the website of the Vortex Jazz Club where it was launched.
