Elsa Nilsson’s latest work Liminal (2026, Adhyâropa Records) examines the internal process of navigating life-altering decisions, and draws on texts by Clarissa Pinkola Estés and James Baldwin. The Swedish-born, former Seattleite, now Brooklyn-based flutist and composer, performs with her group Band of Pulses — Santiago Leibson (piano), Marty Kenney (bass), and Rodrigo Recabarren (drums). Composer Carmen Staaf, in the words of Herbie Hancock, “is a consummate jazz pianist … not afraid to go into the unknown and challenge herself.” Staaf became the youngest faculty member at Berklee College of Music and thereafter was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. Her most recent album Sounding Line (2025, Sunnyside Records) is dedicated to finding the connection between two brilliant and revolutionary pianists, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams. Originally from Seattle, Staaf now calls New York home.