The multicultural NO WORLD IMPROVISATIONS ensemble is available as a duo, trio, quartet or quintet. This totally original world music group brings together virtuoso musicians from: Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The musicians provide a uniquely different music experience and have performed throughout Asia, North and South America and Europe, with recent appearances in Moscow, Berlin, Seoul, Paris, Tokyo, Australia, New Zealand and the Kennedy Center/Washington, DC.

As you can imagine, NO WORLD IMPROVISATIONS is visually interesting with original costumes from each of these cultures. In fact, it looks like a meeting of the United Nations! The performances are reminiscent of a universal musical village with African drums, Asian strings, and reeds from around the world. The group performs new work, as well as improvisations emanating from the roots of these cultures, evolving into a synthesis of world culture musical ideas, in a new and highly original context.

The four musicians in NO WORLD IMPROVISATIONS perform on a variety of instruments dating back over 3,000 years including double reed folk instruments from India, the world's only electric komungo (developed by Jin Hi Kim) and the Chinese pipa. The core ensemble consists of:

The Ghanaian percussionist ABRAHAM ADZENYAH has recorded and toured internationally with Ghana Dance Ensemble, where he was made a master drummer. He performed in 1988 at the Summer Olympics in Canada, the Fourth Tokyo Music of Joy, and the World Expo '88 in Australia. He published, released recordings, appeared as soloist with orchestras in addition to teaching at Wesleyan University for over twenty years.

Korean/ American JIN HI KIM appeared as soloist with the Kronos String Quartet at Lincoln Center, presented her new orchestra piece at Carnegie Hall in March, 2001, and is the first Korean/American to receive a composition grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and recently from the Rockefeller Foundation. Her performances world-wide are recognized for embodying an Asian grace and aesthetic with a Western sense of adventure and innovation.

Double reed virtuoso JOSEPH CELLI has worked with John Cage, jazz great Ornette Coleman and is the only wind player to tour with the Kronos Quartet. Celli performs on double reed instruments from around the world including India, Asia and Western instruments about which the VILLAGE VOICE states, "Celli is (America's) star transformer of the oboe …he's the premiere oboist…"

MIN XIAO-FEN was pipa soloist with the famed Nanjing National Music Orchestra and a winner at pipa competitions throughout China. Since her arrival in the USA in 1992, she has worked with the New York City Opera, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Chanticleer, the San Francisco Opera Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Symphony. She has recorded for Tzadik, Asphodel, Delos, Verve and BMG. Min’s solo recording, The Moon Rising (Cala), was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as "…one of the best CDs of 1996." also, her another recording Viper, a set of improvisations with Derek Bailey, was hailed by The Wire as " …one of The Wire 1998 Albums of the year". She recently premiered Tan Dun’s Peony Pavilion an opera with director Peter Sellars. "The pipa was played with ferocious aplomb by the remarkable Min Xiao-Fen." The San Francisco Chronicle

In addition to being well versed in the traditional repertoire, EDWIN 'MAGUEY' CEDANO, from Puerto Rico is a master of pre-Columbian Tiano music. He has performed in innumerable Latin music ensembles including with Tito Puente, Pearl Primus Earth Dance and jazz artist Jackie McLean. His recent CD is currently being featured on Native American powwows throughout the country.

The ensemble's appearances often times include radio, television and various educational components ranging from one hour lecture/demonstrations to experiential, long-term residencies. NWI have worked individually and collectively in a range of educational contexts with young people from the ages of 2 years through college. The ensemble has performed for multicultural college associations throughout the USA including festivals at SUNY/Buffalo, Yale, John Hopkins and others.

NO WORLD IMPROVISATIONS brings to contemporary American society an example of how very distinct individuals from very different parts of the world can come together in mutual respect to create something new and reflective of our distinct cultural resources. The unprecedented audience response has helped to make the ensemble one of the most interesting musical groups for performing arts series to have emerged in a number of years.

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