IDRIS ACKAMOOR is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, tap dancer, actor, director, and producer. He is the Founder and Executive/Co-Artistic Director of the San Francisco performance company Cultural Odyssey. Idris' primary instrument is the alto saxophone and his playing style seeks to process the masterful jazz tradition of the instrument into a personal vocabulary characterized by extended range, brilliant technique, pure tonal quality, circular breathing, and individual expression.

Idris has rightfully been in the spotlight of late thanks to the awesome collection of his material released on the Japanese EM label (The Music of Idris Ackamoor 1971 - 2004) as well as the renewed interest in his 1970's legendary band, "The Pyramids". IKEF Records of Chicago has just released all three Pyramids' albums on vinyl including "Lalibela" (1973), "King of Kings" (1974), and "Birth/Speed/Merging" (1976). In the spring of 2010 IKEF will release a CD box set of all three albums. In 2004 Idris released his third CD entitled, "Homage to Cuba". In 1999 Idris released his second jazz CD entitled, "Centurian" and in 1998 he recorded and released his first CD entitled "Portrait".

Idris has performed with tenor saxophonists Chico Freeman and John Tchicai, percussionist Don Moye of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the Cecil Taylor Orchestra at the 1995 San Francisco Jazz Festival, bass player Wilber Morris, the late alto player Charles Tyler and guitarist Vernon Reid. In 2001 the Idris Ackamoor Ensemble toured Europe performing at the Nurenburg International Jazz Festival, as well as other clubs in Austria, Germany, and Holland. During the 90's he was a regular at the Ocho Rios Jamaica Jazz Festival (1993-98), performed and taught at the Rotterdam International Jazz Festival in Holland (1993), and toured Europe performing in Austria, Germany and Holland in a jazz duet with pianist Hakim Mohammed (1994). During the summer of 1996 Idris toured Japan performing his unique act of playing saxophone and tap dancing simultaneously.

During the early 80's Idris' jazz band was first invited to perform at European jazz festivals such as The Moers New Music Festival, and the Nuremberg International Jazz Festival in Germany, the Groningen Jazz Marathon in Holland, and the Niclesdorf Jazz Festival in Austria. One of Idris' most influential teachers was piano virtuoso, Cecil Taylor. He studied music performance and composition with Mr. Taylor as a student at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio where he graduated in 1973 receiving a B.A. in Music. During his studies at Antioch, Idris took a year leave of this country in order to seek out his artistic freedom. Arriving in Paris, France with the idea of forming a musical group, he was co-founder of the black music ensemble, The Pyramids, which released 3 albums and received international acclaim. Idris has also studied tap dance with the legendary rhythm dancer Al Robinson and many others. Mr. Ackamoor has received many awards for his work including a GOLDIE Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Most recently he received a Meet The Composer and American Composers Forum grant for composing new music, and a San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Artists Commission.

FREDERICK HARRIS is a concert and jazz pianist, music director, and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Higgins, Charlie Haden, Albert Tootie Heath, Rebecca Parris, Kurt Elling, Chico Freeman, Billy Hart, and others, as well as Bay Area artists, including Miss Faye Carol, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, Eddie Marshall, and Dr. Margie Baker. He is a soloist and clinician, and recently conducted concerts and master classes in Arizona sponsored by Sherman Clay/ Steinway&Sons. Frederick has toured extensively in the U.S. and abroad, with Idris Ackamoor, the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, and with Chico Freeman/The LEADERS. For the last 15 years Frederick has been arranger/co-music director with Idris Ackamoor and Cultural Odyssey, having recorded 3 albums and performed in numerous productions and tours. Mr. Harris is also an arranger for Miss Faye Carol and other Bay Area artists and has been the Minister of Music/Co-Musical Director at the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church for 16 years. His experience in musical theater includes over 20 years of rehearsal/stage piano and percussion (drum set) work in various theater houses including Theaterworks, the Lorraine Hansberry Theater and the California Theater Center.