Live improvisation is a window into the instant of creative inspiration. Although the skills required to improvise fluently require years of diligent practice, a rare momentary state of mental clarity and physical attunement gives voice to an unpredictable, yet nuanced form of expression. Three world renowned women improviser/composers—jazz soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, Chinese pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen, and South Indian veena artist Geetha Ramanathan Bennett—will perform and talk about their approaches to their artistry. They will play in solo, duo, and trio configurations. In addition to their music, each is an accomplished creator in a different artistic domain, namely Ms. Bloom's abstract photography, Ms. Xiao-Fen's Chinese textile art and calligraphy, and Ms. Bennett's Tamil short stories. They will discuss what compels their artistry as musical improvisers, and how it relates to their expression in other art forms. As women playing traditionally "non-feminine" instruments in their respective musical cultures, they will consider similarities as well as differences in their musical thinking. They will be accompanied by drummer/composer Dr. Frank Bennett on mrdangham (South Indian drum).

Geetha Ramanathan Bennett is an accomplished veena and vocal artist who has performed extensively in India, the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Her experiments with the fusion of Indian classical music and western styles began in the mid 1990s, when she was invited to perform as a veena soloist in selections from Scheherazade with the Colgate University Orchestra in Hamilton, New York. Other fusion projects have included a major tour of Europe and the U.S. with percussionist Trilok Gurtu's world muic ensemble The Glimpse. Geetha has performed both as a veena player and vocalist on guitarist Andy Summers' fusion album Peggy's Blue Skylight, showcasing compositions of jazz bassist Charles Mingus. She sang for the Hollywood feature film The Guru and her veena can be heard in the Imax film 'Everest'.

Jane Ira Bloom is a soprano saxophonist, composer, and a pioneer in the use of live electronics and movement in jazz. She is the winner of the 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition, the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award for lifetime service to jazz, the Jazz Journalists Association Award and the Downbeat International Critics Poll for soprano saxophone, and the Charlie Parker Fellowship for jazz innovation. Bloom was the first musician commissioned by the NASA Art Program and has an asteroid named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union. She has received numerous commissions composing for the American Composers Orchestra, the St Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and Pilobolus Dance Theater, integrating jazz performers in new settings. She has recorded and produced 13 albums of her music and holds degrees from Yale University and the Yale School of Music. Bloom is currently on the faculty of the New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in NYC.

Min Xiao-Fen is a composer and pipa player for both orchestral and underground projects. She plays traditional and modern Chinese music, interpretations of American Jazz and bluegrass, and her own compositions. She was featured soloist with the New York City Opera, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the San Diego Symphony, and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, among others. Her solo concerts include the Vienna Music Festival, the Utrecht International Lute Festival, the Geneva Music Festival, the Berlin Chinese Music Festival, and the New York Guitar Festival. Min has taught master classes and was an artist in residence at schools and universities across the United States and Europe, including the Juilliard School, the Texas A&M University, the Boston Conservatory, the New School, the Haystack Mountain School of Arts Crafts, and the Amsterdam Conservatory.