WE ARE BIRDS

A Finnish Jazz pianist, Tuomas A. Turunen is a member of various famous bands performing on the Nordic Jazz scene. He has been performing for the past ten years in various international Jazz events and festivals including Pori Jazz, Jazz Baltica, Montreux Jazz Festival, Getxo Jazz, Swedish Jazz Celebration and Jazz in Dakar.

Tuomas also recorded eleven albums with his different formations (Skalle & Sharon, Emil Brandqvist Trio, Kauhukakara, Wonga... ). Tuomas studied Jazz at the University of Göteborg, in Sweden, from 2004 to 2009, with musicians Lars Jansson and Anders Jormin. In 2009 he received the Jazz Award from the Swedish Royal Music Academy and in 2010 Tuomas won the Special Jury Prize for the Piano Contest at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Tuomas lives now in France and works as a composer and a freelance musician.

Emmanuel Soulignac began his carreer as a Rock bass player in the 1990s and added the double bass to his palette following a meeting with Michel Zenino. He wins the First Prize of Excellence in electric bass in 2003 and graduated from the French Musical Confederacy after completing his studies in Jazz double bass.

Emmanuel founded the Bass Institute F. Darizcuren in Marseille, where he is teaching his two instruments. He is also a member of several bands : Afro-groove style , Jazz , but also Pop Rock & Folk, Delta Blues, Rock 'n Roll and Gospel. At the same time, his bass accompanies the "Convergence" tuba concerto with Thomas Leleu and the Marseille Opera Philharmonic Orchestra. He also participates in international jazz festivals such as "Jazz in Dakar", Sahel Festival", "Jazz in St-Louis" with the Wato band (afro groove) or "Jazz in Porquerolles" in the South of France.

Thanks to his Massilia Sound Gospel membership, his bass/double bass polyvalence and fairly 70's sound, Emmanuel collaborates to Don Billiez' last album (Jan 2018).

He produced We Are Birds' first album as well as the "Live Somewhere" DVD and is now working on the next album "No Return", which is expected mid-2018.

Dimitri Reverchon is a drum player bred in Ivory Coast to the sounds of African beats and a wild traveler of African deserts. He lives in Southern France and in Saint-Louis of Senegal, where he learnt percussion : the Calabash and Sabar.

Dimitri is the founder and composer of the band Wock in Senegal, that won the "Discovery Prize" from Radio France International in 2000 and also got nominated as "Best World Album" for the Music Awards with the Keeman album. Dimitri also signed the world theme song for the Paris-Dakar Rally for 6 years and collaborated as a composer and arranger with Phil Collins for the Little Dream Foundation. He also made music for picture for some Ushuaïa TV shows.

Dimitri is now collaborating with the Cape Town diva Sibongile Mbambo, as her percussionist and sound co-engineer.