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Tano Brock, a native of San Francisco, California, was introduced to the world of music at an early age. Growing up, he attended various music camps and festivals throughout California with his family, where he was exposed to diverse global sounds. It was Turkish and Middle Eastern music that particularly captivated him, especially the percussion, which inspired him to begin studying the darbuka.
As a teenager, Tano expanded his musical repertoire to include woodwinds, piano, and guitar, ultimately honing in on the saxophone and clarinet as his primary instruments. His passion for folk music from the Balkans, Turkey, and Greece led him to travel extensively to deepen his understanding of the region’s rich musical traditions. During his travels, he studied under renowned masters like Bekos Beko (Kočani Orkestar) in Macedonia, Zhani Struga in Albania, and Burakcan Güneren in Turkey.
While studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Tano founded Sarma Brass Band, which he continues to lead. It was at Berklee where he also had the privilege of collaborating with an array of international musicians, including Panos Aivas (Greece), Tamara Jokić (Serbia), and Han Beyli (Azerbaijan). Over the years, Tano has shared the stage with legendary clarinetists such as Hüsnü Şenlendirici, Ismail Lumanovski, and Sal Mamudoski.
Now based in Los Angeles, Tano works as a music producer and mix engineer, while regularly performing with several groups, including Inspector Gagje brass band. His unique blend of global influences and knowledge of diverse instruments continues to shape his ever-evolving musical journey.
Mavrothi Kontanis is an eternal student of music on a range of instruments and voice, focused especially on the older music of Greece and the Near East. Based in the US but with roots in Halkidiki, Greece, he is known better as a singer in some circles or a teacher in others, but feels most at home crafting a melody with an oud in his hands.
Detroit native, Felicia Goldberg has spent her life studying all genres of music, specifically traditional music from the Balkans from a young age. She grew up playing violin and percussion, then landed on trombone as her primary instrument. She studied trombone at Wayne State University, but her love of Balkan music brought her to study in Macedonia and Serbia in 2019. Her original project, known as “falooshh”, draws influence from many genres, but she is excited to bring it back to her musical roots with this incredibly talented trio!