Catherine Bent, an alumna of Cirque du Soleil, has performed and recorded with Joe Jackson, Lee Konitz, Donna Summer, and many others. She is regarded in Brazil as the leading cellist in choro. Ian Coury is an award-winning 10-string bandolim player and composer from Brazil who has shared stages with Brazilian legends like Toninho Horta and Hamilton de Holanda.

The two have a musical connection that transcends their backgrounds and crystallizes around their passion for Brazilian choro music. Choro (pronounced “shoh-roh") is an instrumental music that has its origins in late 1800s Rio de Janeiro. It's been likened to New Orleans jazz, and shares that tradition's improvisation, soulfulness, and often irrepressible joyfulness.