Antonio Arce A natural on the drums. The fluidity that comes out of this guy... so many styles played so flawlessly. Antonio hails from Chile by way of Washington state. He attended Duke University and has performed with Paul Jefferys Jazz band, Branford Marsalis, John Brown, Chevy Chase, local funk R&B groups, always a steady face in the Durham jazz and "whatever music" scene. A rare treat to find such a talented and equally nice musician in the NC area.

Vishnu Gangadharan Where to begin. Yet another example of inner beauty of the spirit manifesting itself through music. Vishnu perorms electric piano with JAAFAR.This guy truly does it all- Zappa cover bands, classical, funky funk, jazz(studied under Paul Jefferys at Duke University),... just about anything you give him.We are greatly blessed to have his accompinment

Peter Merkx -darbuka, tabla, cajon, conga, and djembe, bringing with him flavors from every continent.

Peter performs with the Duke Djembe Ensemble, a West African percussion group playing rhythms from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
Peter has performed with other artists including The Duke Afro-Cuban Ensemble, Wade Baca (Oud, Flamenco guitar), the Blue Tribe Drummers (African Percussion troupe), The Beat (Egyptian Bellydance). Merkx has
studied Arabic, West African, North Indian (Hindustani), and Latin percussion from teachers Aloke Dutta (tabla solo), Bradley Simmons (conga, djembe), Ibrahima Camara (djembe, sabar, djun djun), Jerry Leake (tabla), Jesse Graham (darbuka), Polly Tapia Ferber (darbuka), and Sissoko Cheick Adama (djembe).

Chris Conley The most professional drummer I've worked with. His styles cover it all. He is in the pocket. He came to NC from Pennsylvania then Manhatten in a funk/ pop band VITAMIN J . After they disbanded, his name became synonamos with "perfect for the job". When he can he performs now with JAAFAR and THE FLOOD. He has also shared the stage with the Yardbirds and Animals reunion, various R&B, folk, rock, extremely talented. He is also a booking agent now-BUKD