Joplin was one of the greatest melodists in music history - his compositions deserve to be reinvented more often, not only by players in the classical jazz styles. In our interpretations remains some of the 'naive/melancholy/happy' feeling whis is associated to him and his period, but we try to transmit to the audience the depth of his music, with an eclectic approach that includes swing, free, latin, rock, country and other things. Klaus Lessmann: clarinet, soprano saxophone Riccardo Galardini: semi-acoustic and electric guitars Franco Fabbrini: electric bass Paolo Corsi: drums ABOUT KLAUS LESSMANN: Originally from Burghausen (Germany), he studied classical music and jazz at the Musikhochschule Graz (Austria) and has lived since 1986 near Siena in Italy. He teaches jazz (clarinet, saxophone, combo, big band, composition and arrangement) at the school of the Siena Jazz association and in other schools and workshops, and is the regional coordinator for Italy of the 'International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ)'. He also teaches music to kids in regular schools. He performs with all sorts of groups, from dixieland and gypsy jazz to contemporary music. He conducts the 'Siena Jazz Big Band' and two other comunity (big) bands and also writes a lot for his clarinet quartet. He has two books of jazz phrasing studies published by 'Ricordi'.