FILMMAKERS

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Thomas Paige is an artist, musician, and producer from Los Angeles, California. He holds a degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and has been chronicling The Gathering and The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra over the past 15 years. He has been a producer on multiple recordings, music videos, and projects including several independent short films. The Gathering - Roots & Branches of Los Angeles Jazz is his first documentary feature.

Jesse Sharps is a composer, bandleader, and musician that grew up in Los Angeles, California where  he was an early member and bandleader in Horace Tapscott's Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. He performed and taught music in Germany for many years before returning to Los Angeles in 2005 to archive the music of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. Following that process Jesse arranged a summit and recording session featuring members of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra along with several local legends, and rising young stars on the scene. Two of Jesse's most popular songs were recorded at the session, Desert Fairy Princess, and Peyote Song III. Emerging from that session was a multi-generational music project called The Gathering, resulting in the release of several recordings, including the album "Leimert Park: Roots & Branches of Los Angeles Jazz," as well as performances at festivals and venues throughout the greater Los Angeles region. Under the leadership of Jesse Sharps The Gathering continues to branch out and evolve, embracing new players and musical explorations.