Born in Austria in 1972. At the age of 7 he started to study the piano at the Music School of Feldkirchen, and four years later he began to study the saxophone there, obtaining his degree in 1990. The same year he started studying jazz saxophone and composition at the Music High School in Graz, finishing with a diploma in 1995. In 1996-99 Marko Lackner studied jazz saxophone, arrangement and composition at the Music High School in Cologne in Germany and graduated with first-class distinction. Over the years Marko Lackner has played with, among others, the Austrian Jazz Orchestra, Big Band Süd, Jazztet Forum Graz, Mark Murphy & Nine Piece Band, the German Youth Jazz Orchestra, Radio-Television Slovenia Big Band and many more. Marko Lackner has also been commissioned to compose for a wide range of orchestras including Big Band Süd, Sunday Night Orchestra (CD: Voyage Out), Ansgar Striepens/Ed Partyka (CD: Tunnel Vision), Bam-berg Symphony Big Band (DVD: Gershwin meets Renaissance), Summit Jazz Orchestra (CD: Release in April 2000), Jazz Big Band Graz and the NDR Big Band. Marko Lackner’s excellent skills on the saxophone have also took lessons with Robert Morgenthaler, Stanley Clarke (classical trombonist) and Andy Scherrer. Besides this he took private lessons with Lutz Mandler and John Allred. Bernhard Bamert was a member of the Swiss Jazz School Big Band under the leadership of Bert Joris. He graduated in 1999. At pre-sent he plays bass trombone and euphonium in a number of bands, for instance Grand Mother’s Funk, Mats Up, Joe Haider Jazz Orchestra, Martin Streule Jazz Orchestra and others.