Ali Siddiq & Josh Johnson in Nashville

Ali Siddiq is an American stand-up comedian and writer from Houston, known for detailed autobiographical stories shaped by his childhood and time in prison. His best-known work includes the “Mexicans Got on Boots” story from Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, the special Bigger Than These Bars and the multipart Domino Effect series. Ali Siddiq began performing comedy for fellow inmates while incarcerated, then developed his act in Houston comedy clubs after his release. He later returned to a correctional setting for Bigger Than These Bars, performing before an audience of inmates at Bell County Jail in Texas.

Josh Johnson is an American saxophonist, composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He makes experimental jazz centered on alto saxophone, electronics and layered rhythm, and is known for the solo albums Freedom Exercise and Unusual Object. He is also a member of the improvising quintet SML. Johnson has toured as a saxophonist in Leon Bridges’s band, taking his playing beyond the clubs and arts spaces associated with his own projects. He later joined Jeremiah Chiu, Anna Butterss, Booker Stardrum and Gregory Uhlmann for improvised performances at ETA; recordings from those sets became the basis of SML’s self-titled debut.