Trio M

Pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser, and drummer Matt Wilson comprise Trio M, one of the most dynamic trios working in jazz today.

Trio M brings together three visionary jazz artists with their own extensive track records with other adventurous ensembles. This volatile ensemble explores compositions contributed by every member while maintaining a commitment to spontaneous improvisation. Unbound by piano trio conventions, the leaderless project erases distinctions between frontline and accompanist, requiring each player to shape the music’s flow as it unfolds. The resulting sounds can be fierce and beatific, playful and rigorous, earthy or abstract, extravagantly joyous or quietly introspective. The only constant is the triumvirate’s wondrous capacity to listen deeply and respond to one another other in unexpected ways, creating state of the art jazz that’s unbound by notions of genre, form, or conventional technique.

Originally from Chicago, Myra Melford gravitated early in her career to musicians associated with the AACM collective such as violinist Leroy Jenkins and alto saxophonist/composer Henry Theadgill. She’s first gained attention with her brawny trio featuring bassist Lindsey Horner and drummer Reggie Nicholson. Known for her high energy, percussive attack, Melford is also a deliciously lyrical player with a passion for classical Indian music (the harmonium has become an important textural element in her sound). An inventive composer and inveterate creator of bands, she has recorded with many ensembles, including The Same River, Twice, with trumpeter Dave Douglas, cellist Erik Friedlander, drummer Michael Sarin and Chris Speed on reeds, and Equal Interest, a cooperative trio with Joseph Jarman and the late Leroy Jenkins. Her other projects include a duo with reed master Marty Ehrlich, a quartet she co-leads with clarinetist Ben Goldberg and Be Bread, a quintet with trumpeter Cuong Vu and bassist Stomu Takeishi. Since 1991, she has appeared on more than 30 critically acclaimed recordings, including 17 as a leader or co-leader. Based in Berkeley since 2004, Melford is an Assistant Professor of Improvisation and Jazz in UC Berkeley’s Music Department.

A central figure in avant-garde jazz for more than three decades, Los Angeles-native Mark Dresser emerged out of the vital but often overlooked Southern California free jazz scene in the early 1970s through his work in drummer Stanley Crouch’s Black Music Infinity, a seminal avant-garde ensemble featuring cornetist Bobby Bradford, altoist Arthur Blythe, flutist James Newton and reed player David Murray. Moving to New York in 72 he forged the beginnings of life long musical relationships with Ray Anderson, Anthony Davis, Gerry Hemingway, and Mark Helias. Relocating once again to New York in the mid-80’s, he spent nine years in the prolifically recorded quartet of saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, while forging deep ties with a myriad of creative musicians including, Jane Ira Bloom, Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Fred Frith, Earl Howard, Denman Maroney, Ned Rothenberg, and John Zorn. Dresser is also a founding member of the influential ARCADO string trio with Mark Feldman and Hank Roberts. Whether performing in jazz or new music settings, playing a solo recital with custom-designed electronics or a multimedia project with his own ensembles, Dresser approaches every musical situation with probing intelligence and dazzling aural intuition. A Professor of Music at his alma mater, UC San Diego, Dresser has appeared in over 100 CDs including ten as a leader and a staggering array of musical personalities, and is a highly regarded composer who has received numerous commissions.

Matt Wilson is considered one of the most creative jazz artists of his generation. He allows any musical setting to flow and explore with child-like fascination. His versatility and enthusiasm has been welcomed by a wide range of ensembles including those led by Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, Joe Lovano, Denny Zeitlin, Frank Kimbrough, Dena Derose, Ted Nash, Bill Mays and many others. Wilson has appeared on over 165 recordings as a sideman and has recorded 7 acclaimed recordings for Palmetto records. He currently leads three ensembles that perform worldwide- Arts and Crafts, the Matt Wilson Quartet and the Carl Sandburg Project as well as being a co- leader of Trio M. Wilson has been voted #1 Rising Star Drummer for the past 5 years in the DownBeat Critic’s Poll and his group, Arts and Crafts, was voted #1 Rising Star Small Group in the 2007 poll. The Jazz Journalists Association voted Matt Wilson Drummer of the Year in 2003.

Sarah Jane Lapp and Mark Dresser
Animated Jazz Experiments
Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 7:00 pm
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park

There’s a long history of animators and jazz musicians working together. Sarah Jane Lapp is a Seattle-based Renaissance woman, visual artist and filmmaker, who typically takes on abstract and ethnographic subjects in her finely rendered hand-drawn experimental animations. Mark Dresser emerged from the L.A. “free” jazz scene of the early 70s, and is often considered one of the master bassists of modern jazz. Lapp’s dreamy animation combined with the improvisational elements of Dresser’s music creates sonorous textural explorations of memory, place and social nostalgia in our religious imaginations. Join us for the world premiere of Dresser’s live accompaniment to Lapp’s animations including the Seattle premiere of her newest film Chronicles of A Professional Eulogist. Tickets $12 at the door. Attend the film screening and receive a 50% discount on regular general admission to the evening concert of Trio M.