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Red Room Sat: "3081"--the Formanek/Dierker/Ballou/Redman quartet!
Saturday, May 17th, 8:30, $5
3081:
John Dierker (reeds)
Dave Ballou (tpt)
Michael Formanek (bass)
Will Redman (drums)
Two sets of amazing improvised music from this fabulous quartet! Don't miss it! Some of the strongest jazz-post-jazz improvisors on the East Coast, and they are from Baltimore!
John Dierker: "Multi-reedman John Dierker has become a major improvisational stylist…interweaving concepts augmented by howling lines, injections of blues-drenched choruses and Albert Ayler-like display of energy." (All About Jazz) A Baltimore, Maryland native Dierker has worked in a wide variety of musical settings collaborating with Peter Zummo, Jason Willett, Jad Fair, and The Basement Boys. John is a longtime member of Lafayette Gilchrist and The New Volcanoes. Currently he is working with Quartet Offensive, Microkingdom, and 3081, a group that includes Michael Formanek, Dave Ballou and Will Redman.
Dave Ballou has released eight internationally recognized CD's as a leader for the SteepleChase record label. He has performed or recorded with ensembles led by Michael Formanek, Kevin Norton, Maria Schneider, Andrew Hill, Dave Leibman, Oliver Lake, Joe Lovano, Sheila Jordan, Steely Dan, Rabih Abou-Kahlil, Don Preston and an extensive list of jazz personalities. Dave has performed Bach's Brandenberg Concerto #2 with the Bella Musica Orchestra of NY, Larry Austin's Improvisations with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Gunther Schuller's Journey into Jazz with the Spokane Symphony and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. He also was a featured soloist for the premiere of Schuller's Encounters, a composition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Jordon Hall. Dave has composed for each of his SteepleChase releases as well as numerous arrangements and original works for a wide spectrum of genres. His work for solo trumpet, "Samskara" was commissioned by Jon Nelson of the Meridain Arts Ensemble. He earned a BM (magna cum laude) from Berklee College of Music in 1986 and a MA from the University of New Hampshire in 1991. Dave is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Music at Towson University.
Michael Formanek's singular approach to the acoustic bass has led to an impressive range of musical associations. During his thirty-plus year career, he has played and/or recorded with Elvis Costello, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Marty Ehrlich, Chet Baker, Tony Williams, Gerry Mulligan, Bob Mintzer, Fred Hersch, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Mark Isham, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band, Mingus Big Band, Terumasa Hino, Cedar Walton, Attila Zoller, George Coleman, Jane Ira Bloom, Bob Moses, Gunther Schuller, Peter Erskine, Joe and Matt Maneri, Gary Thomas, Harold Danko, Dave Burrell, and many others. Composition also plays a significant role in Formanek’s overall musical profile, and four albums of his original music, Wide Open Spaces, Extended Animation, Low Profile and Nature Of The Beast have been released to critical acclaim on the Enja label. Am I Bothering You, a recording of solo bass performances made for Tim Berne’s Screwgun label, has firmly established itself as an important contribution to that genre. Formanek produced or co-produced all of these recordings and among the featured musicians are Greg Osby, Tim Berne, Mark Feldman, Dave Douglas, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Marty Ehrlich, Wayne Krantz, and Jim Black. Formanek received Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation and Presentation Grant for 2000-2001 to compose a new piece for the Tim Berne/Michael Formanek Duo, which was recently performed in Philadelphia as part of the Chamber Music America Encore program for 2007. Formanek was commissioned to compose an original piece for the 150th anniversary of the Peabody Conservatory. The piece, The Open Book for Jazz Soloists with Orchestra, was premiered at Peabody in February of 2007, and featured members of the Peabody Jazz Orchestra and the full Peabody Concert Orchestra under the direction of Hajime Teri Murai. Current projects include Tim Berne’s bloodcount, together with saxophonists Time Berne and Chris Speed, and drummer Jim Black, which has reunited after a ten-year hiatus, and 3081, a Baltimore based quartet featuring trumpeter Dave Ballou, saxophone and clarinetist, John Dierker, and percussionist Will Redman.
Will Redman says: I am a composer, percussionist, and teacher. I play and write as much bent music as is possible (really, how much music is possible?). My music has been heard by audiences in houses, dive bars, nightclubs, restaurants, art galleries, parks, amphitheaters, record stores, book shops, hotels, and concert halls. I have some degrees in music - University of Maryland at Baltimore County (BA), the University of Southampton (MA), and SUNY Buffalo (PhD) - and have studied composition and/or percussion with Stuart Saunders Smith, Kevin Norton, Jeff Stadelman, Tom Goldstein, and Michael Finnissy; I have learned a lot from friends such as John Dierker, John Hughes, Todd Whitman, Jonathan Vincent, Bill Sack, Evan Rapport, and others. My most recent compositions, such as Book, are graphically fantastic scores that are intended to be interpreted by musicians of varied backgrounds and abilities. Some of my recent performances have included free improvisation with baritone saxophonist Steve Baczkowski; a dramatic lecture/recital with musicologist Jaime Currie and the Open Music Ensemble; solo drum set recitals (evoking both Max Roach and Morton Feldman’s The King of Denmark); high-energy improvised rock-ish music with Microkingdom (Marc Miller (of the Oxes) and John Dierker); free jazz with 3081 (Dave Ballou, Mike Formanek, John Dierker) and drum and/or lo-fi electronics improvisations with many other good friends.