michael 
I had a fantastic experience in Manizales, Colombia in late April 2015, participating in the Festival Internacional de la Imagen, sponsored by the Department of Visual Design at the University of Caldas. I really enjoyed the people there, including so many curious and diverse students, and I’m so grateful to Mario Valencia, Juan Reyes, Juan Pablo Cáceres, Hector Fabio Torres, and Elizabeth Granados, among … Read more
It was a pleasure and privilege to join Nicole Mitchell, Joelle Leandre, and Derf Recklaw for a set of improvised music at the Blue Whale in February. Joelle was passing through SoCal and gave a fantastic talk at our university that morning. She and Nicole have a unique duo together and played an incredible first set that night to celebrate a new … Read more
It’s always a joy to play with bassist-composer Mark Dresser’s quintet, on either coast. Last week, we performed some of Mark’s new compositions in San Diego with a west coast lineup, including flutist Nicole Mitchell joining the band for the first time, and pianist Joshua White and drummer Kjell Nordeson. Once again, the dedicated listener-scribe Robert Bush wrote a beautiful review of the concert.
In November 2014, I enjoyed performing two concerts in CA with my trio, featuring Chris Tordini and Dan Weiss, in which we premiered a new scorestream composition that was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation. Titled Somewhere In The Upstream, this piece is dedicated to my former teacher Yusef Lateef, who passed about a year ago. If you missed the concerts, you can … Read more
I enjoyed starting fall 2014 performing 4 gigs with some fantastic bands. The first was to premiere some new compositions by Mark Dresser with his quintet at Cornelia St. Cafe in NYC, along with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Denman Maroney and Michael Sarin. Then back on the west coast I had another chance to play on LA’s excellent Angel City Jazz Festival, … Read more
I’m grateful to be featured in a “players profile” by Joe Tangari in the current issue of Downbeat magazine. It’s subtitled “Interactive Systems” and he discusses my trio and my work with live electronics, as well as composing for telematic concerts. And my latest trio CD, Resonating Abstractions, was also reviewed this month in All About Jazz magazine by Robert Bush, … Read more
I’m honored to be on this fantastic new CD on New World Records by Marty Ehrlich, a musician I deeply admire and also a mentor and friend. His Large Ensemble features an incredible group of people, including some veteran master musicians on our scene. The title track is especially powerful, a concerto-like work featuring the beautiful sounds of J.D. Parran, … Read more
My new trio CD, titled Resonating Abstractions, is now out on Clean Feed Records. It’s a multi-part composition that was inspired by seven contemporary abstract painters and commissioned through Chamber Music America’s “New Jazz Works” award, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. It also features the phenomenal artistry of my collaborators, Christopher Tordini on bass and Dan Weiss on … Read more
With the extreme cold weather in the northeast US this year, few things would make me excited about leaving southern California in February for a tour that goes as far north as Montreal… but this is one of them: 5 concerts with a fantastic band led by my longtime friend and collaborator Jason Robinson and featuring Bill Lowe, Marty Ehrlich, Oscar Noriega, Liberty Ellman, Drew … Read more
I’m thrilled to be performing two concerts in Southern California with drummer Han Bennink, violinist/violist Mary Oliver and bassist Mark Dresser. They’re all phenomenal improvisers and wonderful people, and it’s always a special privilege to play with Han, who has been part of this music’s history since the 1960s and has such a beautiful mix of intense energy and deep … Read more
Yusef Lateef passed away today, at the age of 93. Yusef will always be an inspiration for me. He was the first teacher who helped me develop a practice of creating my own music as a composer-improviser, and he provided a profound model for what that could mean. He was one of the most exceptionally dedicated, imaginative and curious musicians … Read more
I’m looking forward ending 2013 by playing music with some fantastic people in New York City, New Haven (CT) and Northampton (MA), including two gigs with the Mark Dresser Quintet (Firehouse 12 and Cornelia St. Cafe), one with my own trio (Seeds in Brooklyn) and one with some friends in Northampton. Details are on the events page – hope to … Read more