Rez Abbasi: guitar
Voted # 2 Rising Star Guitarist in the 2012 esteemed Down Beat International Critics Poll, Rez Abbasi has been forging new musical territory for over a decade. His new trio album, Continuous Beat (Enja), is his most daring recording as it captures him playing in an interactive setting throughout. In addition, Abbasi recontextualizes his Indian/Pakistani musical influences, as well as covers from Keith Jarrett and Thelonious Monk, by employing various electronics. With this multi-textural approach, there is a subtle coexistence between a warm jazz guitar trio and one that pushes perceptual bounds. Trio mates, John Hebert and Satoshi Takeishi share a 15-year musical relationship with Abbasi and it becomes apparent as audiences witness their chemistry onstage.
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, removed at the age of four to the vastness of Southern California, schooled at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical music, along with a pilgrimage in India under the tutelage of master percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Rez Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated influences and genres. Making New York home for the past 20 years, Abbasi has developed a unique sound both as a composer and an instrumentalist and is considered by many to be one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players the world over. He has performed and recorded with many jazz greats including, Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Barre Phillips, Tim Hagans, Marc Johnson, Billy Hart, Gary Thomas, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Mike Clark, Tony Malaby, George Brooks, Ronu Majumdar, Kadri Gopalnath,Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Marilyn Crispell, Greg Osby, Howard Levy and a host of others.
Satoshi Takeishi: drums
Satoshi Takeishi, drummer, percussionist, and arranger is a native of Mito, Japan. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Berklee he developed an interest in the music of South America and went to live in Colombia following the invitation of a friend. He spent four years there and forged many musical and personal relationships. Since moving to New York in 1991, he has performed and recorded in vast variety of genre, from world music, jazz, contemporary classical music to experimental electronic music with musicians including Carlos 'Patato' Valdes, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Eddie Gomez, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Anthony Braxton, Herbie Mann, Paul Winter Consort, Rabih Abu Khalil, Erik Friedlander, Ned Rothenberg, MIchael Attias, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, Lalo Schifrin and Pablo Ziegler. Dave Liebman, Mark Murphy, Herbie Mann, and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band. His unique style incorporates percussion and electronics with his traditional drum set.
Mark Dresser: bass
Mark Dresser is an internationally renowned bass player, improviser, and composer. At the core of his music is an artistic obsession and commitment to expanding the sonic, musical, and expressive possibilities of the contrabass. He has recorded over one hundred thirty CDs and has collaborated with some of the strongest personalities in contemporary music including Anthony Braxton, Ray Anderson, Jane Ira Bloom, Tim Berne, Anthony Davis, Dave Douglas, Osvaldo Golijov, Gerry Hemingway, Bob Osertag, Joe Lovano, Roger Reynolds, Henry Threadgill, Dawn Upshaw, and John Zorn. Since 2007 he has been deeply involved in telematic music performance and education. He is Professor of Music at University of California, San Diego.
"Calling contrabassist Mark Dresser a virtuoso is like saying Albert Einstein was good at math.” Robert Bush in San Diego City Times “Mr. Dresser, a bassist who is one of the great instrumental forces in recent American jazz outside of the mainstream..." NY Times