Something in the Air

Expanding The Sonic Palate With The Flexibility From A Little Big Band’s Broad But Not Overpowering Instrumentation

Although they were the ensemble of choice for configurations like Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven, Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool sessions, Carla Bley’s groups and Ulrich Gumpert’sWorkshop Band, the little big band of seven or eight musicians has a curious jazz history. Although infrequently on the road, in the studio the group is both bare bones and fleshed out, giving composers and arrangers the maximum amount of sonic colours created by the minimum number of musicians.
One method of using this is demonstratedby American bassist Michael Formanek whonow lives in Portugal. On New Digs (IntaktRecords CD 457 intaktrec.ch michaelformanekintakt.bandcamp.com/album/newdigs-dolby-atmos), he augments his statesideThumbscrew trio of drummer Tomas Fujiwaraand guitarist Mary Halvorson with Portuguesetrumpeter João Almeida and US alto saxophonistJohn O’Gallagher, who lives in Lisbon, plus Canadian tenor saxophonist/ clarinetist Chet Doxas and UK organist Alexander Hawkins.Despite the soul jazz implications suggested by guitar and organ only one of Formanek’s nine compositions – Aka The Stinger – with Hawkins’ organ slides and stops, Halvorson’s rhythmic strokes and Doxas’ slurs and quickened double tonguing, is overtly funky. Otherwise, Hawkins, who usually works as a pianist, uses his dual keyboards for ghostly resonations and pinpointed reverberations on tunes such as Prequel and Quinze. In tandem with guitar frails and double bass stops on the first, he extends the exposition until his ostinato meets contrapuntal drum thumps.Quinze on the other hand balances on speedy organ pulses as three horn vamps splinter with Almeida proffering triplets and swift puffs to both saxophonists’ honks and snarls. Emphasizing timbral accords, instrumental subsets ensure that lyrical story telling is emphasized as much as dissonant variations. At points O’Gallagher builds solos from upwards moans and bites intensified by guitar string tweaks and a bouncing bass line. But shifts in the narratives introduce tougher responses such as portamento brass breaths and string sweeps before initial themes are recapped.
Formanek doesn’t stud the tracks with multiple bass solos. But on Gone Home/Interlude For Susan Alcorn, a threnody for a steel guitarist, he takes advantage of the subsequent multiple sonic colours depicted by other bands members. Initially solo, he then directs his mordant and moving extended bass line towards a full band response that combines harmonized reed patterns and muted brass grace notes. These tender group undulations avoid being maudlin when Halvorson unleashes a coda of a jarring Hawaiian-guitar like twangs.

https://www.publico.pt/2026/09/04/culturaipsilon/critica/americano-escavacoes-lisboa-2185589

New Digs, de Michael Formanek: um americano em escavações em Lisboa ("an American on excavations in Lisbon")

IT:
Il nuovo progetto di Michael Formanek rivoluziona completamente l’assetto nel quale, in anni recenti, lo abbiamo visto di più esibirsi, che è quello del trio Thumbscrew, peraltro «assorbito» in questo settetto, come una specie di cellula di base. Infatti, la prima esibizione di questo gruppo risale al 2023, al festival di Guimarães, e aveva previsto l’innesto sul trio degli altri componenti di New Digs, a partire da Hawkins. Doxas, inoltre, faceva già parte del Drome Trio, con Vinnie Sperrazza e lo stesso Formanek. Oltre alla dimensione di «ponte» tra America ed Europa, si pone quella della confluenza tra due assetti strutturali, che riflettono anche due distinte modalità di esercizio della funzione di conduzione. Infatti, se Thumbscrew agisce come collettivo paritario, dotato di una leadership a rotazione, il nuovo settetto – che non è semplicemente quel trio «allargato» -, ha un leader dichiarato, una «guida» (e peraltro abbiamo sempre pensato che tale ruolo fosse quello maggiormente calzante per le attitudini di Formanek), che indirizza gli incastri e disegna le strutture poi rimesse alla creatività dei musicisti. Naturalmente, la radicale diversità dell’impianto strumentale e timbrico, unita alle ampie possibilità combinatorie, cambia anche l’organizzazione del materiale sonoro, composto per unità modulari, atto a frazionarsi in suddivisioni interne, generative di assetti dialogici e conversativi molteplici, in interazione fra loro, pur restando parte di una cornice più ampia. Al cuore della questione – oltre alla geniale idea strutturale dell’organo di Hawkins, che crea una massa armonica continua e una tessitura elettrica «groovemica» -, rimane la forza della dorsale ritmica, in lavorio incessante: un flusso pulsante che sa essere compatto e cadenzato, tanto quanto di sostegno alle architetture più angolari. I fiati operano come una prima batteria esterna, ricca di soli e di interazioni, che proietta in avanti la scena, sfruttando la capacità di fuoco come una leva comunicativa diretta, ma contribuisce anche a inspessire il reticolo armonico. La chitarra di Mary Halvorson opera, come al solito, ma forse con efficacia ancora maggiore, in un continuo dipanarsi di grovigli, in contrasto con le altre esposizioni tematiche, fra consuete tessiture psichedeliche e scivolamenti ritmici, non lesinando neppure sapidi interventi strumentali. Il settetto, dunque, riesce felicemente ad agire come una piccola orchestra (per colori, stratificazioni, varietà compositiva resa possibile dalla ricchezza delle risorse), pur conservando la capacità dinamica e interattiva propria dei più piccoli nuclei di azione in cui si scinde, lasciando così coesistere condotte avventurose ed esplorative con parti di più schietto impatto, proprie degli organici ampi. Come si diceva, le squisite capacità di Formanek come leader si trovano esaltate ai massimi livelli, a partire dalla scelta degli assetti dell’organico, per finire alla straordinaria qualità delle composizioni e degli arrangiamenti.
L’opera era attesa, e già scorrendo i nomi si poteva immaginare che il gruppo non potesse fallire il risultato. Ne arriva la conferma, in un disco da non perdere.

DE:
Das neue Projekt von Michael Formanek stellt die Besetzung, in der wir ihn in den letzten Jahren am häufigsten auftreten sahen – nämlich das Trio Thumbscrew –, völlig auf den Kopf; dieses Trio ist übrigens als eine Art Kern in dieses Septett „eingebunden“. Tatsächlich geht der erste Auftritt dieser Gruppe auf das Jahr 2023 zurück, beim Festival in Guimarães, und sah die Einbindung der anderen Mitglieder von New Digs, angefangen bei Hawkins, in das Trio vor. Doxas gehörte zudem bereits zum Drome Trio, zusammen mit Vinnie Sperrazza und Formanek selbst. Neben der Funktion als „Brücke“ zwischen Amerika und Europa kommt noch die Verschmelzung zweier struktureller Formate hinzu, die auch zwei unterschiedliche Arten der Ausübung der Leitungsfunktion widerspiegeln. Während Thumbscrew als gleichberechtigtes Kollektiv mit wechselnder Leitung agiert, hat das neue Septett – das nicht einfach nur dieses „erweiterte“ Trio ist – einen erklärten Leiter, einen „Führer“ (und wir waren übrigens schon immer der Meinung, dass diese Rolle am besten zu Formaneks Fähigkeiten passt), der die Zusammenhänge lenkt und die Strukturen entwirft, die dann der Kreativität der Musiker überlassen werden. Natürlich verändert die radikale Verschiedenartigkeit der Instrumentierung und Klangfarbe, verbunden mit den umfangreichen Kombinationsmöglichkeiten, auch die Organisation des Klangmaterials, das aus modularen Einheiten besteht und sich in interne Unterteilungen aufteilen lässt, wodurch vielfältige dialogische und konversative Strukturen entstehen, die miteinander interagieren und dennoch Teil eines größeren Rahmens bleiben. Im Mittelpunkt steht – neben der genialen strukturellen Idee von Hawkins’ Orgel, die eine kontinuierliche harmonische Masse und eine „groovemische“ elektrische Textur erzeugt – die Kraf...

From solo to quartet, Michael Formanek has already recorded several times for the Swiss label Intakt.

This time, the bassist and composer proposes a septet. A septet that he had the opportunity to present at a festival in Portugal a few years ago and whose music had therefore matured before entering the studio.

The basis of this ensemble and part of its originality is linked to the presence of a Hammond organ, an instrument that Formanek had never included in his music before but with which he had already performed in his youth.

Here, however, the organ is not used in a groove context as was traditional in the 1960s. On the contrary, it brings an original color, and it is not surprising that Formanek called on British keyboardist Alexander Hawkins, a musician who always has surprises in store, given his diverse influences, and who, in addition to other acoustic and electric keyboards, has been playing the organ since his youth. Around this core of double bass and Hammond organ, Formanek has brought together musicians with whom he is familiar: guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, as well as others who are less well known: the three wind players John O’Gallagher, Chet Doxas, and João Almeida.

At the head of this septet with its original sound, Formanek offers music of great richness, often complex without ever being dry, in which the soloists contribute greatly, through their timbre and their interventions, to the success of a project that confirms the leader’s talents, both as a composer and soloist and as a bringer together of companions with strong identities.

Line up:

Michael Formanek: double bass

Alexander Hawkins: Hammond organ

John O’Gallagher: alto saxophone

Chet Doxas: tenor saxophone, clarinet

João Almeida: trumpet

Mary Halvorson: guitar

Tomas Fujiwara: drums

New Digs was released on March 20, 2026 by the label Intakt Records

https://couleursjazz.fr/michael-formanek-new-digs//

Die Story könnte so beginnen: Als Formanek „New Digs" avisierte, versuchte er zunächst den brillanten Pianisten Alexander Hawkins zu engagieren. Ein geradezu genialer Coup, denn er setzte ihn an eine Hammond B3. Dazu holte er Mary Halvorson (Gitarre), Tomas Fujiwara (Schlagzeug) und vervollständigte die Crew mit den drei avancierten Bläsern John O'Gallagher, Chet Doxas und João Almeida. „aka the Stinger" hat diesen Soul-Jazz-Swing und Halvorson passt sich diesem für sie eher etwas ungewohnten Umfeld mit einem Stil à la Jim Hall eindrucksvoll an. Formaneks Bass übernimmt oft die Basspedale der Orgel, agiert dabei aber deutlich flexibler. „Quinze" präsentiert sich als Jazz der 60er Jahre, wobei Hawkins' Hammond-Orgel an Larry Young erinnert. Hawkins Sound auf „Nigh Total" geht in Richtung analoger Synthesizer des frühen Psychedelic Rock (Silver Apples etc.). Geradezu überwältigend die Abschiedsballade „Gone Home – Interlude for Susan Alcorn" – allein für das „farewell" an die Gitarristin lohnt sich – New Digs!

Michael Formanek Thriving in his New Digs

The bassist and composer reflects on his new Intakt Records release and his recent move abroad.

Since COVID, there has been a steady trickle of jazz musicians emigrating from the United States to Portugal. Alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher was one of the first American musicians to make the move to Lisbon in 2021. Brooklyn-born, Grammy-winning keyboardist-composer-producer and ’80s Miles Davis collaborator Jason Miles followed in November 2022. Pianist Aaron Parks moved with his family to Lisbon at the beginning of 2024. Other musicians relocating to Portugal in recent years include British saxophonists Andy Sheppard (2016) and Julian Argüelles (2021) and American drummer Jeff Williams (2023).

Bassist, composer and bandleader Michael Formanek left for Portugal with his wife, photographer Sandy Eisner, in May of 2023, settling in the rustic village of Paú in Torres Vedras, about 45 minutes from Lisbon. He’s been thriving in his New Digs, the name of his fifth album for the Zurich-based Intakt Records and 25th overall as a leader or co-leader (including seven with Thumbscrew, the cooperative trio he formed in 2014 with guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara).

A native of Pacifica, California, Formanek began his professional career in the Bay Area as a teenage sideman to the likes of Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Art Pepper and Tony Williams, before relocating to New York in 1978 at the age of 20. Through the ’80s and ’90s he played a pivotal role on the Big Apple jazz scene, leading his own bands, collaborating with such musical renegades as Tim Berne, Marty Ehrlich, Jim Black, James Emery and Jack Walrath, and working as a sideman to living legends like Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

In 2001 Formanek moved to Baltimore and accepted a part-time teaching position in the newly founded jazz department at the Peabody Conservatory. He later moved to Towson, Maryland when the job became full-time.

New Digs, recorded at a studio just seven minutes away from Formanek’s home, is a remarkable septet offering that deftly straddles exacting compositions and pure improvisation. Joined by his Thumbscrew colleagues Halvorson and Fujiwara, Lisbon residents O’Gallagher and trumpeter João Almeida, along with Montreal-born, Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist Chet Doxas and Oxford, UK–based pianist Alexander Hawkins (playing Hammond B-3 exclusively on this session), Formanek radically pushes the envelope on what an organ group can sound like.

A lifetime ago, when we were both living in Manhattan, I wrote the liner notes for Formanek’s 1990 debut as a leader, Wide Open Spaces, on the Enja label (with Greg Osby, Wayne Krantz, Mark Feldman and Jeff Hirshfield). Now from an ocean away, the ever-evolving 68-year-old’s music sounds just as potent and penetrating and visionary.

Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.

You’ve amassed such an expansive discography and played in so many different settings, from small groups to your 19-piece Ensemble Kolossus. I remember seeing you perform material from The Distance with that big band at an ECM showcase during the 2016 Winter Jazz Festival. On the other end of the spectrum from that is the intimate duo album you recoded with your son Peter on saxophone (Dyads, Out of Your Head Records, 2021).
Yeah, we recorded that just before the pandemic, in 2019. Peter had been into music and improvising since he was a little kid. And when we were living in Baltimore, friends would come down to play gigs in town — Jim Black, Tim Berne, Marty Ehrlich. They’d come over and hang out at the house and we’d always end up playing and jamming.

Peter was a pretty good guitar player in his early teens and he could really shred some metal. He mostly had that kind of heavy groove going on, but he could solo too. But he would sit at any instrument and just play it. He eventually gravitated to saxophone. Then when he was a little older, for his 18th birthday, I did a gig at Cornelia Street Café with Jim Black, Jacob Sacks, Tim Berne, myself and Peter playing a bunch of my music. So music was always going on with him.

He later went to school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and when he graduated in 2017 we decided to do something together, so I set up a little Midwest tour for us in 2019. And then he came for a visit over the holidays that year where we were living in West Orange, New Jersey. And I said, “Let’s just go in the studio for a day and we’ll see what we get.” So we went into Sound on Sound Studios in Manhattan and recorded what ended up as Dyads. It’s mostly improvised, though we also played a few tunes — some of his tunes, a few mine.

He’s not playing that much now. His life’s kind of gone in some different directions. So I’m really glad I had such a strong feeling about wanting to document that part of our relationship.

Where did you record New Digs?
We recorded that one about seven minutes from where I...

Schon immer verstand es der US-amerikanische Bassist Michael Formanek, die ultimativen Musiker für seine außergewöhnlichen Kompositionen um sich zu scharen. Sein jüngster Septett-Geniestreich beginnend mit dem Thema "New Old World" überzeugt mit frischem, zwischen Hardbop und freien Assoziationen changierenden Aktionen der beiden Saxofonisten John O'Gallagher und Chet Doxas. Die völlig unbekümmert stilistische Barrieren durchquerende Gitarristin Mary Halvorson und Alexander Hawkins' mystische, fernab vom Soul Jazz agierende Hammond-B 3 Beiträge sind frappierend. Und Tomas Fujiwaras Beats komplettieren den famosen Ensemble-Sound.

Michael Formanek
New Digs
INTAKT
★★★½
New Digs is built around a seed of an idea: What happens when you center an ensemble on the organ? The answer, as it turns out, is a rich, multi-layered record, one that leverages Alexander Hawkins' majestic, jewel-toned pipes alongside a muscular horn section, with Michael Formanek and his partners in the trio Thumbscrew — guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara — holding the rhythm.
As a bassist, Formanek is versatile: locking the rhythmic line with Fujiwara, tracing melodic evolution alongside Halvorson and Hawkins, anchoring the capacious horns. As bandleader and composer, he explores themes and textures in a way that feels hypertextual: bouncing between abstract motifs and noir tones, continuously returning to concepts, turning them anew.
In the opening "New Old World," the horn section comes out in full swing, a round-robin of big ideas in organized chaos. In "For My Consideration," Hawkins' organ evokes Sun Ra, its astral-jazz tone riding a driving blues rhythm, the horns commanding rather than cluttering. Jump ahead to the seventh track, "Braxes," and we hear the same multilayered sheets of sound that the horns laid out on "New Old World" and "For My Consideration." The soul-jazz warmth of the organ comes to the fore on the blues "AKA The Stinger."
Taken together, the tracks on New Digs form a mesh: cross-referencing, layering, looping back. Horn trills echo forward; the organ's deep, resonant tone bleeds between tracks; and Formanek's compositional web expands. This is a record that rewards close listening.

Heiße Hammond-Orgel

Die Hammond B3 hat eine lange Tradition im Jazz, aber so wie in diesem, vom amerikanischen Bassisten Michael Formanek handverlesenen Septett hat man sie wohl noch nie gehört. Die Orgel von Alexander Hawkins dominiert den Bandsound nicht, steht auch kaum solistisch im Vordergrund, aber sie durchwirkt die vom Bandleader komponierten Texturen unabweisbar, klingt mysteriös, bisweilen fiebrig, wirkt wie eine glühende Herdplatte, auf der die drei Bläser ihre Soli aufkochen. Zwischen lässigem Swing, fulminanten Kollektivimprovisationen und düster-bedrohlichen Noir-Stimmungen ist alles dabei – und jede Idee fesselt, wirkt ebenso ausgeklügelt wie mit erfrischender Spontaneität umgesetzt. Wenn Formaneks Kontrabass das rhythmische und harmonische Rückgrat dieses so vitalen wie variantenreichen Gegenwartsjazz ist, dann ist Hawkins ihr Nervensystem, das sensibel auf alle Impulse reagiert.

https://www.ovb-heimatzeitungen.de/kultur/2026/05/10/heisse-hammond-orgel.ovb/amp

Michael Formanek has never been content to anchor a bandstand and call it a career. Over decades of work—from sideman stints with Stan Getz and Joe Henderson to the long-running Thumbscrew trio with Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara—he has operated as a composer and architect, building rooms rather than merely inhabiting them. New Digs recorded over two days in Torres Vedras, Portugal, stands as an ambitious project via this seven-piece trans-Atlantic ensemble shaped by a precise sonic design.

The personnel choices signal intent before a note sounds. Halvorson and Fujiwara return from Thumbscrew, supplying deep rapport and elasticity. A three-horn frontline—John O'Gallagher on alto saxophone, Chet Doxas on tenor, and João Almeida on trumpet —brings sharp contrast and collective force. Most decisive is Alexander Hawkins, a pianist within the Anthony Braxton orbit, here stationed at the Hammond B3 organ. Its presence reshapes the ensemble, functioning as a rhythm engine, harmonic bed, and unruly catalyst. Formanek does not simply add color; he alters the ensemble's internal logic, allowing the group to pivot between density and openness with remarkable control.

The opener, "New Old World," drops the listener into shifting terrain. Horn lines braid and fracture while Halvorson tilts the harmony off-axis. Hawkins treats the B3 as both anchor and disruptor, threading dense comping through linear passages and fractured solos. Formanek guides from within, redirecting momentum with quiet authority. "Prequal" leans harder into abstraction, propelled by Hawkins' gritty pulse and surging horn figures that crest and scatter with intent, the ensemble sounding both combustible and tightly organized.

"Aka the Stinger" offers a grounded counterweight. Formanek's early immersion in Bay Area soul-jazz surfaces in a groove that struts without settling into cliché. The band rides it with restraint, allowing small deviations to keep the tension alive while maintaining a sense of forward motion.

The album's most affecting moment arrives with "Gone Home / Interlude for Susan Alcorn," written in memory of the late pedal steel guitarist. Formanek's arco bass sets a solemn tone, answered by Almeida's poised trumpet line. The ensemble resists excess, favoring space, angled phrasing, and understated interplay that carries emotional weight without sentimentality. Subtle off-centered accents and carefully measured dynamics deepen the piece's quiet gravity.

"Quinze" gathers the threads into a forceful statement. The septet locks into a unified surge, Doxas delivering a searing tenor passage while Hawkins expands the B3's palette beyond expectation. Almeida's closing statement balances lyricism with a touch of steel, sealing the album's emotional arc.

Formanek has long trusted instinct, yet New Digs reflects something more measured: a fully realized vision of ensemble interplay. Each voice contributes with purpose, and the music rewards attentive listening, revealing new structural details and shifting perspectives with each return.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-digs-michael-formanek-intakt-records

In 2023, Michael Formanek and Sandra Eisner were like many couples in their early 60s. They were empty-nesters, their son Peter Formanek having left home several years before to attend the University of Michigan, then establishing himself as an educator and a multi-instrumentalist and composer in Michigan after graduation. They had only moved twice in the prior 20 years, first to Towson, Maryland, when Michael joined the faculty at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute, and then to West Orange, New Jersey, after the end of his 15-year tenure. Coming out of the pandemic, they were ready for a change; but instead of a quaint village off the beaten path or a Del Webb community and a social life revolving around backgammon and pickle ball and fondue and chardonnay, they chose Lisbon. Not Lisbon the town in Connecticut, Maine, or Maryland; but Lisbon, Portugal.

Moving, even across town, when you are close to being eligible for Medicare is a vastly different proposition then when you’re barely eligible to vote. Instead of getting a buddy with a van or a pickup truck to make a couple of runs, you really have to take stock and make hard, final choices between what you keep, what gets tagged for the yard sale, and what is given to friends or Goodwill. When moving to another country, it’s way more complicated. In the case of Portugal, Americans typically apply for a long-stay visa, entailing proof of funds and stable income, then a residence permit after arrival. Permanent residency can be applied for after five years, which requires proof or everything from health insurance to a clean criminal record. And there’s a test for basic language skills in Portuguese, one of the more tongue-twisting languages on the planet.

It's not something you do on a lark.

It was a lengthy process, Formanek recently recounted. “The short version is that it seemed like it was something we could do, that it was possible, that it was manageable, based on the way that getting residency here was working at the time. Musically, I had been here enough to feel good about it, but I didn’t know the country so well. I had just made trips here to play with Thumbscrew and over the years with people like Marty Ehrlich, Tim Berne, and a lot of other people. I never had extended time here; just coming in and out.

“There were a few people I knew here, expats like John O’Gallagher the alto saxophonist, Andy Sheppard, and Julian Argüelles, another British saxophone player. But it was also important to connect with as many Portuguese musicians to really get a sense of what was going on. I connected with Rodrigo Amado and through him met a lot of other musicians that cover a pretty broad range of jazz and improvised music. A big part of my life in music has been working in different areas and zones at different times. They’re all things I love but I tend to focus on one area at a time – what I’m into at that time.

“So, once we were here, I started thinking about what sorts of things I’d like to do and who I wanted to connect with to do them. There were then a few projects that were ongoing, like Thumbscrew, or in the works, like Myra Melford’s Splash Trio with Ches Smith. We had a gig in at the Boulez Saal in Berlin in June 2023, just weeks after we arrived, that had been planned for a year. Myra and I started talking about a possible project a couple of years prior to the gig. After that first gig, Myra asked us if we wanted to continue as a group and Ches and I said yes. That trio is now an ongoing entity with a record we got out. I really like playing Myra’s music with her and Ches.”

Word of Formanek’s move spread rather quickly. An offer from Jazz Club Ferrara prompted him to put together an occasional quartet with pianist Alexander Hawkns and two Americans who reside part-time in Europe – saxophonist Michaël Attias and Devin Gray, whose association with Formanek began when the drummer was an undergraduate at Peabody. There was also a steady flow of one-offs throughout Portugal, as well as Germany and Switzerland. “It’s still a range of things,” Formanek explained. “I needed to process what I wanted to do and with whom. I was less interested in doing some things that I had been doing. I’ve been very fortunate to work with really great musicians. But sometimes I like playing music that is more improvised than it is composed, and the other way around. I just like mixing it up in different ways. It keeps things fresh for me. And I’ve been able to do that here.”

“I think the jury’s still out on that,” Formanek replied when asked if Europe better facilitated mixing it up. “I think like anywhere else, people here want to know you, what you do, and locate you in a certain zone. I have no aversion to that – if someone wants to do that, fine. But I always go where my interests lie. If I feel like I’m doing a little too much of one thing, I’ll change it up for a while. I don’t concern myself too much with that. I’m sure it’s effected certain things for me, care...

Et le trio (Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara) devint septet (John O’Gallagher, Joao Almeida, Alexander Hawkins, Chet Doxas).

Et ils purent ainsi s’amuser à créer des joutes amicales tout en faisant fi de l’encombrement.

Et ils ne furent pas surpris par un étrange orgue Hammond de glace et de feu.

Et ils brisèrent quelques idées reçues sur les textures harmoniques, les structures convenues (le contrebassiste n’a pas fait partie du BloodCount de Tim Berne pour rien !)

Et les cuivres s’ouvrirent en unissons de velours.

Et ils impulsèrent même un blues aux angles rugueux.

Et quelques lignes répétitives nous rapprochèrent des œuvres de Philip Glass.

Et quelque soyeux solo de trompette firent s’ouvrirent aux paix célestes (Gone Home / Interlude for Susan Alcorn : magnifique et inoubliable ballade).

Et ils s’inspirèrent les uns aux autres et créèrent New Digs.

https://www.jazzin.fr/michael-formanek-new-digs//