Three renowned jazz musicians from New York who want to dedicate themselves to free improv with no compromises. After a hugely successful gig last year, drummer-percussionist-vibraphonist Ches Smith formed a trio with two likeminded souls: violinist Mat Maneri and pianist Craig Taborn (winner of the Paul Acket Award in 2012). The trio went on to release the album The Bell on ECM, which provided the reason for an extended tour. Smith was born in San Diego and grew up in Sacramento. In the mid-1990s he studied music in Oakland and played in various jazz, noise and punk bands – he didn’t differentiate between the genres. Smith has written compositions for the new trio: ‘dynamic chamber music’ that still allows room for an anarchic way of playing. In fact, his music serves as little more than a broad roadmap. But the music never becomes chaotic because the skill and experience of this unorthodox trio is too great for that.
