Michael Formanek
Double-bassist/composer Michael Formanek’s made his ECM leader debut with The Rub and Spare Change, leading a quartet featuring longtime confrere Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Craig Taborn (piano) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Small Places featured the same powerhouse band, with the compositions and improvisation blending in an earthy yet atmospheric way, the album alive with dark-hued melody and bone-deep rhythms. The JazzTimes review of Small Places said: “The album’s title aptly describes the makeup of Formanek’s compositions, which have many small sections, offering something substantial to anyone ready to explore them. Even when the sound becomes spare and quiet, the suspense never flags.”
Born in San Francisco, California, Michael Formanek has performed in myriad contexts since he played a precocious gig with Tony Williams Lifetime when only 18. The [...]
Double-bassist/composer Michael Formanek’s made his ECM leader debut with The Rub and Spare Change, leading a quartet featuring longtime confrere Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Craig Taborn (piano) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Small Places featured the same powerhouse band, with the compositions and improvisation blending in an earthy yet atmospheric way, the album alive with dark-hued melody and bone-deep rhythms. The JazzTimes review of Small Places said: “The album’s title aptly describes the makeup of Formanek’s compositions, which have many small sections, offering something substantial to anyone ready to explore them. Even when the sound becomes spare and quiet, the suspense never flags.”
Born in San Francisco, California, Michael Formanek has performed in myriad contexts since he played a precocious gig with Tony Williams Lifetime when only 18. The bassist has worked with old masters from Lee Konitz to Joe Maneri via Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Stan Getz, as well as with a who’s who of contemporary New York progressive players (including as a member of Berne’s longstanding Bloodcount band). Formanek teaches jazz bass at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also directs the Peabody Jazz Orchestra. In 2007, his composition for symphony orchestra with jazz soloists, The Open Book, was premiered at Peabody. All About Jazz has said: “Formanek’s tunes are marvelous vehicles for… players to express a kind of group ethos and soar into new avenues of improvisation.”
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