Photo: Cory Warner

Starting tonight, pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson will celebrate this week’s official release of The Guest House (Enja/Yellowbird), their second recording as Trio M, with a series of California performances.

This three-city tour includes concerts at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla (tonight), the Jazz Bakery Series at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles (tomorrow night) and Yoshi’s in San Francisco (next Tuesday).

The group will also support the record at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 29th and on an East Coast tour in April.

The New York Times‘ Nate Chinen writes, “The Guest House, the group’s excellent second album, doesn’t feel tethered to any era or dialect. With compositions by all three members, it’s a crisp, engaging ride, variously roiling or reflective, with high-wire interplay at almost every turn.”

DownBeat‘s John Corbett adds, “They all contribute music, and they all equally steer the ship, taking turns supporting, jumping out front and working together. Trio M is as much a piano trio as Jason Moran’s Bandwagon. Which means that they can step into that storied history if they want to, but for the most part they are busy making jazz that extends the creative music lineage.”

Learn more about Trio M at http://myramarkmatt.tumblr.com

Photo: Cory Warner

This February, pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson will celebrate the release of The Guest House (Enja/Yellowbird), their second recording as Trio M, with California performances at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla (2/2), the Jazz Bakery Series at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles (2/3) and Yoshi’s in San Francisco (2/6).

The record, which officially hits the streets earlier that week, features compositions by all three musicians, including pieces inspired by such diverse muses as the poetry of Rumi and Al-Jawahiri, the prose of Yvonne Vera, the comedy of Don Knotts and the music of Albert Ayler. Also included are selections written for the band’s 2010 collaboration with chef Paul Canales and a benefit concert for The Relay For Life, which celebrates lives affected by cancer.

“This is not your average piano-trio by a long shot,” declares the San Diego Reader‘s Robert Bush in his review of The Guest House. “Together, the trio manages to nail the traditional expectations while shattering the boundaries of convention. Beginning with the Melford-penned title track, there is an instant surge of joy in this music. The Guest House is terrific stuff, and the production-values are top notch all the way, from the crystalline sound to the superior artwork and graphics.”

Founded in early 2006, Trio M brings together three of the most respected veteran musicians in jazz and improvised music. The New York City Jazz Record‘s Laurence Donohue-Greene writes, “The exploratory Trio M…continues to turn out one mesmerizing set after another, revealing their deep empathy while equally balancing composition with improvisation. Each member is readily equipped to do anything at any given moment, from soloing to laying out to changing tempo, the three moving as one, always.”

Critics have called the group “always exploratory and collaborative” (Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen), “one of those rare units that can be both wildly creative and surprisingly user-friendly” (Alexander Varty, Georgia Straight) and “not only one of the most virtuosic playing today, but one of the most consistently engrossing” (Derk Richardson, The Absolute Sound). “Melford, Dresser and Wilson know no bounds on their instruments and don’t give a hang about boundaries,” adds JazzTimes reviewer Carlo Wolff, “theirs is improvisation so empathetic, they seem of one mind.”

Learn more about Trio M at http://myramarkmatt.tumblr.com

Photo by Steven Laschever

Veteran bassist/composer Mario Pavone and his band Nu Unit will perform music from his latest release, Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po (Playscape Recordings), in Boston and New York respectively over the next two nights.

Nu Unit, a touring version of Pavone’s acclaimed Orange Double Tenor ensemble, features saxophonists Tony Malaby and Philippe Cretien (tonight only), cornetist Dave Ballou, pianist Craig Taborn, guitarist Michael Pavone and drummer Matt Wilson.

Tonight at 6:00 p.m., the group will play at The Rivers School Conservatory Jazz Festival in the Boston suburb of Weston, Massachusetts (a master class precedes the show at 3:00 p.m.), followed by a two-set performance at New York’s Cornelia Street Café on Saturday night starting at 9:00 p.m.

Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po is Pavone’s 20th recording as a leader/co-leader and its release last fall was part of the celebration of his 70th birthday.

Reviewers called the music “vivid from start to finish” (Jeff Stockton, Jazziz), “rich and adventurously probing” (Josef Woodard, DownBeat), “emotionally charged and intellectually stimulating” (Glen Hall, Exclaim!) and “a superb demonstration of Pavone’s authoritative writing and leadership skills” (Troy Collins, Point of Departure).

AllAboutJazz.com’s Nic Jones adds, “In view of how far jazz/improvised music has come, carving out fresh territory in the small group area is a feat in itself, but Pavone and his group do it with aplomb. The result is fresh, invigorated, compelling music-making.”

Learn more about Mario Pavone at http://mariopavone.com

Photo by Steven Laschever

Veteran bassist/composer Mario Pavone will hit the road in July to perform music from his latest release, Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po (Playscape Recordings).

Pavone and his band Nu Unit will play at The Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, Massachusetts on Friday, July 15th at 6:00 p.m. (a master class precedes the show at 3:00 p.m.), followed by a two-set performance at New York’s Cornelia Street Café on Saturday, July 16th starting at 9:00 p.m.

The group, a touring version of his acclaimed Orange Double Tenor ensemble, features saxophonists Tony Malaby and Philippe Cretien (7/15 only), cornetist Dave Ballou, pianist Craig Taborn, guitarist Michael Pavone and drummer Matt Wilson.

“At 70,” writes Philadelphia Weekly‘s David R. Adler, “Mario Pavone continues to blaze the path he embarked on in the late ’60s, bridging the dissonant, structurally open world of the avant-garde and the swinging accessibility of jazz tradition. Like Dave Holland, he’s a prolific leader and composer and a monster bassist, with a raft of recent standouts on the Playscape Recordings label to his credit.”

Critics called Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po “vivid from start to finish” (Jeff Stockton, Jazziz), “rich and adventurously probing” (Josef Woodard, DownBeat), “emotionally charged and intellectually stimulating” (Glen Hall, Exclaim!) and “a superb demonstration of Pavone’s authoritative writing and leadership skills” (Troy Collins, Point of Departure).

AllAboutJazz.com’s Nic Jones adds, “In view of how far jazz/improvised music has come, carving out fresh territory in the small group area is a feat in itself, but Pavone and his group do it with aplomb. The result is fresh, invigorated, compelling music-making.”

A 45-year veteran of the creative music scene, Pavone began his career as a sideman to such legendary figures as Paul Bley, Thomas Chapin and Bill Dixon, and has since become a highly regarded composer and bandleader in his own right.

Arc Suite T/Pi T/Po is his 20th release as a leader/co-leader and features a new book of original music commissioned by Chamber Music America’s 2009 New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development program. He has since performed these pieces at venues all around the Northeast as well as on NPR’s Jazz Set with Dee Dee Bridgewater.

When not leading or composing for his own groups, or collaborating with members of the latest generation of creative improvisers, such as saxophonist Pete Robbins and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, Pavone is an avid photographer and President of Litchfield Performing Arts, presenter of the annual Litchfield Jazz Festival and Litchfield Jazz Camp.

Learn more at Mario Pavone in this recent 70th birthday interview on The Jazz Session with Jason Crane and on his Web site at http://www.mariopavone.com