Jazz Articles about Michael Musillami

Michael Musillami Trio +3: From Seeds

by Nic Jones
May 13, 2009

If there are inherent risks in tinkering with the tried and trusted then this release is a refutation of the idea. Guitarist Michael Musillami's trio, with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, is some seven years old and thus a thing of great musical closeness, but in this case a doubling in the size of the band results only in musical pleasures. That result is aided in no small part by the distinctiveness of Musillami's compositions, which are brought ...

Michael Musillami Trio + 3: From Seeds

by Troy Collins
May 12, 2009

2009 marks the ten year anniversary of guitarist Michael Musillami's Playscape Recordings. Since then Musillami has issued well over a dozen recordings as a leader supported by a variety of line-ups, with the long running trio of bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller being his most versatile group.

Magnanimous collaborators, the trio has often found itself accompanied by guest artists. Dachau (Playscape, 2005) included contributions from saxophonist Tom Christensen, trumpeter Dave Ballou, and pianist Peter Madsen, and ...

Michael Musillami Trio + 3: From Seeds

by Robert Iannapollo
May 12, 2009

Connecticut-based Michael Musillami is a guitarist firmly rooted in the modern post-Coltrane jazz tradition but not above applying a rock-ish tone and aggression at times to good effect, as heard on the title track to From Seeds. His early work with the late saxophonist Thomas Chapin is worth seeking out but he really came into his own around 2000 when he formed a trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller. Over the course of three albums (Beijing, Dachau ...

Michael Musilami Trio w/ Mark Feldman: The Treatment

by Elliott Simon
October 9, 2007

Guitarist Michael Musillami's trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller previously released two “worldly CDs for Playscape: the debut, Beijing (2002), and the vigorously creative Dachau (2005). With The Treatment, the trio invites master violinist Mark Feldman to join them for a soaring presentation of Musillami's music. As a guitarist, Musillami kisses up against free jazz and beautifully floats down the mainstream, sometimes within a single phrase. Feldman is a violinist of awesome technical and improvisational abilities, bringing ...

Michael Musillami Trio w/ Mark Feldman: The Treatment

by John Kelman
September 20, 2007

Violinist Mark Feldman may be the link between John Abercrombie's The Third Quartet (ECM, 2007) and Michael Musillami's The Treatment, but there are as many differences as there are similarities between these two guitarists' projects. Abercrombie's group leans more towards a chamber jazz approach that, while not without its occasional edges and unmistakable freedom, is sparer and, at times, ethereal. Musillami's trio--together about as long as Abercrombie's quartet--featuring bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, swings harder and, when it ...

Michael Musillami Trio with Mark Feldman: The Treatment

by Troy Collins
September 19, 2007

Michael Musillami Trio with Mark Feldman The Treatment Playscape Recordings 2007

The Treatment offers two views of the current incarnation of guitarist Michael Musillami's working group by bundling a studio recording with live performance video. Violinist Mark Feldman was invited by Musillami to join his long-standing trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller for these sessions. The augmented quartet is heard in the studio on the CD, while the added DVD documents ...

Michael Musillami Trio w/Mark Feldman: The Treatment

by Mark Corroto
September 18, 2007

Guitarist Michael Musillami asks the musical question: when is a working trio recording with a guest more like a quartet than an invitation to sit in? The answer, of course, is when a very sympathetic player joins you for a session and tour.

Musillami's trio of Joe Fonda (bass) and George Schuller (drums) has been working together for quite some time, releasing Beijing in 2002 and Dachau in 2005 on Musillami's Playscape Recordings label. The guitar/bass/drums format is ...