Charged Particles

Celebrating their 30th anniversary performing, Bay-area based Charged Particles features Murray Low, a keyboard wizard with dazzling Latin-jazz technique and imaginative improvisational skills, Aaron Germain, a gifted electric and acoustic bassist, and fiery drummer Jon Krosnick. The trio's busy performing schedule has included performances with reed player Paul McCandless, trumpeter Randy Brecker, tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow, and many more. The trio's repertoire of funky Latin jazz, mixed with elements of classical music, blend elaborate orchestrations and free-wheeling improvisation. All of the trio's music has a distinctly acoustic sensibility, despite the members playing both acoustic and electric acoustic instruments. The group's hallmark is sensitivity and spontaneity among the players, making each performance a spontaneous group exploration. The band's energy level is always high, even when they are cooking at a volume no louder than a whisper, or floating through the melody of a romantic ballad. Watching the group, it’s obvious that they have fun playing together and admire each other’s musical instincts. Charged Particles made its public debut on National Public Radio Affiliate WDET's live performance program, "Detroit Jazz Alive", originating in Detroit, Michigan. The group's one-hour live performance drew wide attention and opened the door to performances at festivals and clubs around the world. In addition to its own headline performances, the band has opened for national recording artists such as Al DiMeola, Stanley Jordan, Yanni, and the group has had such international mega-star drummers as Peter Erskine and Dennis Chambers and percussionist Doc Gibbs sit in with them. In 1994, Charged Particles released its first compact disk, on Schoolkids Records. The CD received airplay on over 200 jazz radio stations nation-wide and was praised by national jazz critics in such outlets as Jazziz Magazine, Jazz Times Magazine, Jazz and Blues Report, Pulse! Magazine, and many more. A performance by the group was included on the compilation CD, The Columbus Collection, featuring outstanding jazz artists from Columbus, Ohio, and released in 1996. The group’s second CD, “Sparks”, was released in late 2002 on BOPO Records, received airplay on nearly 100 radio stations within two weeks of its release, and has gained attention from critics in many American publications and in magazines as far away as England, Denmark, and Japan. “Sparks” was named one of the eight “must-hear” jazz releases of 2002 by The Other Paper, and the opening track from “Sparks” was included on the “Jazziz on Disc” sampler CD mailed to 85,000 subscribers of Jazziz Magazine in March, 2003. In 2011, the band moved its home base to California, with Low and Germain taking the piano and bass chairs. Playing new original compositions, as well as the long-time original repertoire of the band and compositions by their favorite contemporary composers, Murray, Aaron, and Jon have been busy gigging ever since. Other highlights for the band in recent years have been a performance on the main stage of Yoshi's San Francisco jazz club accompanying French Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Le playing his compositions, an appearance accompanying vocalist Kevyn Lettau singing her compositions at Cafe Cordiale in Los Angeles, and performances in the Los Angeles area with keyboardist David Garfield. The band has been collaborating regularly with powerhouse vocalist Rocío Guitard. An exciting recent innovation for the group has been its collaboration with powerhouse reed player Paul McCandless (of the famed super-group Oregon) playing his own compositions. The group has been appearing as headliners at the famed jazz clubs Birdland (in New York City), Blues Alley (in Washington, DC), Yoshi's (in San Francisco), and Nighttown (in Cleveland), as well as at the San Luis Obispo Jazz Festival, the Stanford Jazz Festival, the Erie Blues and Jazz Festival, and other venues around California and the east coast. Another exciting project is a celebration of the music of tenor saxophone great Michael Brecker, featuring Bay Area tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow. The group has been bringing alive Brecker's music and spirit. That quartet's recording of Brecker compositions, made live at the famed Baked Potato in Los Angeles, is slated for release on Summit Records in October, 2021.