Articles

Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.

ALBUM REVIEW May 25, 2016

Michael Bisio: Accortet

A history of the accordion in jazz would be a slight volume. The accordion sits midway between horn and keyboard, and perhaps it's a surprise given its versatility that it doesn't have a higher profile. Klezmer influenced companies apart, the rollcall at the exploratory end of the spectrum would include Anthony Braxton (of course), The Claudia Quintet, and Gato Libre, but not too much else. To that roster must now be added Michael Bisio's Accortet. The bassist's outfit investigates the ...

ALBUM REVIEW September 17, 2015

Michael Bisio: Accortet

By Mark Corroto

There is a cartoon circulating the internet that depicts a criminal suspect being interrogated by police. Also in the room is a jazz bassist. The detective tells his partner, “he'll talk, everyone talks during the bass solo." That may be true, unless the bassist is Michael Bisio. Whether performing with pianist Matthew Shipp or saxophonist Ivo Perelman, Bisio's presence is always prominent and unmistakable. His collaborations always tend to be more than accompaniment. He is the constant yin to another ...

ALBUM REVIEW September 16, 2015

Michael Bisio: Accortet

By Troy Collins

Named after its unusual instrumentation, Accortet is the eponymous debut of a quartet led by renowned contrabassist Michael Bisio, featuring the unique frontline of accordion and cornet, played by Art Bailey and Kirk Knuffke, respectively, with Michael Wimberly manning the drums. An in-demand sideman among free jazz luminaries such as Joe McPhee, Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp, Bisio seldom issues albums as a bandleader these days, making this recording all the more intriguing for its inclusion of some surprisingly accessible ...

IN THE ARTIST'S OWN WORDS September 26, 2014

The Most Beautiful Thing

By Michael Bisio

For me music is full of magic, mystery, spirituality, joy, passion and fire, blue to red, yet my journey to conceptualize finds me chasing the most objective truths I can discover, truths stripped of every aesthetic element possible. In High School during an intro to theory class my teacher announced: music is sound in time. We tapped metal chairs with pencils, scratched blackboards until they screamed, and poked and prodded classmates hoping for squeals of surprise, trying to discover music ...

ALBUM REVIEW August 28, 2012

Michael Bisio / Matthew Shipp Duo: Floating Ice

By Troy Collins

Although bassist Michael Bisio has performed with pianist Matthew Shipp on occasion over the past few years, very little documentation of their working relationship existed until the formation of Shipp's current trio, which features Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey. Floating Ice, their first recording together as a duo, arrives on the cusp of the trio's live debut, Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear, 2011), and studio follow-up, Elastic Aspects (Thirsty Ear, 2012).The locomotive title track opens the date, ...

INTERVIEW April 19, 2011

Michael Bisio: Stepping Into the Limelight

By Gregory Applegate Edwards

Bassist Michael Bisio has become an increasingly visual and aural presence on the jazz/improvisation scene in the time since he moved from the west coast to New York. Yet he has been a significant contributor in jazz circles for years, and success was no overnight thing. Among other ongoing associations, Bisio is currently the bassist in pianist Matthew Shipp's trio and Tomas Ulrich's Cargo Cult. Bisio also leads his own group. His discography is extensive and covers much ground.

MULTIPLE REVIEWS July 4, 2009

Michael Bisio Five Bass Hit: Live at Vision Fest. XII; By Any Other Name; Collar City Creatology; Colored Houses; Sideways

By John Sharpe

Michael Bisio Quartet live at Vision Fest. XII NotTwo 2009 Old Dog By Any Other Name Porter Records 2009 Michael Bisio/ George Muscatello/ Dean Sharp Collar City Creatology MJB Records 2008 Jack Gold-Molina Colored Houses Sol Disk 2009 Bob Gluck ...