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Honey Ear Trio

Honey Ear Trio is the new incarnation of long time musical cohorts Erik Lawrence, Rene Hart and Allison Miller. Together, these three passionate musicians approach the music with a sense of playfullness and elasticity. Honey Ear Trio creatively fuses the acoustic sound of a traditional saxophone trio with modern electronics derived from Hart's manipulation of his acoustic bass sound. They also explore mixing multiple genres (jazz, rock, soul, folk) while bending, stretching, and decompressing the rhythmic and harmonic characteristics of the music.

Erik, Rene and Allison have performed as a core group in larger ensembles with Steven Bernstein, David Amram, John Medeski and the poet Robert Pinsky. They also draw upon their wide ranging experience as sidemen and featured artists with Sonny Sharrock, Levon Helm, Marty Ehrlich, Don Braden, James Hunter, Allen Toussaint, Ani DiFranco, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Martin Medeski and Wood, Bilal, Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, Branford Marsalis, Trey Anastasio and Anat Fort. The debut Honey Ear Trio recording, Steampunk Serenade, was released March 22nd

Erik Lawrence - Saxophones, Flute

In addition to leading his own groups Erik Lawrence has been a sideman with greats from Allen Toussaint to Sonny Sharrock. Erik is currently a member of Levon Helm's band, with whom he was recently featured on the Grammy winning album Electric Dirt. He has performed Solo improvised saxophone at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York. Erik has been featured at music festivals around the world and has performed with Chico Hamilton, Medeski Martin & Wood, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan, Buddy Miles, David Bromberg, Bruce Hornsby and many, many others. Erik's teaching includes Williams College, Dartmouth College and Montclair State University. He has been playing the saxophone since he was 5 years old.

Rene Hart - Bass, Electronics/Looping

Rene Hart is a unique musician who draws from a wide range of influences and has toured the world extensively, performing at major Jazz and multi-genre music festivals, including the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Rene's television appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brian. He has appeared in several films and his playing can also be heard on numerous soundtracks. Rene has recorded and performed with artists from Julian Priester, Don Braden and Branford Marsalis to James Hunter, Bilal and Anat Fort.

Allison Miller - Drums, Percussion

NYC-based Allison Miller defies all boundaries bringing her individual sound to diverse types of music while preserving their stylistic authenticity.

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346
Album Review

Honey Ear Trio: Steampunk Serenade

Read "Steampunk Serenade" reviewed by Troy Collins


Building on an established legacy, Honey Ear Trio updates the time honored acoustic instrumentation of the classic saxophone trio with a subtle use of electronics on their debut Steampunk Serenade. Saxophonist Erik Lawrence, bassist Rene Hart and drummer Allison Miller draw upon their diverse experiences in an array of popular music forms (rock, soul, folk) to inform an accessible yet adventurous series of modern jazz variations. Challenging the conventions of structure and form, they treat time signatures, tempos ...

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Recording

Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade (2011)

Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade (2011)

Source: Something Else!

By S. Victor Aaron Listening to Allison Miller's superb CD from last year Boom Tic Boom, I appreciated how it covered a lot of ground within advanced modern jazz, helped along by such sympathetic supporting players in this piano jazz trio. But that album still left me wondering where this ace drummer, composer and bandleader was going to head next. Perhaps Miller herself didn't even know, that is, until a spewing volcano in Iceland scuttled her plans for a six-week ...

114

Recording

Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade (Foxhaven Records, 2011) ****

Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade (Foxhaven Records, 2011) ****

Source: Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels

By Paul Acquaro The Steampunk literary genre essentially imagines a present informed by Victorian sensibilities and driven by steam technology. Imagine though, just for a moment, another alternate present in which popular music is not shaped by lowest common denominator tastes and gobs of derivative schmear. What do you hear? For me, the top forty slots are pretty much dominated by groups like the Honey Ear Trio. The trio, sax, drum and bass, with some electronics and effects for added ...

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Contest

Enter the "Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade" Giveaway!

Enter the "Honey Ear Trio - Steampunk Serenade" Giveaway!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Foxhaven Records “Honey Ear Trio—Steampunk Serenade“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select THREE winners at the conclusion of the contest on April 21st. Click here to enter the contest (Following Honey Ear Trio at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at Foxhaven Records About Honey Ear Trio and Steampunk Serenade As evidenced in headlines throughout the spring, the effects of the April 2010 eruption ...

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