Born: August 4, 1968 Primary Instrument: Saxophone
The product of migrations spanning North Africa, the Middle East, Western Europe and the American Midwest, Michael Attias has been active in New York City as leader, sideman, composer, and improvisor since 1994.
Concerts in clubs and festivals throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East and Japan have brought him together with such musicians as Anthony Braxton, Paul Motian, Oliver Lake, Butch Morris and Anthony Coleman. He has released two albums as leader in the last three years, Renku and Credo, for Playscape and Clean Feed respectively. Both were warmly received by critics and featured on several end-of-the-year lists of Top Releases. He's currently enjoying rich activity both as sideman and leader in multiple overlapping projects often featuring Tony Malaby, Nasheet Waits, Russ Lossing, John Hebert, Sean Conly, and many others.
In recent news, Attias could be heard on the Sony Music Fall 2007 release of the Hino/Kikuchi Quintet: Counter Current, with Paul Motian and Thomas Morgan. His trio Renku, with John Hebert and Satoshi Takeishi, completed its first European tour in January 08, and in May 08, he made his debut at the Village Vanguard in Paul Motian's Trio 2000+2. In June, both Renku and his Quintet recorded live albums at the Coimbra Jazz Festival to be released on Clean Feed in 2009. Other upcoming releases Volume 5 of Paul Motian’s On Broadway for Winter&Winter, John Hebert's Byzantine Monkey for Firehouse 12, and Taylor Ho Bynum’s Positive Catastrophe for Cuneiform.
Attias is currently creating a live score for Notes From Underground, directed by Robert Woodruff, to be performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven in Spring 2009.
Awards:
2000 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship 2008 MacDowell Arts Colony Residency” .... one of downtown's best saxists and composers.” Bruce Lee Gallanter DMG NEWSLETTER
” knottily vibrant compositions” -K. Leander Williams TIME OUT
” perpetually shifting tunes, richness of timbre, and a singular personality. You can almost see this music expanding and contracting.” -Jim Macnie VILLAGE VOICE
” plays with great authority and passion.” David Adler ALL ABOUT
„ ... a significant new voice on the alto saxophone.” Michael McCaw ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Credo (1999-2005) Clean Feed
Renku (2005) Playscape
Four in One TM (1992) in situ/ADDA
Peep Joy of Being (1995) Knitting Factory
Various Artists Live at the Whitney (1995) Knitting Factory
Anthony Coleman Selfhaters (1996) TZADIK
Abysmal Richness... (1998) TZADIK
Various Artists Serge Gainsbourg (1999) TZADIK
David Watson Skirl (1999) Avant
Anthony Braxton TrilliumR (1999) Braxton House
Edward Ratliff Wong-fei Hong … (1999) Strudelmedia
Barcelona in 48 hrs (2002) Strudelmedia
Bruce Eisenbeil Opium (2001) (CIMP)
Walter Thompson Orch. Pexo (2003) (Nine Winds)
Rare Bird Rumba Ranch Bull Feathers (2003) (Jerk Shack)
Pornos For Peace Keepers (Jerk Shack)
James Pugliese Phase III: Red Alert (2004) Xcellar
* Released under Igal Foni’s name as “For Elevators”
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