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BassDrumBone

BassDrumBone is a trio that has wedded the uniquness of it's instrumentation with the singular personality of it's three members. A true collective, their music combines three distinct compositional and improvisational approaches with an exceptional musical rapport. Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway and Ray Anderson began performing as a trio in the fall of 1977. Their first record, "Oahspe", was released in 1979 on the Auricle Record label. Bob Rusch in his review of the record, wrote: "Exceptionally good music, fearlessly played and tightly coordinated. Recommended."

In 1984 "Right Down your Alley" was released on Soul Note Records of Italy and in the beginning of 1986 "You Be" was released on the Minor Music label of Germany. Both records received acclaim from the European and American press including a five star review in Downbeat magazine for "You Be".

Next in 1988 came "Wooferlo" which was released on the Soul Note label. Ben Watson of Wire Magazine commented: "Each musician has a story to tell, the solos are stuffed with event and happenstance".

After 1988 the group went into a temporary dormancy while all three of its members pursued their own individual groups. In the fall of 1993 BassDrumBone became active again for a tour in Europe. A tour in 1996 yielded "Hence the Reason" (enj9222) and in March of 1999 BDB released some archival material from 1986-97 on an Auricle Records cd entitled "Cooked to Perfection". BassDrumBone celebrated its 25th year together with the release of "March of Dimes" on the Dutch label Data. On the eve of our 30th anniversary, Clean Feed released "The Line Up". Followed by "The Other Parade" also on Clean Feed in 2009.

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7
Profile

BassDrumBone and the New Haven Jazz Renaissance

Read "BassDrumBone and the New Haven Jazz Renaissance" reviewed by Daniel Barbiero


When they first began playing together in jny: New Haven, Connecticut in 1977, the trio BassDrumBone--bassist Mark Helias, percussionist Gerry Hemingway and trombonist Ray Anderson--were called OAHSPE. The name, which Anderson recalls having heard in Seattle from a source he understood to be Native American, is supposed to mean “sky earth and spirit." It is coincidentally also the title of a “new bible" purporting to be the words of “Jehovih and his angel ambassadors" [sic] which had been channeled by ...

1
Album Review

BassDrumBone: The Long Road

Read "The Long Road" reviewed by Enrico Bettinello


Decimo disco e quaranta candeline da spegnere per un trio solido e irresistibile come i BassDrumBone di Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway e Ray Anderson. Si festeggia con un disco doppio che vede come ospiti il pianista Jason Moran e il sassofonista Joe Lovano, scelta del tutto logica data la forte natura avventurosa di entrambi i musicisti, pur in un contesto di continuità con la tradizione. La musica del trio si nutre degli elementi base del ...

4
Album Review

BassDrumBone: The Long Road

Read "The Long Road" reviewed by Troy Collins


Trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias, and drummer Gerry Hemingway have been performing together as BassDrumBone for almost four decades. The Long Road, the trio's tenth release, was recorded in celebration of the ensemble's forty-year anniversary, and is the group's most wide-ranging and definitive effort to date. In honor of this auspicious occasion, they invited esteemed tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and vanguard pianist Jason Moran to sit in on a handful of tunes, which reveals the unit's sterling rapport, as ...

6
Album Review

BassDrumBone: The Long Road

Read "The Long Road" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


BassDrumBone has been in the business of making bold, muscular music for forty years, starting their unusual instrumental collaboration in 1977, and releasing their first album, Ohaspe on Auricle Records, in 1979. Trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Gerry Hemingway employ a free form, powerhouse approach--there's not much pussyfooting going on with this instrumentation, in these energized hands. And with The Long Road the group has made its expansive and definitive statement, on two discs. And bring in ...

284
Album Review

BassDrumBone: The Line Up

Read "The Line Up" reviewed by Sean Patrick Fitzell


Bass, drums and trombone are not common instrumentation for a trio. But intermittently for thirty years, bassist Mark Helias, drummer Gerry Hemingway and trombonist Ray Anderson have explored exactly this format under the apt moniker BassDrumBone. Their eighth CD, The Line Up, exemplifies the approach they have honed as a trio. It is not a typical horn-plus-rhythm trio, nor a free-form blast of notes or examination of textures and extended techniques. Instead, it is a well-balanced, cohesive collective. Each member ...

514
Album Review

BassDrumBone: The Line Up

Read "The Line Up" reviewed by Troy Collins


2007 marks the thirty-year anniversary of BassDrumBone. Trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Gerry Hemingway have been playing in this configuration on and off for almost three decades. They continue to convey enthusiasm for this project with palpable joy. The Line Up is their eighth official album and quite possibly their most enjoyable effort to date.

Each member of the trio contributes three compositions. Despite the stylistic variety, which drifts from tender ballads, expressive blues, rousing ...

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Performance / Tour

Bassdrumbone at Firehouse 12 This Friday May 2nd

Bassdrumbone at Firehouse 12 This Friday May 2nd

Source: Improvised Communications

On Friday, May 2nd, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will welcome the all-star trio BassDrumBone to town for a two-set performance as part of the venue's ongoing 2008 Spring Jazz Series. This improvised music supergroup, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007, brings together the distinctive talents and well-established rapport of bassist and Yale alumnus Mark Helias, drummer and Hartford native Gerry Hemingway and trombonist Ray Anderson. Their latest release is The Line Up (Clean Feed, 2006).

“Like a well-oiled machine, ...

"Four decades on and still going strong, this venerable group, comprised of established musicians who share aesthetic outlooks and common histories, is something of a rarity by contemporary standards. Richly varied, The Long Road is a winning testament to their creative longevity." —Troy Collins, All About Jazz

"The fused nature of the three words is much more than a syntactical gimmick; it represents a true melding of ideas, often a molten mix of lyricism, spritely elegance and vociferous invention that showcases not only individual virtuosity but a truly meaningful coming together for change." —Raul da Gama, JazzdeGama

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Long Road

Auricle Records
2016

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The Other Parade

Unknown label
2011

buy

The Line Up

Clean Feed Records
2007

buy

The Line Up

Clean Feed Records
2006

buy

March Of Dimes

Data Records
2002

buy

Cooked To Perfection

Auricle Records
1999

buy

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