Bios
Bob Gluck is an intuitive, expressive pianist, always listening closely to the world around him. He has been described as "...an accomplished and passionate pianist in the most elusive tradition of avant-garde masters Cecil Taylor, Andrew Hill, McCoy Tyner, and Don Pullen." (Chronogram) and "...a brilliant improviser." (Cadence)
Gluckšs journey through life has been like a labyrinth in which spirituality, politics and music-making all come together in his creative consciousness. Raised in New York as a conservatory student and political activist, Gluck spent many years away from music. His return to composing in 1995 and to the piano in 2005 marked the beginning of unique, continually unfolding career as a musician, educator and writer. With influences as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gluck discovered a way to marry interests in electronic music with his love of jazz.
His approach as a pianist and composer merges intuition with a broad sonic palate. Lyricism and abstraction find a shared home. Gluckšs two new recordings on FRM records plus an Innova release of music by Neil Rolnick add to his previous four CDs, including The Bob Gluck Trio, "Sideways" (2008). albanyjazz.com observes: "Gluck never uses a sound in isolation - each tone is part of the picture, providing context and comprehension." Bob Gluck is Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Electronic Music Studio at The University at Albany. He is author of "You'll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band" (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming). Keyboard magazine named him June 2009 "Unsigned Artist of the Month."
Christopher Dean Sullivan is a renowned bassist of many musical languages: Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Latin, Fusion, Caribbean, Indian, African, and Eurocentric perceptions, rock, country, and more. He has shared the stage with Stanley Jordan, Pete Seeger, Archie Shepp, Charli Persip, Yusef Lateef, Grant Green, Horace Parlan, Joe McPhee, Sonny Simmons, Cecil Payne, Joe Lovano, Roy Campbell Jr., to name a few, and led his own ensembles within the U.S. and abroad. Sullivan can be heard on records and CDs from jazz and blues to acoustic folk, funk and gospel. He has recorded with reedist Michael Marcus and drummer Codaryl Cody Moffett; reedist Joe Giardullo, singer Sheila Jordan, as well as Carl Grubbs, Odean Pope, Newman Taylor Baker, and others.
Chris Sullivan also performs with the Cotton Club All Star Orchestra and he has toured with 50's/60's groups including the Marcel's, The Drifters, and the Sharelles. He is also an educator and actor. He has been producer/host of his own Warner Communication award winning television show, The Tree of Arts Alive,š which features performances and interviews with musical figures including Max Roach, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Chaka Chan, Lenny White, and Betty Carter. Chris Sullivan has received several community and arts services municipal and congressional awards.
Dean Sharp is a prolific creative percussionist, producer and remixer. He has performed and recorded with a strikingly diverse array of creative artists including Moby, Brad Mehldau, Stephen Vitiello, Elliott Sharp, Joe Lovano, Marc Ribot, John Stubblefield, Liz Gorrill (aka Kazzrie Jaxen), jazz legend Hugh Brodie, Tony Levin, Steve Swallow, Carter Burwell, David Arner and Jane Siberry. Sharp has written and recorded with notorious loop-miester David Torn (SPLaTTeRCeLL project), co-lead his own ensembles earmight (w/ Dean Jones, David Hofstra, Russ Johnson and Ken Mcgloin) and trio loCo (w/ Marc Dzuiba and StudioStu) and is the creative catalyst of SONic 150 (with trumpet notebender russ johnson), scribbleScrabbLe (with videographer Thomas Moore), 3:2:1 (with Ken Mcgloin and Russ Johnson) and sanDwich (with percussionist Harvey Sorgen and a changing mysterious third guest). He has played a vital role in the recordings and live performances of such innovative singer/songwriters as Rachael Sage, Greg Brown, Donna Lewis, MIMI (goese), Noe Veneble, Jill Sobule and Todd Sickafoosešs Blood Orange.
Dean Sharp has studied with the late Elvin Jones, Colin Walcott and Tony Williams, as well as living legends Jack DeJohnette, Michael Carvin, Narada Michael Walden, Nana Vasconcelos and Montego Joe. As a producer/remixer, he has "pushed the envelope" for projects with Indian flutist Steve Gorn, cellist Stephanie Winters, klezmer/world artist Zoe B. Zak, bassist Steve Rustšs PULSAR and indie faves Louise Taylor and Stoneboat. Multimedia collaborators have included Stephen Vitiello, Nam June Paik and Tom Moore. He has also offered master classes and workshops at SUNY New Paltz, the New School, Unison Arts Center and the Omega Institute. He teaches at Bard College. Music Matters Review declares: "Dean Sharp's drums lend mystery and grace" and The Fairfield County Weekly calls him "capable of quietly extraordinary things," a drummer who "has found a way to make jazz fresh."
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