Michael Formanek
Encyclopedia
Michael Formanek is an American jazz
bassist
born in San Francisco, California
and associated with the jazz scene in New York City
.
In the 1980s, Formanek worked as a sideman with Freddie Hubbard
, Joe Henderson
, Dave Liebman
, Fred Hersch
, and Attila Zoller
. His debut release as a leader was 1990's Wide Open Spaces, featuring saxophonist Greg Osby
, violinist Mark Feldman
, guitarist Wayne Krantz
, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield
. In 1992 he released Extended Animation with the same ensemble, except with Tim Berne
replacing Osby on sax.
In 1993 Formanek, Berne, and Hirshfield recorded as a trio on the album Loose cannon. Following this, Formanek led the septet of himself, Berne, trumpeter Dave Douglas, reed player Marty Ehrlich
, trombonist Kuumba Frank Lacy, drummer Marvin Smith
, and pianist Salvatore Bonafede. That same year, Formanek began playing with Berne's ensemble Bloodcount through the end of the decade, on the releases Lowlife, Poisoned Minds, Memory Select, Discretion, and Saturation Point. His fourth album for Enja Records followed in 1996, with Douglas, trombonist Steve Swell
, and drummer Jim Black
.
In 1998 Berne and Formanek released Ornery People as a duo, and Formanek issued a solo record, Am I Bothering You?. He toured with Gerry Hemingway
that same year. 1999 saw Formanek working in a trio with Ehrlich and Peter Erskine
on drums. In 2000 he played in the quartet Northern Exposure with Black, Dave Ballou on trumpet, and Henrik Frisk on sax.
Alongside this Formanek has done extensive work as a session musician
, appearing on records by Jane Ira Bloom
, Uri Caine
, James Emery
, Lee Konitz
, Kevin Mahogany
, the Mingus Big Band
, the New York Jazz Collective, Daniel Schnyder, and Jack Walrath
.
Currently Formanek is the Director of the Peabody Jazz Orchestra and the jazz bass instructor at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
born in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and associated with the jazz scene in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In the 1980s, Formanek worked as a sideman with Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
, Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch is a contemporary American jazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene....
, and Attila Zoller
Attila Zoller
Attila Cornelius Zoller was a Hungarian born Jazz guitarist. He won Deutscher Filmpreis for Beste Filmmusik in Germany for the film Das Brot der frühen Jahre in 1962.-Biography:...
. His debut release as a leader was 1990's Wide Open Spaces, featuring saxophonist Greg Osby
Greg Osby
Greg Osby is an American jazz saxophonist who plays mainly in the free jazz, free funk and M-Base idioms.-Biography:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, where he majored in Jazz Studies, and then at the Berklee College of Music, with Andy McGhee...
, violinist Mark Feldman
Mark Feldman
Mark Feldman is an American jazz violinist.Feldman worked in Chicago from 1973 to 1980, and in Nashville, Tennessee from 1980 to 1986. He worked in New York City and Western Europe from 1986. Feldman often works with John Zorn, Sylvie Courvoisier, John Abercrombie, The Masada String Trio, Dave...
, guitarist Wayne Krantz
Wayne Krantz
Wayne Krantz is an American jazz fusion guitarist. He has played with top artists such as Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, and others, but is most active as a solo performer.-Biography:...
, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield
Jeff Hirshfield
Jeffrey Lee Hirshfield is an American jazz drummer.Hirshfield studied under Ed Soph. He worked for the Joffrey Ballet in 1976-77 and then played with Mose Allison . During the 1980s he worked with Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan , Toshiko Akiyoshi , and Bennie Wallace...
. In 1992 he released Extended Animation with the same ensemble, except with Tim Berne
Tim Berne
Tim Berne is an American jazz saxophone player and composer.Described by critic Thom Jurek as commanding "considerable power as a composer and ... frighteningly deft ability as a soloist," Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s...
replacing Osby on sax.
In 1993 Formanek, Berne, and Hirshfield recorded as a trio on the album Loose cannon. Following this, Formanek led the septet of himself, Berne, trumpeter Dave Douglas, reed player Marty Ehrlich
Marty Ehrlich
Marty Ehrlich is a multi-instrumentalist and is considered one of the leading figures in experimental or avant-garde jazz....
, trombonist Kuumba Frank Lacy, drummer Marvin Smith
Marvin Smith
Smith, an alumnus of Berklee, has recorded 200 albums with various artists, as well as two solo albums.In addition, he also has toured with Sting, Dave Holland, Sonny Rollins and Willie Nelson. He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet, and is in a band with Kevin Eubanks, fellow Berklee...
, and pianist Salvatore Bonafede. That same year, Formanek began playing with Berne's ensemble Bloodcount through the end of the decade, on the releases Lowlife, Poisoned Minds, Memory Select, Discretion, and Saturation Point. His fourth album for Enja Records followed in 1996, with Douglas, trombonist Steve Swell
Steve Swell
Steve Swell is an American free jazz trombonist and composer.Swell studied at Jersey City State College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his musical life, playing in top 40 bands, salsa bands, big bands and performed on Broadway in Bob Fosse's "Dancin""...
, and drummer Jim Black
Jim Black
Jim Black is a jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas, among others. He attended Berklee College of Music....
.
In 1998 Berne and Formanek released Ornery People as a duo, and Formanek issued a solo record, Am I Bothering You?. He toured with Gerry Hemingway
Gerry Hemingway
Gerry Hemingway is an American jazz composer and percussionist.He has performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Ray Anderson, Mark Helias, Reggie Workman, Michael Moore, Oliver Lake, Marilyn Crispell, Christy Doran, John Wolf Brennan, Don...
that same year. 1999 saw Formanek working in a trio with Ehrlich and Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine is an American jazz drummer and composer. He has enjoyed a long and successful career as a session drummer, recording and touring with many famous jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan and Weather Report...
on drums. In 2000 he played in the quartet Northern Exposure with Black, Dave Ballou on trumpet, and Henrik Frisk on sax.
Alongside this Formanek has done extensive work as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, appearing on records by Jane Ira Bloom
Jane Ira Bloom
Jane Ira Bloom is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer.-Biography:Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxophone, and eventually settling on the soprano saxophone as her primary instrument...
, Uri Caine
Uri Caine
Uri Caine is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer.-Early years:The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist Bernard Peiffer at 12. He later studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he came...
, James Emery
James Emery (musician)
James Emery is an American jazz guitarist. He grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio.Emery played in the 1970s with Leroy Jenkins, Bobby Naughton and Anthony Braxton. He has been a member of the String Trio of New York, which he founded along with Billy Bang and John Lindberg, since 1977, and also played...
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Kevin Mahogany
Kevin Mahogany
Kevin Mahogany is an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. He is known for his scat singing, and his singing style has been compared with jazz singers Joe Williams and Johnny Hartman....
, the Mingus Big Band
Mingus Big Band
The Mingus Big Band is an ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of the late Charles Mingus. It is managed by his widow, Sue Mingus and represented by Tree Lawn Artists, Inc.. In addition to its weekly Monday night appearance at the Jazz Standard in New York City,...
, the New York Jazz Collective, Daniel Schnyder, and Jack Walrath
Jack Walrath
Jack Walrath is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus and Glenn Ferris, among others....
.
Currently Formanek is the Director of the Peabody Jazz Orchestra and the jazz bass instructor at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
.
Discography
- Wide Open Spaces (Enja RecordsEnja RecordsEnja Records is a German jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971....
, 1990) - Extended Animation (Enja, 1992)
- Loose Cannon (Soul Note, 1993)
- Low Profile (Enja, 1994)
- Nature of the Beast (Enja, 1996)
- Ornery People with Tim BerneTim BerneTim Berne is an American jazz saxophone player and composer.Described by critic Thom Jurek as commanding "considerable power as a composer and ... frighteningly deft ability as a soloist," Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s...
(Little Brother, 1998) - Am I Bothering You? (Screwgun, 1999)
- Relativity (Enja, 1999)
- The Rub and Spare Change (2010 ECM) w/ Craig TabornCraig TabornCraig Taborn is an American keyboardist and composer. Playing piano, organ, and Moog synthesizer, Taborn has worked mostly in jazz, although he also does dark ambient and techno music....
, Tim BerneTim BerneTim Berne is an American jazz saxophone player and composer.Described by critic Thom Jurek as commanding "considerable power as a composer and ... frighteningly deft ability as a soloist," Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s...
and Gerald CleaverGerald Cleaver (musician)Gerald Cleaver is an African-American jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan. He joined the jazz faculty at the University of Michigan in 1995...