James Emery - guitar Rob Thomas - violin John Lindberg - bass

BIOGRAPHY

Since its formation in 1977, the String Trio of New York has been delighting, touching and thrilling audiences around the world with its singular acoustic improvisations and compositions for violin, guitar and bass. Initially conceived as a composer/performer's collective, the Trio has grown in scope and now features a repertoire of over sixty stylistically diverse works made up of originals by the members, works commissioned from composers such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Wadada Leo Smith, Mark Helias, Bobby Previte, Marty Ehrlich, and Anthony Davis, and arrangements of classics by Ellington, Mingus, Monk, Parker, Coltrane, Powell, Shorter and others.

For over two decades, the Trio has been one of the most active touring ensembles of its kind and has performed hundreds of concerts throughout North America, Europe, East Asia, India, the Middle East, and North Africa. Their international jazz festival appearances include Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Vancouver, Toronto, Leipzig, Cracow, Victoria, Edmonton, Lovere, Tampere, Leverkusen and Warsaw. Hailed by critics worldwide, the Philadelphia Inquirer said that the Trio "...is solidly prepared, but offers the excitement of improvisation projected through unshakable musicianship." JazzTimes raved, "No individual or ensemble has done more to demystify chamber jazz, and to realize its potential for warmth, sensuousness and beauty...than the String Trio of New York." The New York Times observed that the Trio "...played jazz that was rhythmically alive, stylistically varied and consistently inventive as anything this listener has heard recently."

In the United States, the Trio has performed at the Mellon, Ravinia and Newport Jazz Festivals as well as Great Performers at Lincoln Center, Walker Arts Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The Kennedy Center, Houston's Da Camera Society, Stanford Lively Arts, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, The Wexner Center at Ohio St., The University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Wolf Trap and many others. The ensemble has been featured on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition and most recently on Public Radio International's Concerts from the Library of Congress. The String Trio of New York's remarkable music has contributed immeasurably to the chamber jazz idiom and has won an enthusiastic and increasingly expanding audience.

The String Trio of New York has released fifteen critically acclaimed recordings for the Arabesque, Black Saint, Stash, Music & Arts, Accord Accort, and Westwind labels. In 2003, the 15th CD by the String Trio of New York was released by Brooklyn-based Omnitone Records. The CD was recorded live during a three-night engagement at the Manhattan club The Jazz Standard in May, 2001. The CD features exhilarating full-length performances of new extended works by James Emery and John Lindberg, as well as composer/trumpeter Dave Douglas's In So Many Worlds, commissioned by the Trio in 1999 with funding from Chamber Music America.

In 1995, the String Trio of New York gave the World Premiere of Anthony Davis' Happy Valley Blues with the composer as pianist. Happy Valley Blues was commissioned for the String Trio by a consortium of arts centers including the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State University, the Cerritos Center in California and the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University. It was also presented in an additional twenty concert halls across the US and in Europe. Happy Valley Blues was subsequently recorded, along with the works of Monk and Ellington, on the Music and Arts label.

The most recent seasons have brought highly regarded collaborations with saxophonist Joe Lovano, saxophonist/composer Oliver Lake, pianist Sarah Rothenberg and the Bang On A Can All-Stars. The String Trio of New York / Bang On A Can All-Stars program was heard at the Kennedy Center, the Hult Center in Oregon, the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan, and others.

In 1998, the String Trio of New York celebrated its 20th anniversary season with a commission and tour with Joe Lovano. Myths and Legends, a new quartet by Lovano, was commissioned for STNY and Lovano by San Francisco Performances, Spivey Hall, and Ohio University and was performed in New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and other locations. In 2000, a program appropriately titled Spontaneous Combustion was performed twice at Da Camera of Houston and at Unity Concerts in Montclair, NY.

In 2000, the String Trio premiered an orchestral program featuring works for the Trio and full orchestra. The program includes arrangements of jazz classics by Monk, Ellington and Gillespie and original works.

The Trio brings together three of the most dynamic, creative and unique individuals in jazz and contemporary music: James Emery has performed his works in over 25 countries worldwide. His celebrated recordings have been described as "innovative and imaginative" and "utterly distinctive" by the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. A Guggenheim fellow, he has been described as "one of the world's finest guitarists" by allaboutjazz.com.

John Lindberg, has toured worldwide as a leader and released twenty-five albums featuring his compositions. Downbeat Magazine recently noted "One of bassist Lindberg's most enduring distinctions is that he demonstrates how much having fun could--probably should--be central to modern jazz dynamics".

Rob Thomas is increasingly regarded as one of the most impressive jazz violinists currently working. His breadth of ideas, stunning technique and total command of the jazz vocabulary inspire all who hear him. His recent work includes projects with Andy Summers, Lee Konitz, the Jazz Passengers and the Mahavishnu Project.

Thoroughly committed to education and outreach programs, the String Trio of New York has developed the innovative and unique Human Residency, a series of seminars and lecture/ demonstrations linking music to the arts and humanities, ever widening their circle of devoted fans. This far-reaching project has been presented by Stanford Lively Arts, Da Camera of Houston, Ohio U., Wallace Comm. College Selma, Buena Vista College, Babson College, Eastern Michigan U., Ferris St. U. and others. The String Trio of New York continues to break new ground in the new century with this endeavor.