Loading details…
Artist
Ton Trio
2+ albums
free jazzjazz
about
The Oakland based Ton Trio is made up of Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Kurt Kottheimer on bass, and Sam Ospovat on drums. All three found their way to the San Francisco area after a time in the midwest, and each became active playing creative music shortly after their arrival. After playing separately in different contexts, Ton Trio formed in the summer of 2007. The music for this trio is written by Shelton, some pieces use the melodic and rhythmic material in a more traditional head format while in others the parts are interchangeable and can be explored extensively by each player, with parts being rearranged simultaneously to create new harmonic relationships. The music covers a lot of ground from compositional rearrangement to high-energy freedom. Kotheimer and Ospovat push “One Last Thing” with a driving, pulsing beat that moves in flux, stretching the rhythm allowing Shelton’s alto free rein to skim effortlessly above.- Robert Iannapollo, Cadence Shelton, Kotheimer and Ospovat comprise a trio of utmost conviction. - Clifford Allen, Paris Transatlantic The opening "The Way" recalls early Ornette Coleman with Shelton and Ospovat playing the simple melody repeatedly until the song opens into its improvisational phase. What impresses here is the equality of force—the saxophone, drums and bass share equally in the sound mix. Every minute gesture of Ospovat is heard, and he is equally responsible for the melody.- Mark Corroto, AAJ Ton Trio's first albu
