the jazz school presents
the lost trio, with special guest jorrit dijkstra
saturday, june 28
8 pm
jazzschool
2087 addison street
berkeley, ca
visiting saxophonist composer jorrit dijkstra joins the lost trio to perform an evening of music composed by steve lacy
the lost trio:
phillip greenlief - soprano and alto saxophones
dan seamans - bass
tom hassett - drums
special guest: jorrit dijkstra (netherlands/boston) - alto saxophone
The Lost Trio was formed in the fall of 1994 by Phillip Greenlief, Dan Seamans & Tom Hassett as they stepped into existence with a steady Thursday night gig at The Rose Pistola in San Francisco's North Beach district. That run was followed by a steady alternating Sunday afternoon gig at Cato's Ale House in Oakland. The Lost Trio has continued with a touring history that has focused mainly on the west coast.The groups' repertoire began with a program of standards by Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and others before veering into other sources. Since then, the group has fashioned a very unique collection of over 600 songs that range from composers as diverse as Hank Williams, Nino Rota, Carla Bley, Billy Stranhorn, Mel Tillis, The Grateful Dead, Giovanni Fusco, Angelo Badalamente, Larry Young, Irving Berlin, and PJ Harvey, in addition to original compositions by members Phillip Greenlief and Dan Seamans.
The Lost Trio recorded its first CD, Remembrance of Songs Past, in 1994 and the disc was released in 1995, earning a "Pick of the Month" in All About Jazz Magazine (December 1995), in addition to receiving rave reviews in numerous other publications.
The Lost Trio's second recording is the two release set, "Live at Avalon & The Graves", with guest guitarist Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Trio Putanesca). "Live at Avalon & The Graves" was listed 1 Jazz Recording of 2000 by the San Jose Mercury News, and was listed on two other Top 10 Recordings lists in the East Bay Express and the San Francisco Chronicle. Disc 1 was recorded at the Morris Graves Museum of Art (Friday night) and Disc 2 was recorded at Avalon in Eureka, CA (Saturday night). Beverley Wolfe produced the recordings for both sessions and is owner at Avalon, home of some one of the finest dining experiences on the north coast.
The group's third recording, "Boxcar Samovar" (2004) continued to feature the trio's nearly-surreal repertoire, careening recklessly from Hank Williams, Billy Strayhorn and Radiohead to the Grateful Dead, Thelonious Monk, and Carla Bley. The Lost Trio's current live set includes works by film composers Nino Rota, Angelo Badalamente and Giovanni Fusco.
PRESS QUOTES:
"The Lost Trio is a loose-limbed band marked by an off-the-cuff poetic sensibility, full of earthy humor and soaring lyricism."
-Andrew Gilbert - San Francisco Chronicle
"Think of the early musical joy and humor of Sonny Rollins' early trios and the haunting beauty of Jimmy Giuffre's small groups. That is a good place to start when contemplating The Lost Trio. The three players click together remarkably well: Greenlief's lyrical, yet hard-edged tenor, a fully orchestral Seamans' bass and the sensitive, swinging drums of Tom Hassett."
- Grego Applegate Edwards, Cadence Magazine
"Seldom will you hear club jazz as beautifully recorded as Live at Avalon and the Graves by the Lost Trio (plus Adam Levy). It's also exceptionally beautiful music, with Bay Area saxist Phillip Greenlief steering away from the hot bluster and conceptual intellectuality at which he also excels in favor of a gentle lyricism that trips along just above the level of your heartbeat. He clearly wants to make sure you can hear the subtlety of Adam Levy's touch — Levy's one electric guitarist who lends every note and chord its own shading. The selections lean toward standards, but not always the ones you expect: Mel Tillis and Nino Rota nudge up against Billy Strayhorn with zero friction, thanks to the millstream swing of drummer Tom Hassett and bassist Dan Seamans. Buy the CD (a double); you'll be glad you did."
— L.A. Weekly
"In full possession of the concept of interplay, the members of The Lost Trio have equal weight in the construction of the music and contribute balanced possibilities through the extension of their own rich musical dowries."
- Altrisuoni (Naples, Italy)
"Though every Bay Area jazz fan knows the Lost Trio, we get 'em only about once a year, so consider this 10th-anniversary epiphany an occasion. Bassist Dan Seamans' meditative introduction to Radiohead's muezzinlike "Pyramid Song" eases you into Boxcar Samovar, the trio's new masterwork; his caressing touch, coupled with phrasing that's the aural equivalent of eye contact, announces the group's philosophy. Drummer Tom Hassett flicks like chopsticks on the ride cymbal and rolls almost subliminally on the toms through tunes by Monk, Strayhorn and Carla Bley. And admirers of Mark Turner or Joe Lovano should soak up Philip Greenlief's golden tone, shaded dynamics and backlit line conception, and see if he's not blowing the most tenor of anybody right now, evoking Trane and Shepp while remaining all Greenlief."
-Greg Burk, LA Weekly
