Michael Story is a professional acoustic and electric
bassist, band leader and composer from Melbourne. He leads his Melbourne based piano trio; featuring pianist Luke Howard and drummer Daniel Farrugia, which plays a blend of modern jazz and contemporary groove music, inspired by Bobo Stensen’s trio, Medeski Martin and Wood, The Bad Plus and Brad Mehldau.
Michael is currently recording his latest CD with Luke and Daniel featuring many of the tunes performed over the last six months. The trio’s sound has developed from their previous release with a greater focus on collective improvisation, blending deep colourful harmonies and melodies with kick, hats, snare and woody double bass grooves. Michael’s goal is to continue to develop as an emotive improviser, creating and performing music that moves people with groove, and represents who he is and where he is from; which is originally Christchurch in New Zealand.
He completed his Bachelor of Music at the Christchurch Jazz School in 2004 with support from the Jerry Wise Young Performers Scholarship. During his time in Christchurch he studied with Tom Rainey and performed at the Christchurch Jazz and Arts festivals and the national salsa festival Jambalya with salsa group ‘Ritmo Latino’.
No more than a couple of months after completing his course Michael relocated to Melbourne to complete an honours year at the Victorian College of the Arts with the support from the Dame Malvina Major Foundation’s young emerging artist grant. He studied under the guidance of bassist Gary Costello and pianists Tim Stevens and Andrea Keller. He wrote his honours dissertation on bassist Larry Grenadier’s contribution to collective improvisation in the Brad Mehldau trio. Michael formed his trio the first year he arrived in Melbourne and did a small release at the end of that year; a snap shot of the band’s sound and Michael’s writing.
Michael is also currently working as a sideman with many groups in Melbourne including soul/hip hop group Flow and Plenty, original jazz projects The Daniel Gassin Trio, Andy Sugg Group, Tim Shawcross Septet, Mark Lockett and Paul Van Ross Quartet, The Ground, and pop/rock groups artists Neil Murray and Bridget A’Beckett. He has also performed alongside top Melbourne Jazz artists David Rex, Andrew Gander, Steve Magnuson, Geoff Hughes, Mark Fitzgibbon, Nichaud Fitzgibbon and Allan Browne. He has toured New Zealand playing at the Queenstown Jazz Festival and dates in Christchurch and Wellington with the Mark Lockett and Paul Van Ross Quartet and has toured around SA, NSW, QSD and central Australia.
Whilst pushing his trios up and coming release, Michael is also helping to plan a short tour to Sydney and Canberra for Flow and Plenty after the successful release of their debut EP earlier this year. Click on the album cover below or visit the website to have a listen.
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