Ergo is the collective sound of trombonist/laptop jockey Brett Sroka, drummer Shawn Baltazor and keyboardist Carl Maguire, their music integrates compositional detail with improvisational empathy, acoustic earthiness with avant-garde electronics, and plaintive melody with rhapsodic noise. Formed in 2002, they have just released their first CD "Quality Anatomechanical Music Since 2005".
Playing alongside Sroka is Avishai Cohen on trumpet, Aaron Stewart on tenor sax, John Sullivan on bass, and Eric Harland on drums, and special guest Jason Moran on piano and Rhodes electric piano.  VOICES I HEARD is a suite written in 2002 for a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts, funded by the New York Department of Cultural Affairs. The grant is intended for the creation of a new work inspired by the Queens community. Sroka's composition used the vocalizations of residents in his neighborhood of Astoria, Queens for the melodic and rhythmic basis of five pieces. Astoria, being one of the most diverse areas in the world provided rich inspiration; the piece used Japanese, Greek, English and Spanish excerpts from people of various ages and backrounds. The grant was premiered on October 10, 2002 at the Astoria Presbyterian Church with Sroka on trombone, Robert Glasper on piano, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums.
ATIQUIS is the partially defunkt project of guitarist Sebastion Krueger, with trombonist Brett Sroka, saxophonist Matthew Silberman, Bassist Gabe Fonorow and drummer Shawn Baltazor. The music composed by Krueger is inspired by the bouncy and intricate styles of folks like Dave Holland and Ben Allison. Although the band recorded a self-titled album in 2004, they prefer to keep a low profile suprising listeners when they least expect it.
|
