John Funkhouser Trio November 13, 2010

The John Funkhouser Trio is an energetic, accessible blend of modern jazz, funk, blues, 20th century classical, Indian classical, and European and American folk music which create a funky, groove oriented, fresh and original sound. Although the band consists of the standard jazz trio instrumentation of piano, bass and drums, the sound of the band is anything but standard. Fired by Berklee Professor John Funkhouser’s “explosive piano playing” (Boston Globe) and set in bold relief by his “exquisite, tight originals” (The Octopus, Champaign, IL) the band stretches the limits of traditional jazz forms. One piece in the band’s working repertoire is over half an hour of continuous music. Funkhouser draws for inspiration on great composers of extended musical works from all genres, like Charles Mingus, Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, and Phish leader Trey Anistasio. Smoothly integrating composed music with improvisation, “FunkHouse takes the listener on a ride through the gamut of emotional territories,” (North Denver Tribune, Denver, CO), from wild, funky romps to sumptuous, Keith Jarrett inspired ballads to burning modern jazz, often in unusual meters. As pianist Kenny Werner put it, the band is “definitely on to something special.”

Official Website: http://johnfunkhouser.com/index.php