BRIDGE 61 (USA)	Info von Ken Vandermark:
	BRIDGE 61 is a new improvised music cooperative formed in Chicago during December, 2004, by Tim Daisy (drums), Nate McBride (acoustic and electric bass), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), and Ken Vandermark (reeds).  All four members contribute to the ensemble by submitting compositions, considering arrangements, and working through material equally.  The band is focused on utilizing its existing histories as a source for new potential in musical exploration (Daisy has worked with Vandermark in the VANDERMARK 5, SOUND IN ACTION TRIO, CRISIS ENSEMBLE, and with both Vandermark and McBride as a sub for Paal Nilssen-Love during the first North American Tour by FME.  In addition to that trio, McBride has worked with Vandermark in SPACEWAYS INC. and TRIPLEPLAY).  They are also attempting to develop the widest possible range of rhythmic and melodic approaches to contemporary improvisation and composition.  The combination of instruments at their disposal - clarinets, percussion, acoustic and electric bass, saxophones -  allows the ensemble to utilize a startling range of sound and tactics with the material, easily moving from the character of an austere chamber ensemble to that of radical electric noise or to a kinetic energy hymn in any given set during a performance.  Most important, however, is that the band makes the connection between these varied aesthetics and gives them formal sense.  Starting with an intense performance schedule in the winter of 2004-2005, European and North American tours organized for later in the year, and plans to also record a first album in 2005, BRIDGE 61 seeks to be a major entry point into the investigation of contemporary music during our time. MEMBERS: TIM DAISY: Tim Daisy was born on July 15th, 1976, in Waukegan, Illinois, and began playing the drums at age 11.  Soon he was involved in a rock band with his brother, playing shows around the northern Illinois and the Southeastern Wisconsin area. At age 17 a friend gave him a copy of John Coltrane’s "Giant Steps," which had a profound impact on him and began his fascination with improvised music.  Tim began formal lessons with percussionist Joe Varhula at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, from 1995-1996, and moved to Chicago in 1997, quickly becoming involved with the city’s vibrant improvised music scene. In 1998, he formed Triage with saxophonist Dave Rempis and bassist Gordon Lewis (who was replaced by Jason Ajemian in 2000). Also at this time, he became involved in the “58 Group,” a modern dance ensemble led by choreographer Ginger Farley, with musical direction by saxophonist and composer Cameron Pffifner. In 2000 Tim joined forces with young alto saxophonist Aram Shelton and bassist Jason Ajemian to form Dragons 1976, and continues to record and tour with this group to this day.  Tim joined the Vandermark 5 in 2001 and has been an integral member of the band since that time.  During this period he also ran the Thursday night improvised music series at The Nervous Center in Chicago (for the years 2000 and 2001).  Other active projects include Triage, Bridge 61, the Dave Rempis Quartet, Kyle Bruckman's Wrack, and his own Festival Quartet; and past collaborations have involved the Chicago Improvisers Group, Sound In Action Trio, Unclocked, Arrive, Scott Rosenberg's Red, and Fred Lonberg-Holm’s Lightbox Orchestra. Musicians who have had a profound influence on Tim's playing include Milford Graves, Ed Blackwell, Rashied Ali, Elvin Jones, Paul Lovens, Hamid Drake, Billy Higgins, Paul Lytton, and Paul Motian.  In November, 2003, he was selected as on of the “13 Drummers For The Future” by Down Beat magazine. Tim has performed and toured throughout Europe, The United States, and Canada, and is featured on a number of recordings with the ensembles listed above. NATE MCBRIDE: Born 5 May, 1971 in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, bassist Nate McBride was raised in Seattle and lived there until moving to Boston to attend college in 1990.  While working on degrees in English and music - including bass studies with Cecil McBee and Donald Palma - he gained extensive performance experience in Boston’s jazz and improvised music scene.  This period saw the beginning of several long-running collaborations which would prove critical to his development as a musician, including those with drummer Curt Newton, guitarist Joe Morris, pianist Pandelis Karayorgis and reedist Ken Vandermark.  For the decade following college Nate was recording, performing and touring widely in the U.S. and Europe with those musicians and others, while sustaining an active performance schedule in Boston.  In the early years of the 21st century Nate co-founded, organized and managed the Modern Improvised Music series (a Boston concert program featuring local and international artists which continues to be a critical part of that city’s musical landscape), while pursuing increasingly intensive work with his musical associates; his work with Vandermark in particular has become a central focus.  Among his musical influences are the instrumentalist/composer/bandleader model exemplified by Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington, the flexible and propulsive music of blues guitarists such as Skip James and Fred McDowell, the energy and DIY ethos of punk rock, Baroque music, and the forward thinking approach of the AACM. In late 2004, Nate relocated to Chicago, and performs on an ongoing basis with his own Boston-based Quartet; the Pandelis Karayorgis Trio; the mi3; Tripleplay; Spaceways, Inc.; FME; and Bridge 61.  As well as those musicians already cited, he has appeared on record or in concert with a variety of other improvisers, including Mat Maneri, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jim Hobbs, Charlie Kohlhase, Allan Chase, Satoko Fujii, James Rohr, and Hamid Drake. JASON STEIN: Jason Stein was born December 6th, 1976, in Washington DC, but grew up on Long Island.  He began his musical career in high school, picking out blues and classic rock tunes on the guitar and listening to Albert King, Buddy Guy, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.  Following high school, Jason spent a number of years traveling around the US and Central America.  Oddly enough, it was in San Pedro Guatemala that he discovered a passion for Jazz music.  Over the course of the next few years he began to take guitar more seriously, eventually ending up in Bozeman, Montana where he studied improvisation with Kelly Roberty. Out of his love for Eric Dolphy, and a sneaking suspicion that it just wasn't happening with the Jazz guitar, Jason took up the bass clarinet in 1998.  From the moment he laid his fingers on the keys he was hooked, studying first at Bennington College with Charles Gayle and Milford Graves, and later at the University of Michigan with Donald Waldon, Ed Sarath and privately with Vincent York.  Jason has recently moved to Chicago to join the new quartet, Bridge 61, and will be heading out on tour this spring with Kyle Bruckman's Wrack. back

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