Michael Formanek biography
Michael
Formanek's singular approach to the acoustic bass has led to an
impressive range of musical associations. During his
twenty-six year career, he has played and/or recorded with Tim
Berne, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Marty Ehrlich, Chet Baker, Tony
Williams, Gerry Mulligan, Fred Hersch, Dave Liebman, Uri Caine,
Joe Henderson, Mark Isham, James Emery, Mingus Big Band, Terumasa
Hino, Cedar Walton, Attila Zoller, George Coleman, Jane Ira Bloom,
Bob Moses, Gunther Schuller, Peter Erskine, Gary Thomas, Baikida
Carroll, and many others.
Composition also plays a significant role in Formanek's overall musical profile, and four albums of his original music, Wide Open Spaces, Extended Animation, Low Profile and Nature Of The Beast have been released to critical acclaim on the Enja label. Formanek produced or co-produced all of these recordings, and among the featured musicians are Greg Osby, Tim Berne, Mark Feldman, Dave Douglas, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Marty Ehrlich, Wayne Krantz, and Jim Black.
Formanek is a consistent presence on the touring circuit in the US and abroad. He has performed his own music regularly with a wide range of ensembles, and is involved in ongoing projects including Tim Berne's quartet Bloodcount, a more recently formed cooperative trio with Peter Erskine and Marty Ehrlich called Relativity, and the Tim Berne/Michael Formanek duo. Current releases of particular interest include a solo bass recording Am I Bothering You? on Screwgun, and a Tim Berne/Michael Formanek duo recording, Ornery People, on Little Brother Records, which Britain's The Guardian newspaper rated as "two excellent examples of personal and inventive free-improvised acoustic jazz with no props...Formanek's solo set ranks with the great solo bass performances."
On OmniTone, Formanek performs with Baikida Carroll on Marionettes on a High Wire and Angela Sanchez on Mirror Me.