Mark Dresser - kontrabas solo

Dragoceni gost, vrhunski kreativec (*1952) je Ljubljano vzljubil že sredi osemdesetih, ko se je v Križankah pridružil znamenitemu kvartetu Anthonyja Braxtona. Tedaj se je tudi preselil v NYC in oznamoval zlata leta "radikalne judovske kulture" in iskanj v klubu oziroma pri založbi Knitting Factory.
Spretno je nadgradil Zornove privatne zahteve in danes v nebroj skupinah in
posamič nadaljuje svoje pogumno "mingusovsko" poslanstvo izvajalca-improvizatorja-komponista. Tokrat se bo prvič pri nas predstavil s
solističnim nastopom, študiozno eskapado neverjetne strunarske sile,
tehnično bravuro in mogočno izpovedjo človeka, ki je tačas ključen vezni
člen med avantjazzovsko in "sodobno klasično" srenjo.

[b]Dresser[eb] je sicer z različnima trioma (+Anthony Coleman & Chris Speed; +[b]Denman Maroney[eb] & Matthias Ziegler) v letih 1995 in 2000 gostoval tudi v projektu "Kino-uho" (Slovenska kinoteka) in izvajal svojo avtorsko godbo k avantgardnima filmoma
Andaluzijski pes in Zavoljo Nice in video delu Subtonium bratov Kunst.
[L]http://www.subtoniumKunst.com[EL]

Bassist and composer Mark Dresser has developed a recognizable sound and
masterful technique through the years -- from the L.A. avant garde jazz
scene of the early '70s, to '80s European tours in Anthony Braxton's
Quartet, to the late '90s' NYC downtown scene of musicians who frequently
are booked at such venues as the Knitting Factory and Tonic. In addition to
his acclaimed work as a composer, Mark Dresser has emerged as a master of
the contrabass and has played in all manner of improvisatory and composed
settings with just about every major experimental, creative and/or
improviser around -- including Misha Mengelberg, Evan Parker, Henry
Threadgill, Tim Berne, John Zorn, and even Diamanda Galas! He has worked as
a professional musician since he was 20 years old. In the early '70s, he
played in Stanley Crouch's Black Music Infinity, a group that included Bobby
Bradford, Arthur Blythe, James Newton and David Murray. Also during this
time, Dresser was playing in the San Diego Symphony. He earned his M.A. at
UCSD (where he also studied as an undergraduate), went to Italy on a
Fulbright Fellowship, then moved to New York in 1986, when he was invited to
join the Anthony Braxton Quartet. Dresser toured Europe and recorded with
the Quartet, which included pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Gerry
Hemingway through the early '90s. In NY, Dresser also focused on composing
for the Arcado String Trio, and Tambastics, two groups he performed in which
toured extensively, won awards, and combined recorded six CDs. Dresser has
received several commissions including from Germany's WDR Radio of Cologne,
and the McKim fund. Dresser has led his many recordings, including those of
his own quintet, Force Green, and recordings of his original scores for two
classic silent films, including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In 1995, the
Knitting Factory label released a CD of some of his solo contrabass
recordings, Invocation, and two years later, Tzadik issued two of his
chamber works, Banquet. Dresser has guest lectured at Juilliard, UCSD and
the National Superior Conservatory of Paris. By the late '90s, he had
performed on over 70 CDs, was still based out of New York, and continued
wowing audiences in a variety of musical settings.
-- Joslyn Layne

"Mark Dresser's Promethean bass-playing powers one of the heaviest /.../
Dresser consistently astonishes with his range of ideas and effects, not to
mention his towering beat."
--The Wire

"Mr. Dresser, who constantly drove the group doward with his full,
wide-bodied sound, would solo, hammering strings with both hands, creating
the sound of several basses playing at once."
--The New York Times

"Mark Dresser is an inventor. He also may be the most important bassist to
emerge since 1980 in jazz or classical music."
--Boston Herald, 1. februarja 1998

"Mr. Dresser, a bassist who is one of the great instrumental forces in
recent American jazz outside of the mainstream ..."
--New York Times, 25, februarja 2000

"Mark Dresser awed the assembly with his compositions for solo bass-no one
expected to be nailed to the floor by one guy with a four-string."
--Los Angeles Times

"You've got to pity Dresser's poor bass -- you wouldn't treat a dog the way
he manhandles his instrument. But the gnarled tones and vicious swing he
tortures out of it are worth the abuse. In Dresser's slanted compositions,
the jazz tradition is only so much grist for the mill."
--The New Yorker, 18. avgusta 1997