Mike Bisio Bio

Mike Bisio

When we think of the great bass players in jazz, generative composer/leaders such as Charles Mingus and Charlie Haden, who have a distinctive approach and sound come to mind. That's what happens when you mention the name of bassist, composer, and leader Michael Bisio.

The critics, out in front for once, already know about Michael. His second album as a leader, In Seattle (Silkheart), made the Village Voice "Best Jazz Records of the 1980's," as well as critic Kevin Whitehead's 1988 Top 10 for National Public Radio. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette described In Seattle as "an exemplary instance of the kind of contemporary jazz being created away from the principal American centres." And Paul de Barros, in his Northwest regional jazz history, Jackson Street After Hours, singled out Bisio as one of the preeminent heirs to Seattle's earthy, yet innovative, tradition.

In a flurry of activity over the last ten years, Bisio has played and/or recorded with Barbara Donald, Wayne Horvitz, Bob Nell, Andrew Hill, Sonny Simmons, John Tchicai, Bern Nix, Jim Nolet, Joe McPhee, Vinny Golia, Van Manakas, Greg Bendian, Carter Jefferson, Charles Gayle, and Marilyn Crispell. He has crossed the country twice with Gayle and toured the West Coast with his own quartet.

What these noted leaders all find in Bisio is a gutsy, honest style and what the poet Garcia Lorca called duende, best translated as soul, or heart. His sound recalls the reverent and warm melodicism of Charlie Haden. Like Haden, he uses gut strings and mikes his bass directly, with no electronic mediation. But Bisio also has no problem venturing "out" into the textural energy zones defined by "new thing" jazzers in the 1960's. As a composer, his work is marked by a spare, bluesy sound, the sweet-and-sour timbres favored by Charles Mingus.

Former Downbeat editor Art Lange, upon hearing Michael at the 1994 Du Maurier Jazz Festival, remarked: "Bisio's wailing arco bass was reminiscent of David Izenzon with Ornette Coleman."

Today, Michael Bisio continues to tour and compose music for solo, duo, trio, and quartet. One of a long line of bassists to thrive in the Northwest -- Glen Moore, David Freisen, Buddy Catlett, Freddy Schreiber, and Gary Peacock are a few of the others -- Bisio is living up to all the expectations.

Mike Bisio's Website