Dominic Duval Bio

Dominic Duval

New Yorker Dominic Duval is one of the finest and most prolific bassists on the contemporary scene, having played and recorded with some of the greatest names in jazz and new music. Duval's recent tenure with pianist Cecil Taylor's trio has cemented his reputation as one of free jazz's important figures. Dominic has performed and recorded with such notables as saxophonists Joe McPhee, Ivo Perelman, Glen Spearman, Chris Kelsey, and Mark Whitecage, composer Pauline Oliveros, trombonist Steve Swell, among many others. Duval's solo bass CD, Night Bird Inventions, was a Top 10 pick in the Coda Magazine critics poll, and his string ensemble CD, State of the Art, was chosen one of the year's best in the Jazziz Magazine poll.

For some of his work, Duval draws upon concepts outside music. Under The Pyramid is a paean to the people of Mexico, and Duval has also expressed through his music his solidarity with Native Americans. Demanding of audiences, intellectually unsettling and emotionally profound, Duval's often unpredictable music is always close to, and at times is beyond, the cutting edge of jazz.

Throughout his recorded work, and notwithstanding his remarkable technical gifts, it is clear that his playing is always subservient to the needs of the group and the music they perform. Among the instruments Duval plays is a Dominic Duval Hutchings bass, designed and built by Carleen Hutchings. These instruments have electronically tuned top and back plates, a device that creates the sonority of a vintage, seasoned instrument although they are newly made. This richness of sound is a decided asset to Duval's playing because, throughout his recorded canon, he constantly and consistently demonstrates the brooding intensity that is a hallmark of his approach to jazz.