Michael Formanek avec l’ONJ (Orchestre national de Jazz)

Michael Formanek has been described as “a bold and unclassifiable bassist and composer,” while The New York Times has noted that his music is always “graceful in its subversions, often even sumptuous.” Whether it’s for a small band or a large ensemble, he creates modern jazz that is earthy yet atmospheric, always alive with dark-hued melody and bone-deep rhythms, rich in dynamic possibility and the sound of surprise.

Even with decades of experience to his credit – he got his start as a Bay Area teenager playing with the likes of Joe Henderson and Tony Williams – Formanek has made some of his keenest creative leaps in recent years, documented on a sequence of justly lauded recordings.

His three ECM albums as a leader each scored rare five-star reviews in DownBeat. These included two discs – Small Places (2012) and The Rub and Spare Change (2010) – featuring a powerhouse quartet with saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver; the third was a magnificent record – The Distance (2016) – that showcased his compositions for an all-star big band, playfully dubbed Ensemble Kolossus.

Formanek’s first album for the Intakt label, Time Like This (2018), saw him leading his new Elusion Quartet with saxophonist Tony Malaby, pianist Kris Davis and drummer/vibraphonist Ches Smith to “soul-stirring” effect, according to All About Jazz.

Formanek’s latest release from Intakt Records, Imperfect Measures, his second solo bass recording was released in mid-2021. Were We Where We Were by the Michael Formanek Drome Trio with saxophonist/clarinetist Chet Doxas, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza was released in March 2022 on his newly minted label, Circular File Records.

Born in San Francisco in 1958, Formanek has performed in myriad contexts over the decades, including with masters from Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz to Freddie Hubbard and Fred Hersch. Among his peers, the bassist has collaborated closely with Tim Berne, making a duo album with the saxophonist (Ornery People) and performing extensively in Berne’s iconic Bloodcount band in the ’90s. Formanek also released a solo LP – Am I Bothering You? – via Berne’s Screwgun label in 1998.

Thumbscrew, a collaborative trio featuring Formanek and Halvorson alongside drummer Tomas Fujiwara, has released four lauded albums via Cuneiform.

Formanek’s early recordings as a leader included a string of quartet and septet releases for Enja from 1990 to 1996.

As a sideman, he has recorded with Uri Caine, Dave Burrell, Jane Ira Bloom, Gary Thomas, Jack Walrath, Joe Maneri, Harold Danko, Lee Konitz, Freddie Redd, Art Pepper, Chet Baker and even Elvis Costello, along with appearing on albums by such frequent partners as Berne, Halvorson, Fujiwara, Malaby, multi-reedist Marty Ehrlich, trumpeter Dave Ballou, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, drummer Devin Gray and pianist Angelica Sanchez.

From 2001 to 2018, Formanek taught jazz bass and jazz history at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he also directed the Peabody Jazz Orchestra.

He continues to perform, teach privately and conduct workshops and masterclasses internationally.

Michael Formanek received a 2023 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

In May of 2023 he relocated to Lisbon, Portugal.

Michael Formanek - Bass

Artist website