The Prairie Trio
Three major iconoclasts of contemporary vernacular music, Darol Anger, pianist Philip Aaberg and cellist Eugene Freisen , have joined forces to once again redefine contemporary chamber music.
All three are well-known for their profound and innovative original music:
Violinist Anger changed the jazz and chamber music world forever with his Turtle Island String Quartet, final proof that a string quartet can not only swing but perform any contemporary music convincingly. He also helped found the David Grisman group and the Montreux Band.
Pianist Aaberg honed his chamber music skills at Harvard and the Marlboro Music Festival and has presented his American West-inspired music all over the world, both in powerful solo concerts and with organizations such as the Boston Pops Orchestra, and has worked with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Elvin Bishop, and Paul Dresher.
Eugene Freisen's long tenure with the Paul Winter Consort has established him as one of the first and greatest contemporary improvising cellists, with a repertoire that runs from Bach to South America to his own fascinating compositions. His educational projects include a tenure at Berkelee College Of Music and his acclaimed solo, CelloMan.
An important component of the trio's mission is to further develop and explore their influential original music, which has always been based in the American experience. All blend afro-american blues and jazz, appalachian celtic-derived musics, european art musics, and an infusion of latin american, eastern european, and pacific rim elements.
Anger and Aaberg are both excellent at wider collaborations, and the core duet of violin & piano may be augmented at times by varying ensemble combinations according to musical need and/or budget.
The trio enjoys an infectious and mercurial presence onstage, involving the audience in the thrill of musical discovery, unexpected beauty, and humor.
A&A have already collaborated on a major release from Six Degrees/Island records entitled Heritage, released in September '97, and played together with the "chambergrass" all-star band Newgrange for three years, while concurrently playing numerous concerts in Montana and the Pacific Northwest and developing repertoire.
In addition to their large original repertoire, this duo has embarked on a major project with deep implications: Reinterpret some of the seminal 20th century chamber music works by Gershwin, Copland, Ravel, et al, from a vernacular standpoint; bringing back into the pieces the original details of style and gesture which inspired these works.
They remove the standard classical stylistic overlay from 19th century Italian operatic tradition, replacing it with a deeply American, blues-influenced approach, while forsaking none of the precision and virtuosity that these works require.
The duo also interprets works from the "other" side of the line: the early jazz tradition (Beiderbecke, Venuti, Armstrong) and the American folk and string band tradition (Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, regional fiddle musics) and develops them thematically and authentically in a chamber music context.
PHIL AABERG:
A treasure of the treasure state
--Governor Marc Racicot, State of Montana
Calling Philip Aaberg another piano player is like calling Eric Clapton just another guitar player. [He] is living proof that a grand piano in the right hands can be as exciting as a stage or orchestra pit filled with musicians. --The Tulsa Tribune
A deft, ebullient rocker. A real find.
�Rolling Stone Magazine
Philip Aaberg composes some of the most 'American-sounding' music since Aaron Copland. You'll be missing a lot if you don't give it the attention you would any serious musical work. Music for the ages.
�The Sunday Post, Bridgeport, CT
Aaberg's masterful touch could make a stone weep. �Bay Area Music Magazine
Aaberg combines superb technical capability with compositional craftsmanship. There is energy and backbone to this creative music. �Digital Audio
A must for solo piano fans. �L.A. Jazz Scene
Big Sky sound portraits at their best. Aaberg is one hell of a piano player and his north country bittersweet soundscapes make this one the best-new at the top of the list. �Fanfare Magazine
He's an innovator in the stylistic neighborhood bordered by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Bruce Hornsby, and Keith Jarrett. It's a uniquely American sound, at times poignant, brash, pensive, and bursting with enthusiasm. And sometimes, all of these emotions on the same page. �Keyboard Magazine
Phil's biography
Recipient of the 1995 Governor's Award for the Arts; State of Montana After years of classical performances and stadium rock & roll tours, Aaberg hit the road as a solo pianist. His concert performances have consistently drawn standing ovations and left crowds dazzled by his dynamic and emotional range, and captivated by his musical composition and storytelling.
- Born and raised in Chester, MT , population 950
- First full piano recital at age 7
- Drummer in a rock and roll band at age 14
- Took the train 1200 miles round trip for weekly piano lessons
- Soloist with symphony orchestras at age 16
- Leonard Bernstein Music Scholarship to Harvard
- New Orleans jazz with Tom Sancton, pupil of George Lewis
- Invited to Marlboro Chamber Music Festival, Pablo Casals, conductor, Rudolf Serkin, director
- Studied Beethoven Sonatas with Kenneth Drake
- Worked on farms and as a park foreman in Montana
- Discovered by blues great Elvin Bishop with whom he recorded six albums, including the million-selling Fooled Around and Fell in Love
- Was a guest on over 100 albums, including best sellers by country artists Juice Newton, Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbit.
- Toured in the bands of Peter Gabriel, John Hiatt, Maria Muldaur, and Doobie Brother Tom Johnston.
And, in the present tense:
Artist in Residence in Chester, Montana, funded by the Montana Cultural Trust Keyboardist with influential and world-reknowned new music/theater group The Paul Dresher Ensemble. Pianist/accordionist in the all-star new acoustic ensemble
Newgrange
With Darol Anger, Tim O'Brien, Alison Brown, Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips. Maintains an active touring and recording schedule, anticipating the fall '99 release of his sixth solo recording, on Compass Records.
To make it easier on categorists, Aaberg says: I feel lucky. There were no cliques in my hometown, telling me that one kind of music is better than another, so I was able to cut right to the pattern that connects them all.
The musicians he's worked with agree:
He's the best piano player I've ever heard.
-- Elvin Bishop
Phil is one of the most gifted people I have ever worked with.
-- Peter Gabriel
Phil Aaberg. Great piano player. One too many 'a's' in his name, though.
-- John Hiatt
Phil Aaberg is a dangerous musician. Dangerous because when you work with him, you're in danger of never finding another musician who combines viruosity with real passion, and a unique versatility with profound depth of musical understanding. He brings a personal humility and humor to his artistry which makes him a rare pleasure to work with or to see perform. Paul Dresher
Phil is one of the few musicians who can play believably in ANY style. He always makes the music better. Roy Rogers
Pics / Media
- Darol & Phil - SFJAZZ Summer Series (7/4/2004)
- Phil's bio (phillipaaberg.com)
Booking
- Sweetgrass Music
510-562-6029
fax: 562-5923-6114
