Mike Murray Trio

March of the Gene Keys - the Mike Murray presents original music from their latest recording on PJCE Records. Mike Murray guitarShawn Wang bassChris Lee drums Listen Here >>> mikemurraysounds.com The pursuit of the art of improvisation, involving a rich musical language, has been at the heart of Mike Murray’s musical journey for over 4 decades. Elements of jazz, rock, noise, contemporary classical, microtonal and various world traditions have all made their way into his music. Whether involved in original composition, free improvisation, the great American songbook or somewhere in between he is always pushing to explore new territory. Mike is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music having received a degree in jazz composition while studying guitar with Jon Damien and is the recipient of the John Abercrombie Scholarship. He has also received a masters degree in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory having studied with Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Mick Goodrick and Dominique Eade. He has performed and/or recorded with Free Jazz icons Paul Flaherty and Randall Colbourne, the late Thomas Chapin, Royal Hartigan, Scott Thornton, Matt Moran, Rich McGhee, Steve Marien and many others in and around the New England/NY area. He has also performed as part of Anthony Braxton’s Tricentric Festival in NYC. Mike has released 5 recordings of original and improvised music as a leader. The latest being “March of the Gene Keys” on PJCE Records with his trio featuring Shawn Wang on bass and Chris Lee on drums. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest working with some of the Portland area's finest improvisers including Chris Lee, Shawn Wang, Dan Balmer, Alan Cook, Shao Way Wu, Noah Bernstein and Jeff Leonard among many others. Shawn Wang is a musician hailing from Reno, Nevada, where he grew up playing classical piano until fate (in the form of an announcement about jazz band auditions on his middle school intercom) brought him to the world of jazz and creative music. While piano was his main instrument for years, he truly found his musical home as a bass player at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he had the privilege of studying with acclaimed musicians like Hans Halt & Adam Benjamin. After college, Shawn moved to Minneapolis where he accelerated his musical development by composing for and constructing his own bands, all while collaborating with incredible musicians like Kavyesh Kaviraj & Jay Epstein. Following his time in Minnesota, Shawn moved to Portland where he has continued to meet other passionate, kind, and incredible musicians like Mike Murray, Chris Lee, and many others, all in the pursuit of serving the music. Chris Lee is a drummer, vibist and composer currently based in Portland, OR. In addition to recording and leading his own groups as a drummer, he has worked with diverse artists such as Joe Henderson, Lew Tabackin, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Ron Miles, Sheila Jordan, Mose Allison, John Handy, David "Fathead" Newman, George Cables, Nguyen Le, Sonny Simmons and others. As a vibist he has led the chamber jazz trio Primal Mates and the Poetry Music Project with vocalist/cellist Colleen O’Brien. His compositions have been performed and/or recorded by Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn, Kenny Wheeler, Art Lande and Paul McCandless. He has two recent recordings on the PJCE label “Green in Grey” and “Quintet Music” and was a featured artist at the 2024 Montavilla Jazz Festival. Online ticket purchases close one hour before showtime. If the show is NOT sold out, and tickets remain, they can be purchased directly at the box office door. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.