Matthew Goodheart, pianist and composer, is one of the most exciting young talents in the Bay Area. His performance at the October Revolution Alternative Jazz Festival last October relieved great acclaim. His diverse musical experience, which include studies in traditional and experimental forms of European and African based musics, have generated a unique compositional and improvisatory style. "I want my music to show awareness of many different traditions," says Goodheart. "I hope it to be inclusive without being derivative." His compositional ranges from open-form improvisational structures to fully notated chamber pieces. "The music should fit the players", he says. "When writing for classically trained musicians, I think of the composition as a kind of sculpture. With improvising musicians, the strengths and personalities of the players are what really create the music. If there is any kind of score at all, it is really just a loose plan for creating different types of interaction. In a group like this, with such powerful and experienced improvisers, the score is just a touchstone. The real music is created from the multiplicity of relationships that develop in the course of the interaction." In addition to performing with his own groups, Goodheart has worked with many prominent musicians, including Glenn Spearman, Raphe Malik, Lisle Ellis, Chris Brown, and George Lewis. He is also presently the pianist for the Spearman-Eneidi Creative Music Orchestra.
Saxophonist and composer Marco Eneidi has worked with prominent musicians on both coasts and in Europe. His associations include Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Sunny Murray, Dennis Charles, Rashid Bakr, Jemeel Moondoc, Bill Dixon, and William Parker. He frequently performs with his own groups, including the 20-piece Spearman-Eneidi Creative Music Orchestra. He has three recordings out, including the highly acclaimed Final Disconnect Notice.
Drummer Donald Robinson, "a stalwart of the Bay Area music scene", is most well known for his long standing association with saxophonist Glenn Spearman and as member of the powerful Double Trio. He also has performed and recorded with many other prominent improvisers, including John Tchicai, Lisle Ellis, Raphe Malik, Paul Plimley, George Lewis, Larry Ochs, and Joe McPhee. He recently performed at the Vancouver Jazz festival with several different groups.
Bassist Michael Silverman plays in a diverse spectrum of styles and venues. He recently had the opportunity, as a member of Joe Rosenberg's Affinity, to work with Dewey Redman, Buddy Colette, and Gary Foster in an NEA sponsored concert series. He also performs with Substance Theory, Dogslide, The Dave Ellis Quintet, and the D'Armous Boone Collective. Additionally, he fronts the rock group The Fabulous Hedgehogs, does solo performances under the title That One Guy.