BIO
Michael Herring
Michael
Herring is a
double-bassist, composer and arranger based in Toronto. His focus is on jazz, both modern and traditional,
although he also performs and writes in a variety of genres, including
folk, world, and pop/rock. He has a strong sound and musical
personality, and thrives in open and improvised settings.
Herring leads and co-leads a number of groups which focus on original
music of which he is a major contributor:
Michael Herring's Vertigo, an original jazz sextet comprised of the
strongest voices in the next generation of Canadian Jazz and New York’s
David Binney on alto saxophone, has just released Dark
Materials, a
follow-up to Coniferous Revenge, which garnered critical acclaim, including
being picked as one of the Top 5 Debut albums of 2006 by All About
Jazz New York.
Herring co-leads Peripheral Vison along with guitarist and long-time
collaborator Don Scott; a modern-jazz quartet that brings out the synergy
between their strong musical personalities and their complimentary
writing styles. Peripheral Vision’s debut release and supporting
tour are scheduled for spring of 2010.
Herring’s compositions and bass playing can also be heard in
the collectives God’s Gift to Yoda (indie jazz-rock), which has
released two EP’s (Scribble Man, The Music of Sandra Biennale)
and will be recording their first full-length album in the fall of
2009 and in The Uplifters (New Orleans pop), where you can hear Herring’s
lead and backing vocals and lyrics.
He has shared the stage with such great musicians as David
Binney,
Bernie Senensky, Ab Baars (ICP/Amsterdam), Ken
Vandermark, Jah Youssouf (Mali, Africa), Mansa
Sissoko (Mali, Africa), David Braid, Kirk
MacDonald,
Dave Clark, P.J. Perry, Stich
Wynston, Tannis Slimmon, Nick "The
Brownman" Ali, William Carn, Laila
Biali, Jason Wilson and Tabarruk (reggae, with jazz influences), Norman
Marshall-Villeneuve, Mike Murley,
Percy Sledge, Ernest Ranglin, and Brinsely
Forde (Aswad). Besides
playing and touring in Canada, he has toured with his own band in Korea,
and with various ensembles in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean.
Michael's compositions and arrangements have been featured in the repertoires
of many ensembles, including Jason Wilson & Tabarruk, The
Nick Ali Trio, the Bokker Buckle Band, and the Don
Scott Quartet, and he
wrote the soundtrack to the short film In
Harms’s Way.
Herring grew up in Victoria, B.C., then moved to Toronto, where he
studied with Canadian Jazz greats David Young and Don
Thompson at the
University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance Program. He has been
invited to attend the Banff International Jazz Workshop twice (2000,
2003) and lived in New York (2004). He has also studied with Drew
Gress,
Mark Helias, Dave Douglas, Kenny
Werner, Joe Lovano, Joey
Baron, Tony
Malaby, Angelica Sanchez, Johannes
Weidenmueller, James Genus, and Mark
Turner, as well as with world-renowned bassists Rufus
Reid and
Ray Brown.
"Michael Herring has
established himself as one of the most creative musicians on the Canadian
scene" Joseph Blake - Times-Colonist
“[a] Toronto bassplayer
with a penchant for contemporary grooves, colours and energy…
cutting-edge but accessible sounds inspired by New York's downtown jazz
innovators” Doug Fischer - The Ottawa Citizen
“one of the most exciting
and interesting [albums] to arrive this year… The ensemble passages
are all rich in texture, catchy hooks relieve the aura of intellectual
rigour, the boss's bass soars and swoops and the overall impact is tremendous”
Geoff Chapman - Toronto Star |