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
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