Drew Gress
Born: Trenton, New Jersey USA 1959
Bassist/composer Drew Gress has performed extensively with artists throughout the vast field of contemporary improvised music. He was a founding member of the cooperative quartet Joint Venture, whose three Enja albums, Joint Vent , and Mirrors, all received widespread critical acclaim. He currently leads Jagged Sky, a New York-based quartet performing his original compositions. The band includes Dave Binney, Ben Monder, and Kenny Wollesen, and their debut recording, Heyday, was recently released on the Italian label Soul Note.
Gress has toured North, South, and Central America, Europe, and Asia, and has served as Artist-in-Residence at St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at University of Colorado- Boulder. He has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet the Composer, and currently resides in New York.
When Drew is not performing with Jagged Sky, he can be heard with the
Fred Hersch Trio, the Dave Douglas String Group, Tim Berne's Paraphrase,
Andy Laster's Hydra, Erik Friedlander's Chimera, the Marc Copland Trio,
and Don Byron's "Bug Music" and Quartet.
"Gress' sheer intensity is extraordinary." - JazzTimes
(Bill Milkowski)
"...a brooding poet." - Downbeat
"Gress is a killer bassist, his compositions probing and exhilerating.
Mind-bending stuff!." - Glenn Astarita
"Hmmm, who was the last bassist to double on Speedy West's ax? Hmmm,
none come to mind. More singular moves from Gress." - The
Village Voice (Jim Macnie)
"Intelligence and drive." - The New Yorker
DISCOGRAPHY:
Drew Gress' Jagged Sky
-Heyday (SoulNote 121314)
with Joint Venture
-Joint Venture (Enja 5049)
-Ways (Enja 6052 2)
-Mirrors (Enja 7049 2)
with Ray Anderson
-Big Band Record (Gramavision R2 79497)
with Lynne Arriale
-When You Listen (DMP 511)
-Words Unspoken (DMP 518)
with Jon Ballantyne
-The Loose (Just in Time 65-2)
-Trio Live- (NY Jam)
-Known/Unknown (NY Jam 1197)
with Jamie Baum
-Sight Unheard (GM 3031)
with Tim Berne- Paraphrase
Visitation Rites (Screwgun 70002)
with Uri Caine
-Wagner E Venezia (Winter & Winter 910 013-2)
with Marc Copland
-At Night (M.R1 13)
-Second Look (Savoy Jazz CY-1 8001)
with Steve Davis
-Songs We Know (DMP 3005)
with Dave Douglas
-Five (Soul Note 121276 2)
with Ellery Eskelin
-Setting The Standard (Cadence 1044)
-Forms (Open Minds 2403 2)
with Allen Farnham
-Fifth House (Concord 4413)
-Play-cation (Concord 4521)
-The Common Thread (Concord 4634)
with Erik Friedlander
-Chimera, (Avant 057)
-The Watchman (Tzadik 7107)
-Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (Tzadik 7114-2)
with Phil Haynes
Continuum: The Passing (Owl Time Line 3819072)
with Fred Hersch
-Dancing In The Dark (Chesky 90)
-The Fred Hersch Trio Plays... (Chesky 116)
-Last Night When We Were Young (Classical Action 1001)
-Point In Time (Enja 9035 2)
-Passion Flower (Nonesuch 79395-2)
-Fred Hersch & Friends-The Duo Album (Classical Action 1.002)
with Owen Howard
-Pentagon (KochJazz 3-7857-2H1)
with Franklin Kiermeyer
- In The House Of My Fathers (Konnex 5052)
-Solomon's Daughter (Evidence 22083 2 -Kairos (Evidence 22144 2)
with Andy Laster
-Hippo Stomp (Sound Aspects 020)
-Twirler (Sound Aspects 035)
-Polyogue(Songlines 1507-2)
with Tony Martucci
-Earth Tones (Sound Judgement 101)
-Collage (Sound Judgement 102)
with Ben Monder
-Flux (Songlines 1509 2)
with Randy McKean
-So Dig This Big Crux (Rastascan 0 12)
with Judi Silvano
-Vocalise (BlueNote 7243 8 52390 2 1)
with Peggy Stern /Thomas Chapin
-The Fuschia (Koch 3 7837 3 1-11)
with Paul Sundfor
-Nascency (Nine Winds 0195)
with Gebhard Ullmann
- Basement Research (Soul Note 121271-2)
with Dawn Upshaw
-Sings Rogers & Hart (Nonesuch 79406-2)
with Tom Varner
-Martian Heartache (Soul Note 121286-2)
with Walt Weiskopf
- Night Lights (Double Time 106)