About
Tyson Naylor Trio
Label: Songlines
since circa 2011
Tyson Naylor is a Vancouver-born pianist, accordionist and composer. After spending three years living in Berlin, where he played with ICP Orchestra members Tobias Delius and Tristan Honsinger, as well as free jazz drummer Christian Lillinger, he moved back to Canada. In addition to recording and touring in Dan Mangan’s band (in the process garnering a Juno), he formed a formidable piano trio of his own with Vancouver bassist Russell Sholberg and drummer Skye Brooks and took it into the studio for his long-overdue debut recording, with the brilliant Vancouver clarinettist François Houle guesting on two tracks.Although the trio enjoys creating improvised sonic spaces, Naylor’s compositions draw from a rich pool of musical influences as far reaching as West Africa, Amsterdam, New Orleans and South Africa.
Songlines founder Tony Reif describes Naylor’s debut CD, Kosmonauten, as “a diverse but ultimately unifying record that well displays the group’s strengths – great rapport across a range of styles and grooves, from stompin’, jazzed-up rock’n’roll to free improv; writing that taps into a rich vein of lyricism; and a playful yet at the same time highly communicative focus that somehow sets it apart from a lot of modern jazz. Even if you might pick out influences or references, from Wayne Horvitz to Abdullah Ibrahim to Misha Mengelberg, there’s nothing second-hand about this music. It seems to want to engage the listener in a personal dialogue that’s grounded in its changing moods, from tender and introspective to intense and celebratory.”
Tyson’s bandmates currently play together in three other west coast groups: Aeroplane Trio (with JP Carter) and Tony Wilson’s 6tet and Longhand. Skye Brooks is also well known as one of Fond of Tigers’ two drummers and a member of Inhabitants, as well as performing/recording with Veda Hille, Ndidi Onukwulu and Orkestra Futura. He also composes, sings and plays guitar in his rock band, Copilots. Russell Sholberg also plays bass in Vancouver band Pugs and Crows.
Available for Shows/Gigs
Current Lineup
