Ton Trio features Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Kurt Kotheimer on bass and Sam Ospovat on drums. These six compositions by Shelton cover ground from high energy freedom to compositional rearrangement. This was the first manufactured CD release by Singlespeed Music.
CD in Jewel Case. SSM-005. 2009.
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Download available through Bandcamp.
“Shelton, Kotheimer and Ospovat comprise a trio of utmost conviction.” – Paris Transatlantic
“The Way” recalls early Ornette Coleman with Shelton and Ospovat playing the simple melody repeatedly until the song opens into its improvisational phase. What impresses here is the equality of force—the saxophone, drums and bass share equally in the sound mix. Every minute gesture of Ospovat is heard, and he is equally responsible for the melody. – All About Jazz
Kotheimer and Ospovat push “One Last Thing” with a driving, pulsing beat that moves in flux, stretching the rhythm allowing Shelton’s alto free rein to skim effortlessly above – Cadence
Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, Sam Ospovat moved to the Bay Area, where he has studied percussion with William Winant, Peter Magadini, George Marsh and lately with the Haitian master drummer Daniel Brevil. Based in Oakland, California, Ospovat play drums in Beep, Naytronix, Timosaurus, Anteater, a duo with Lorin Benedict, the Oakland Active Orchestra, Marches, Aaron Novik’s Dante Counterstamp, CavityFang and the pop band Kapowski. Ospovat has played with Cecil Taylor, Leo Smith, and Maryanne Amacher at Mills College (MFA in percussion performance). In the real world he’s worked with with William Winant, Tuneyards, The SF Contemporary Music Players, Angelica Sanchez, Ches Smith and Ava Mendoza.
Kurt Kotheimer grew up just blocks from the one time home of noted abolitionist John Brown. Kurt began playing the guitar at age eight and in high school he switched to the acoustic bass and began playing jazz. His bass playing is marked by a compositional style, his improvising focused and coherent. While studying music in college he had the privilege of playing with great improvisers such as Jackson Moore, Chris Jonas, and Joe Maneri. He has written for and co-led several ensembles with his longtime collaborator, multi-instrumentalist, Joshua Smith. Most recently, Kurt has been creating computer music that explores microtonality, recursion, and extremely dense polyphony.