The collective trio BassDrumBone celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017.
We celebrated our 46th year in 2023, with a performance at the Zürcher Gallery in NYC.
We are releasing a new recording on July 1, 2024 entitled "Afternoon" to mark our 47th year !

Hear this new release on BandCamp.

"This adventurous recording simply exudes collective confidence."
Jeff Cebuski August 2024 NYC Jazz record

"In their 47-year existence as BassDrumBone, trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Gerry Hemingway had rarely or never improvised freely during recordings. But during a recording session in July of last year, it suddenly happened. The three trio members had brought along a number of new pieces, but the backbone of this new album, ‘Afternoon’, is formed by three improvisations. And in this it becomes even clearer how strong the bond between the musicians is. The erratic line that Helias and Hemingway set up in ‘Afternoon begins’ is complemented by a bouncy melody by Anderson, who reinforces his majestic tone with damping work. Bass and drums accelerate and encourage the trombone to virtuoso playing, but before the six minutes are up, the gas is slowed down for reflection and contemplation. It is a structure that contains everything a composition could wish for. In ‘Afternoon continues’ and ‘Afternoon ends’ similar things happen. To complete the album, we hear the three shine in the fine, funky ‘Ain’t nuttin butta’ by Hemingway and Helias’ ballad-like ‘Shone eyes’ (in which Anderson uses his velvety tone extensively). Anderson delivered the rhythmically clever ‘Bright Wabash’, which with the rests in the theme evokes associations with ‘Evidence’ by Monk. As soon as the gaps in the composition are filled in, BassDrumBone can show that it feels completely at home in bluesy circumstances. Richness and depth are the keywords of a trio that is easily heading towards its fiftieth anniversary."
Herman te Loo Jazz Flits (Netherlands)

"While the first album by the trio BassDrumBone was released in 1979 , we can now say that this delightful and surprising combination has left its mark on jazz and related music for nearly 50 years. Why surprising? The instrumentarium is not common, even if musicians like Jeb Bishop have seized on it since him. BassDrumBone has been coming back since the dawn of the 90s at the time of anniversaries, like a distant cousin. Since Wooferlo , the records act as milestones in the respective discographies of the protagonists, but always make flourish an intact joy of playing together, like "Afternoon Begins", the first piece of a bracing album. We are happy to find intact the clear line of Mark Helias ' double bass , always so precise in a game where authority is born from simplicity; his relationship with trombonist Ray Anderson is old and fruitful: the trombonist also plays very simply, with a powerful game that relies a lot on dry glissando, the two friends are familiar with funk in the Slickaphonics. Even if BassDrumBone's music is sometimes more abstract, as can be heard in "Afternoon Continues" when Helias introduces with the bow a long and dense piece where the trombone works with the mute, the power of the trio's groove is not negligible. The third blade of the orchestra is not foreign to it, since drummer Gerry Hemingway does not act here as a simple colorist. "Ain't Nuttin' Butta" is compact and tight, it owes a lot to the irrefutable complicity of the rhythmic base that the trombone exacerbates. At different times, these friends were Braxton's collaborators. If Anderson does not have a long history with the saxophonist [ 2 ] , it is not the same with Helias and Hemingway who were key pieces of his work for two decades, like a passing of the baton. There is in BassDrumBone an obvious concern to question a pulsating jazz through more complex writings, a Braxtonian key . We see it in "Afternoon Ends" where the trombone appears as the main cog of a sensitive mechanism. His companions work a raw material to be crafted. In the shadows, Hemingway sparkles when each movement and each sound is a part of a cryptic universe. Afternoon is the incarnation of a music that never ceases to regenerate itself."
Franpi Barriaux October 2024 Citzen Jazz

"You can tell that this trio has been working together for a long while since they have a group sound which seems to keep shifting through a series of short scenes or episodes. Ray Anderson has always had one foot in the past and one foot in the future, his playing moving from swinging, older origins to more free and experimental excursions. His piece here, “Bright Wabash” is in between these barriers or divisions. It is both somewhat funky at points yet keeps changing with a section that reminds me of unexpected Braxtonian weirdness (stopping and starting several times). The last piece, “Afternoon Ends” is the final trio improv and the trio play freely swirling around one another yet still sounding as if they are one spirit/force. The trio take their time and move through a few different sections, swinging softly and then freeing up the groove. This is yet another gem from the legendary BassDrumBone who will fifty in 2027!"
Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

"The fused nature of the three words is much more than a syntactical gimmick; it represents a true melding of ideas, often a molten mix of lyricism, spritely elegance and vociferous invention that showcases not only individual virtuosity but a truly meaningful coming together for change." Raul da Gama - JazzdeGama (Jan 4, 2017)

"The story keeps unfolding for this fabled trio that released its first outing in 1978. With rest stops along the way, the musicians' synergy remains as a source of amazement, coupled with their perpetual creative sparks that sculpt a route embedded with fresh concepts and supreme musicianship." Glenn Astarita JazzReview.com

"Four decades on and still going strong, this venerable group, comprised of established musicians who share aesthetic outlooks and common histories, is something of a rarity by contemporary standards. Richly varied, The Long Road is a winning testament to their creative longevity." Troy Collins November 2016 AllAboutJazz

"Forty years on, they are still making compelling, provocative music together... While lead sheets were in place for each of the band’s songs, there was no mistaking the level of improvisational skill on the bandstand. Just like the easy banter that flowed among the three between songs, the musical conversation was rich and deep....After 40 years, BassDrumBone still sounds fresh and vibrant—a bracing tonic in the musical world." James Hale JazzIz June 30, 2017

Touring Dates :

June 29, 2023 -  Zurcher Gallery, 33 Bleeker Street, NYC, NY  8pm

Touring Dates 2017:

June 2 - The Vision Festival, Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Sq. South NYC, NY 10012 10:30pm
June 8 - Hallwalls, 341 Deleware Ave.. Buffalo, NY 14202 8pm
June 9 - Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St, New Haven, CT 06510 - 8pm + 10pm
June 10 - Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St, Hartford, CT 06106
June 11 - Discover Jazz Festival, Flynn Space, Flynn Theater, Burlington, VT 6pm

June 19 - Earshot Jazz - The Royal Room, Seattle, WA
June 21 - Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA 95448 (7:00- 8:30pm)
June 22 - Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz, CA (7pm)
June 24 - Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, East Lansing, MI (1:10 pm)

June 29 - Ottawa Jazz Festival, La Nouvelle Scène - Studio A 333 King Edward Ave Ottawa, ON K1N 7M5 6pm
June 30 - TD Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor Street West, Toronto 7pm
July 1 - TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival Yardbird Suite, 11 Tommy Banks Way, Edmonton, Alberta, T6E 2M2 7:00 PM & 8:45 - Clinic – 3:00 – 4:30 PM
July 2 - TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Ironworks 9:30 pm (2 sets) 235 Alexander Street - Workshops The Roundhouse (in the afternoon)
July 4 - China Cloud 524 Main St., Vancouver, British Columbia, 9pm Double Bill w/ François Houle/Gordon Grdina
July 5 - Resonance Cafe, 9pm 5175A Ave du Parc, Montreal, Quebec, QC H2V 4G3
July 8 - Gent Jazz Festival, Gent, Belgium, 16:30 Main Stage

August 25 + 26 - Zomer JazzFietsTour-Groningen, The Netherlands
August 27 - Jazz live im Speicher, Stadt Leer (Ostfriesland), Rathausstraße 1, 26789 Leer, Deutschland
August 30 - Jazz Festival Willisau, Switzerland
Sept 2 - 39th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago, IL (6pm - Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center)

September 16 - Guelph Jazz Festival, Ontario, CA

October 19 - November 3 - European Tour

October 19 - Graz, ÖS
October 20 - Linz, ÖS
October 21 - Dachau D
October 22 - Kassel, D
October 23 - Wels, ÖS
October 24 - Wels, ÖS
October 25 - Singen, D
October 26 - Avignon FR
October 27 - Geneve, CH
October 28 - Ferrara, I
October 29 - Cormons, I
October 30 - Bari, I
October 31 - Prata di Pordenone, I (private concert - by invitation only)
November 1 - Darmstadt, D
November 2 - Amsterdam, N
November 3 - Wiesbaden, D

2018

February 8 - Dartmouth College, Hannover, NH
February 9 - Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC
February 10 - Cooperage Project in Honesdale Pennsylvania
February 11 - The Magic Triangle, Amherst, MA

At Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC, NY February 2016

All three of us have agreed to temporarily suspend our independent projects in favor of featuring BassDrumBone performance bookings during our anniversary in 2017.

We are currently planning for performances in Europe during:
July & August of 2017
and
October 19 - November 5th, 2017
with the possibility that this fall period could begin earlier and/or end later depending on offers we receive.

We are working on festivals inthe US & Canada in June and July primarily. We wish to visit as many festivals, cities and concert possibilities as possible in 2017 and will balance this with our European appearances. We will be at the 2017 Chicago festival (late August /early Sept).

BassDrumBone completed a new recording in early August of 2016. The recording presents new work for the trio but also includes something we have never done before. As this is a special occassion we also invited two special guests on the recording who are featured in quartet arrangements of new and previous works for BassDrumBone. Our guests for this special recording were Joe Lovano and Jason Moran. The record will be released on November 15, 2016 to coordinate with efforts to promote our touring initiatives. A short promotional film about the recording here. Info about the release will be here.

"...brimming with a telepathy indicative of the threesome's long journey as kindred spirits * * * * (4 stars) Bradley Bambarger, March 2017 Downbeat Magazine

"Four decades on and still going strong, this venerable group, comprised of established musicians who share aesthetic outlooks and common histories, is something of a rarity by contemporary standards. Richly varied, The Long Road is a winning testament to their creative longevity." Troy Collins November 2016 AllAboutJazz

"Indeed, the group improvisation that introduces the 18-minute “The Line Up” shows the group indulging in the kind of extended listen-and-respond collective improvisation that they frequently eschew in the studio. All three musicians are masters of the kind of free improv that draws as much on contemporary classical music as it does on the blues, and they also stand apart by having the taste to vary the approach frequently and return to a compelling rhythmic foundation to counter the free-floating instrumental dialogue". . . . James Hale Soundstage Xperience! Jan 2017

"Ein sehr erfreuliches Comeback einer der wenigen „Supergroups“ des Jazz."
"A very gratifying comeback of one of the few "Supergroups" of jazz." (Haun) FreiStil #70

"If you are new to BassDrumBone, or haven’t checked in with them for a while, The Long Road is an excellent place to start. Highly recommended." Robert Bush / NYC Jazz Record - June 2017 Issue

Best releases (Top Ten) of 2016:

Troy Collins : All About Jazz
Robert Bush NBCSanDiego

six excerpts from the "The Long Road" (release date November 15, 2016

Excerpts from "The Long Road" BassDrumBone w/ guests Jason Moran and Joe Lovano (Auricle 16/17 - Release date November 15, 2016)

1. Oh Yeah (Ray Anderson) - BassDrumBone 1:29
2. Bunglelow (Mark Helias) - BassDrumBone w/ Jason Moran 1:23
3. Cherry Pickin (Gerry Hemingway) - BassDrumBone w/ Joe Lovano 2:50
4. The Line Up (Mark Helias) - BassDrumBone (live) 3:54
5. BluRay (Ray Anderson) - BassDrumBone w/ Joe Lovano 2:52
6. Different Cities (Gerry Hemingway) BassDrumBone 2:36

The CD is now AVAILABLE for purchase!!! You can contact Auricle Records directly here
And we offer the following digital options:

more info on the recording here

Video of BassDrumBone performing "Insistent" (Ray Anderson)

Video of BassDrumBone performing "Pork" (Gerry Hemingway)

Video from Gent Jazz Festival 2017 (Show Tuck)

Video of BassDrumBone performing "Limbo" (Mark Helias) & Show Tuck (Gerry Hemingway) in 2015

Excerpt from a Performance at Serralves in Porto, Portugal of "The Other Parade" in 2012

excerpts from the two most recent recordings ...

Excerpts from "The Other Parade" BassDrumBone (Clean Feed 220)

1. Show Tuck (Gerry Hemingway) 3:17
2. Blue Light Down the Line (Mark Helias) 3:01
3. King Louisian (Ray Anderson) 2:59

Excerpts from "The Line Up" BassDrumBone (Clean Feed 065)

1. Insistent (Ray Anderson) 2:14
2. Rainbow (Gerry Hemingway) 2:48
3. 1,2,3 (Mark Helias) 3:24

BassDrumBone EPK for US & Canadian promoters

BassDrumBone EPK for European promoters