Michael Musillami Trio at Hartford's Mezzanine December 29-30

Veteran jazz guitarist/composer Michael Musillami will bring his long-standing trio to Hartford's Mezzanine on December 29th and 30th. The all-star group, which also features bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, will be performing selections from its two recordings, 2003's Beijing and 2005's Dachau, as well new music from Musillami's September 2006 quartet release, Fragile Forms .

“Working on an almost telepathic level, they have developed an innate familiarity with each other that enables them to second guess abrupt tempo changes and harmonic detours with split second timing," writes Cadence reviewer Troy Collins. In a 2003 feature article, JazzTimes' Ron Wynn explained, “Schuller and Fonda prove genuine collaborators who don't sit back and wait for Musillami to establish the pace, instead directly influencing each number through subtle rhythmic changes and adjustments."

Critics have called Musillami “a superior guitarist" (DownBeat), “one of the more imaginative guitarists in jazz" (Signal to Noise) and “a modern-day jazz master" (Edmonton Journal). “In Musillami's music," wrote Ed Hazell in a 2005 Boston Phoenix live review, “the bluesy hard-bop feeling of Grant Green meets the harmonic daring and the extended techniques of Eric Dolphy in an irresistible combination of down- home intimacy and sense of adventure." In addition to his work as a performer and recording artist, leading groups ranging from duo to octet, Musillami is also the founder of the acclaimed Playscape Recordings label.