Press

“... one of creative music’s preeminent bassists, whose approach is muscular yet surprisingly expressive.”

“A touching epilogue marked by Bisio’s gorgeous tone ends this rare meeting of two master improvisers in which they travel across various grooves and rarely work at cross purposes.” - Elliot Simon, New York City Jazz Record July 2019

“ Bisio demonstrates the art of playing free yet within the prevailing structure, his contrapuntal tone poems one of the unit’s strongest selling points.” - John Sharpe nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201902.pdf

“…especially Bisio whose bass mastery is always a joy to experience, whether he’s playing a supportive role or showcasing his sublime talents as a soloist.” - Albert Brooks
albanyjazz.com/topfive/2018-topfive-staff.html

“Le bassiste alterne entre rondeur parfaite et pugnacité ardente, incarnant deux facettes d’une même tradition.“
 “The bassist alternates between perfect roundness and fiery pugnacity, embodying two facets of the same tradition.” - David Cristol Jazz Magazine (France)

Jazz bassist Michael Bisio announced as Atlantic Center Master Artist for the fall
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2017/08/17/jazz-bassist-michael-bisio-announced-as-atlantic-center-master-artist-for-the-fall

“But even out on the fringe beyond standard constructs and formulas, Bisio plays his double bass with palpable soul and mystery, …” - Bao Le-Huu Orlando Weekly
orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2017/11/02/avant-garde-bassist-michael-bisio-spotlights-the-cultural-jewel-of-atlantic-center-for-the-arts-master-artist-residency-program#.WftW6_bqYYo.facebook

“As fully a part of this trio {Matthew ShippTrio} as Ray Brown was with Oscar Peterson’s or Israel Crosby with Ahmad Jamal’s, Bisio confirms his skill at timbral integration throughout The Conduct of Jazz. At the same time Accortet demonstrates that his leadership talents as composer, arranger and player are as finely honed, even with unusual instrumentation.”  — Ken Waxman
jazzword.com/one-review/?id=128977

“With the bass of Bisio, Shipp has found his chimeric twin, who shares much of the pianist's DNA, as the two often share the same musical thoughts here.“ - Mark Corroto
allaboutjazz.com/live-in-seattle-matthew-shipp-michael-bisio-arena-jazz-review-by-mark-corroto.php

"I Fragments sono momenti in duo che si aggrumano verso il quartetto, emerge il possente contrabbasso di Bisio, uno dei maestri contemporanei dello strumento, che fa da collante.” - Vittorio lo Conte
musiczoom.it/?p=25724#.Vydgx2O1jzJ

“And yet for all his virtuosic capability and improvisational prowess, it should be noted that Bisio isn’t too proud either to lay down a straightforward walking line—which he manages to make as absorbing as anything else, the way great drummers can outplay technical show-offs with simple quarter notes on the ride.” - Eric McDowell
freejazzblog.org/2016/05/michael-bisio-kirk-knuffke-row-for.html

“Bisio takes a prominent role, guiding and directing the ensemble from behind his bass, and laying down sturdy contrapuntal commentary. His speech like inflections are noteworthy during his wiry fast fingered solo passage on "Henry's Theme" and also in his lyric intro to the attractive mid tempo ballad "I Want To Do To You What Spring Does To Cherry Trees." - John Sharpe
allaboutjazz.com/accortet-michael-bisio-relative-pitch-records-review-by-john-sharpe.php

“There is a cartoon circulating the internet that depicts a criminal suspect being interrogated by police. Also in the room is a jazz bassist. The detective tells his partner, "he'll talk, everyone talks during the bass solo." That may be true, unless the bassist is Michael Bisio. Whether performing with pianist Matthew Shipp or saxophonist Ivo Perelman, Bisio's presence is always prominent and unmistakable. His collaborations always tend to be more than accompaniment. He is the constant yin to another musician's yang” - Mark Corroto
allaboutjazz.com/accortet-michael-bisio-relative-pitch-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php

“Bisio himself looms large even from behind, because of his innate ability to find the harmonic center of a song. He prefers to keep things democratic but when he steps out in front, he maintains his grace and deep melodic sensitivity.”
somethingelsereviews.com/2015/09/02/michael-bisio-accortet-2015/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

“Michael's playing processes the bass from its rootedness in jazz tradition through the avant in ways that show him one of the primary stylistic and virtuoso masters of the bass arts today. He has a pizzicato and a bowing approach that identify him immediately (in a blindfold test, let's say) as a player with the deep tone of bass greats yet a mercurial imagination that makes for noteful significance and real originality. You can hear that very much on the Accortet sides.”
gapplegateguitar.blogspot.com/2015/08/michael-bisio-accortet.html

Michael Bisio (review of my solo set at the 2015 International Society of Bassists convention)
"A veteran of the improvised music scene, it was a treat to hear Bisio in a rare solo concert. Rapidly jump-cutting from idea to idea, frequent clips of Mingus, Ornette and more punctuated an hour of stream-of-conscious freedom, showcasing a verbosity of language that few improvisers have absorbed. Ferocious, angular walking breaking hard-right into delicate flautando chords, then devolving into guttural, bow-grinding chaos, this riveting set was not merely an exploration of the sonic possibilities of the double bass. It was a view into the mind of a very open, sensitive, creative human, and amidst all the thunder and noise, one could never hide from the raw emotion flowing from Bisio like a flood." -  Jeff Harshbarger,  Bass World  (Vol. 38 Number Two 2015)

Rewarding Relationship, Player's Feature on Downbeat by Paul de Barros
downbeat.com/digitaledition/2015/DB1512/single_page_view/25.html

"Michael Bisio knows how to ‘walk’ the bass—indeed, at a recent duo concert with pianist Matthew Shipp at the venerable community space 5C Café in the Lower East Side, amid exhortations of “Slam Stewart!” from the proprietor, Bisio exhibited not only a robust, earthy and delicate stomp, but actually walked around with the bass. He danced with it, bringing it to a near-40-degree axis from the floor, plucking in counterpoint to the pianist’s cyclical motions or draping his body atop the instrument and exploring its registers with a meaty, incisive arco. Asked about his physical relationship to the bass, Bisio offers this: “[choreographer and composer] Meredith Monk has said that ‘all musical truth resides in the body.’ It rings very true for me, because I believe that everything can be broken down into vibration and therefore feel. Although I am sometimes aware of [dancing] happening, mostly I know because other people tell me. It is apparent I am a physical player and I have come to understand that the physical world and spiritual world are very intertwined and, at the best of times, for me they are one.” - Clifford Allen, The New York City Jazz Record
Read the full artist feature

"His distinctive approach features an enormous sound, warm and woody; impeccable classical bowing technique; a soulful, moody feel for the blues and swing; and a bevy of extended techniques." Paul DeBarros, Seattle Times
seattletimes.com/entertainment/bassist-michael-bisio-off-to-claim-spot-on-world-stage/

"Like Shipp, bassist Bisio projected a larger-than-life sound that nonetheless conveyed a dark tonal beauty. His bowed solos, particularly one that quoted "My One and Only Love," suggested a burnished lyricism one sooner associates with the cello." Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-30/entertainment/ct-ent-0701-matthew-shipp-20130701_1_solo-piano-album-pianism-sound

seattletimes.com/html/musicnightlife/2025573630_bisiopreview1xml.html


“Bisio serves up a poetic performance all alone with a interpretation of “I’ve Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good” that is technically astonishing while covering a wide range of emotions that goes beyond the doleful one heard on other renditions. “  S. Victor Aaron
somethingelsereviews.com/2015/02/13/matthew-shipp-trio-to-duke/

AAJ Article The Most Beautiful Thing
allaboutjazz.com/somewhat-random-thoughts-in-the-service-of-music-michael-bisio-by-chris-rich.php#.VCl2_0s0ZBU

“Michael Bisio’s almost-telepathic ability to both follow and propel Shipp’s challenging improvisations speaks to their extensive joint experience.” jazz.org/events/av-147488

“One of the most virtuosic and imaginative performers on the double bass Bisio's signature, melancholic con arco phrases flow in a somber procession with Groder's languid horn on the mystical and dramatic "Tarried Breath."  HRAYR ATTARIAN
allaboutjazz.com/reflexology-brian-groder-latham-records-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php#.U_dRSEsyAdu

“Bisio’s arco technique brings cello-like expressiveness and more out of his bass for five-and-ahalf enthralling minutes;”
Derk Richardson, The Absolute Sound  theabsolutesound.com/articles/matthew-shipp-trio-root-of-things/

“In Bisio, whose resume boasts stints alongside multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee and saxophone iconoclast Charles Gayle, Shipp has found the perfect foil: someone who can match him blow for blow in a blizzard of notes or spin off stirring tales at the drop of a hat, while continually providing expressive plangent counterpoint. “ John Sharpe, AAJ
allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=47272#.U1usEl4yAds

“Listen to how contrabassist Michael Bisio interacts with it all. He adds so much in a monsterously good way. The deeply flushed tone, the unexpected or reconfirming note choices, the way he can walk or be that "second horn", the impeccable touch and in-the-moment thrust, all that is here in a fantastic way.”
gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com/2014/02/matthew-shipp-trio-root-of-things.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gapplegate

Michael Bisio, Han Bennink in town | Concert preview
blogs.seattletimes.com/soundposts/2014/01/24/michael-bisio-han-bennink-in-town-concert-preview/

“Although Bisio is a comparatively recent associate of Dickey and Shipp, his spontaneous responsiveness and imaginative phrasing facilitates sophisticated three-way conversations that border on the telepathic.” Troy Collins   
allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=46919#.Uyl8eNwyAds

"With Bisio's profound bass work in the picture, and the overall clarity afforded by the absence of drums and cymbals, the performances take on a more openly emotional character. Bisio's lush and welcoming bass introduces the captivating Refuge with a long and absorbing solo, well captured by engineer Jim Clouse, who records most of Perelman's projects." -IAJRC

"The interplay was uncanny with bassist Michael Bisio fine-tuned to every move, and delivering the first-set highlight, a resonant and thumping solo that ended as a bowed bass elegy themed on Coltrane’s “Naima”. " Mike Hobart, Financial Times
ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/4c8135f4-2a7c-11e2-99bb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2IFtMvncD

"His strong presence, both on the rhythmic underfloor and in the aptness of his reactions, and more generally in the accuracy with which he enters the conversation, contribute a great deal; and all this, without even speaking of the roundness and depth of his sound!"
culturejazz.fr/spip.php?article2082

AAJ interview
allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=39125

"The fleet-fingered and pitch-perfect Bisio ends the piece with an absolutely jaw-dropping solo."
BBC Review, Bill Tilland  bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/f46m

"His personality, his technique, his skills are all there, but fully in the service of the music, real music then, with a depth that transcends the physical aspect of sound : it is so full of deep "human-ness". An absolute joy to hear, ... "  Stef Gijssels
freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2011/02/michael-bisio-travel-music-self.html

"The sound he produces is bound in rhythm and unrelenting in expression to exhibit sensitivity to change and range. When he works within the group, his pizzicatos are strong, relaxed and thoroughly united with music's direction." Lyn Horton http://lynhorton.blogspot.com/2012/02/matthew-shipp-trio-elastic-aspects.html

"His responses and choices are those of a master technician; he gives each note unique shading and inflection and, especially with bow in hand, he conjures rich harmonics and deep warming resonance." John Sharpe, The New York City Jazz Record

Earshot Jazz article January 2011
earshot.org/Publication/profiles/profile_Bisio_11.html

"... he is a marvelously inventive bassist that seemingly has burst forth over the years as a musical trunk rather than a branch. His technique is formidable, both pizzicato and arco, and he taps into a virtually inexhaustible wellspring of musical ideas when he plays."
Grego Applegate Edwards   www.gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com2010/02/connie-crothers-and-michael-bisio-in.html

"Increasingly visible bassist Michael Bisio does it all. Not content with being a fearsome soloist, Bisio is also an enabling bandleader and potent composer."

"Two versions of the bassist's "Livin' Large" open the proceedings, both providing ample space for the leader's full dark tone allied with an almost tactile sense of catgut vibrating against wood."
John Sharpe, All About Jazz   www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33171

"With over a half dozen highly recommended sessions as leader, his work has been likened to David Izenzon, Charlie Haden and Mingus and for good reason."
Laurence Donohue-Greene AAJNY   www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18023

"...(imagine a fearsome meta-bassist synthesizing Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Haden, and Peter Kowald and you're on the right track)..."
Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2000/08aug_text.html

"He carries with him the virtuosity to facilitate techniques reflective of improvisational and traditional forms at the speed of stream-of-consciousness..."
Dean Roberts, Opprobrium

"Listen to his interaction with Berger on "Constellation" and you get an idea of the unsurpassed linear melodic-rhythmic thrust of his approach."
Grego Applegate Edwards
www.gapplegate.com/blog10.html (scroll to July 27, 2009)

"Bisio in particular has one of the downright thickest bass tones of anyone playing the instrument in free music these days - his style has a physical cast to it that demands to be felt, not simply heard. "
Scott Hreha, One Final Note   www.onefinalnote.com/reviews/g/giardullo-joe/now-is.asp

"But the performance of the disc comes from bassist Bisio, his heartbreakingly articulate arco work full of tar and resin."
David Keenan, The Wire

"...the concert reaches its high climax with broad-hints to A Love Supreme and hieratic India, provided by Bisio ..."
Antonio Terzo   www.jazzreview.com/article/review-7391.html

"The physicality of Mr. Bisio's bass playing puts him in touch with numerous predecessors in the avant-garde, but his expressive touch is distinctive;..."
Nate Chinen, The NY Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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