BRM Presents: George Crotty Trio & Compass Trio

Known for their expressive fluidity and modal orientation, The George Crotty Trio makes music that is cinematic, collaborative, and conversational. They draw on influences within raga, maqam, and modal jazz; using the language of other cultures to speak new things. “I’m not at home in any one culture,” muses Crotty, “so the trio became my home.”

Powered by drummer Jeremy Smith, and bassist John Murchison, The George Crotty Trio’s sound deviates from a trio's typical hierarchy. The three players intertwine on their own spontaneous terms in an exploration of groove and colour, lending Crotty's tunes an exciting three-dimensional quality.

George Crotty has forged his own unique vocabulary on the cello. Expanding outward from the cello's intrinsic lyricism, his sound introduces plaintive Irish ornamentation, melismatic gestures of Indian classical music, adapted electric guitar manoeuvres, and the bold articulation of jazz bass. He writes and performs for solo cello and small ensembles, and collaborates on film scores, original recordings, and theatrical productions. A member of the Brooklyn Raga Massive, and Detroit-based National Arab Orchestra, he has also worked with Bob Ezrin, Simon Shaheen, Paquito D’Rivera, Anat Cohen, and Darol Anger.

Compass Trio brings an original compositional voice to the three musicians’ collective experience and expertise - Indian raga and tala, the art of flamenco, jazz harmony, and deep groove. The rhythmic form of North Indian music known as theka is a uniquely sophisticated container for exploring time and polyrhythm. Separated by hundreds of years and countless migrations of the Gitano diaspora throughout present day Middle East and Europe we find the same concepts in new forms through the Spanish compas. This musical connection through history and culture is referenced in the name Compass; both a tool to find one’s way home as well as that which structures time in music, another form of finding “home”. Compass Trio is comprised of guitar and effects(James Labrosse), tabla (Tripp Dudley), and sitar (Galen Passen) and integrates these deeper connections of tradition and music into its interweaving forms, reflections and improvisations. Each piece is a truly original creation, borne out of our own individual creative expressions while being deeply rooted in the extensive traditions that we have studied.