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The
Inventions Trio
The
Inventions Trio brings together the talents of a
marvelously gifted cellist and two classically trained
masters of jazz and improvisation to present programs
that explore the intersection of chamber music and jazz,
performing fresh interpretations of classical and jazz
themes as well as original works such as Bill Mays’
“Fantasy for Cello, Trumpet, and Piano.”
Inventions grew
out of Mays’ and Stamm’s long association and duo work
together, and the commission of Bill Mays’
three-movement “Fantasy for Cello, Trumpet & Piano,”
which resulted in the recording of the trio’s
critically
acclaimed CD, Fantasy in 2007. The trio’s
second CD, The Delaware River Suite, was
recorded and released in 2008.
The Inventions
Trio
is a new perspective on both art forms. Stamm, Mays, and
Horn find the chamber music in jazz and the jazz in
chamber music. Combining their experiences, these three
musicians not only share their music, but also speak to
the audience about the art and craft of what they do and
how they do it. In this way, they bring the listener
into the process as a participant, showing what it means
to be alive in both traditions.
Improvisation is the heart of jazz, just as it was a
central part of European classical music for centuries.
Bach and Mozart paved the way for every great jazz
master to assert a unique voice. Have you ever wondered
what a conversation between Johann Sebastian Bach and
Charlie Parker would be like? We'll never know what they
might have said to each other, but we can hear their
dialogue in music. In Mays’ words, “Whether playing
Borodin or Bird, Bach or bop, the aim is to make the
music come alive in a new way, find great melodies, be
true to the composer’s underlying harmonic scheme, let
the music swing, listen intently, play honestly, always
honoring the rich traditions from which we’re drawing
and building upon.”
Trumpeter Marvin Stamm, pianist
Bill Mays, and cellist
Alisa Horn impart a different perspective to the music
of composers like Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Borodin
with the melding together of classical music and jazz.
Performing this rich repertoire, the trio illuminates
the elements that audiences from all genres treasure,
sharing their music from the stages of clubs, concert
halls, festivals, and performing arts centers throughout
the world.
Bill Mays,
Alisa Horn, and
Marvin Stamm
explore and give new life to this wide and wonderful
world of music.
Marvin Stamm
trumpet
Marvin Stamm is a graduate of the well known North
Texas Lab Band program. Upon graduation, Marvin joined
the Stan Kenton Orchestra for two years, serving as
trumpet soloist. After working for a period in Reno,
Nevada, show bands, Marvin joined the Woody Herman
Orchestra, touring the U. S. and traveling extensively
abroad to Europe and Africa. Marvin moved to New York
City in 1966 where he spent twenty-three years as a
major New York City studio musician, recording with many
of the major Jazz and popular artists. During this time,
Marvin was also a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis
Jazz Orchestra, the Duke Pearson Big Band, and the
American Jazz Orchestra led by pianist/composer John
Lewis. He also performed for a period with singer Frank
Sinatra and with the Benny Goodman Septet. Eschewing the
studio scene in 1990, Marvin currently travels much of
the year as a Jazz artist with the
Marvin Stamm Quartet, the
Marvin Stamm/Bill Mays Duo, and the
Inventions Trio. He also appears as soloist with
symphony orchestras and performs as a member of the
George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band and the Westchester Jazz
Orchestra. Marvin has also been involved in Jazz
education for many years and spends a good deal of time
working with young musicians.
Current CDs are By Ourselves - the
Marvin Stamm/Bill Mays Duo; The Stamm/Soph
Project; The Stamm/Soph Project - Live at Birdland;
Alone Together - The Marvin Stamm Quartet.
Bill Mays
piano
Bill Mays'
artistry is beyond category. With deep roots in jazz,
gospel, pop, and classical music Bill’s eclectic career
as a pianist, composer and arranger spans more than four
decades. Bill has performed on hundreds of recordings,
and his concert and recording credits include work with
artists as diverse as Ron Carter, Al Cohn, Buddy
DeFranco, Benny Golson, Freddie Hubbard, Al Jarreau,
Barry Manilow, Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Gerry
Mulligan, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Frank Sinatra, Sonny
Stitt, Toots Thielemans, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra,
Sarah Vaughan, Phil Woods and Frank Zappa.
Bill’s Hollywood years before moving to New York
included keyboard work on numerous movie soundtracks and
TV shows, among them Adaptation, Annie, Being John
Malkovich, Fargo, Frida, Fur, Gremlins, Interview With
The Vampire, Rocky, Sleepless In Seattle, and Superman.
Much respected for his compositional and arranging
talents Bill has written saxophone quartets, suites for
flute and piano, double bass and piano, music for the
Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Aureole chamber ensemble, the
Woody Herman Band, and incidental music for TV and
film. He is a recipient of grants from Meet The
Composer, the N.E.A., Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and
is a Grammy nominee, a Steinway Piano Artist and PennPat
roster artist. His recent work on
Palmetto Records documents his long-standing
piano/bass/drums trio with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson (Summer
Sketches, Going Home, Live
at the Jazz Standard). Palmetto also released
the first Inventions Trio CD,
Fantasy, featuring Bill, Marvin Stamm,
and Alisa Horn and includes his “Fantasy for Cello,
Trumpet, and Piano” plus other improvisations on
classical themes. Inventions' second CD,
The Delaware River Suite is released on
the No Blooze Music label. You can learn more about Bill
at
billmays.net.
Alisa Horn
cello
Alisa
Horn
began her cello studies at the age of four. A major
inspiration in her development was Peter Spurbeck,
principal cellist of the Memphis Symphony, with whom she
studied. During this early period, Alisa also attended
the Boston University Tanglewood Institute as a member
of the Young Artists’ Orchestra, the Aspen Music
Festival and School, serving as principal of the Aspen
Concert Opera Orchestra, and the Meadowmount School of
Music. She received her Bachelor of Music in Cello
Performance from the University of Michigan in 2003,
studying with Anthony Elliott, and in June 2006,
completed her Master of Music in Cello Performance at
Northwestern University under the guidance of Hans
Jensen.
While at Northwestern, Alisa was a regular member of the
Civic Orchestra of Chicago and won second prize in the
2006 WAMSO-Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association’s
Young Artist Competition. Alisa also attended the Henry
Mancini Institute, where she was appointed the
orchestra’s principal cellist. Alisa and pianist Jue He
recorded the Rachmaninoff and Miaskovsky Sonatas for
Cello and Piano and were featured on McGraw-Hill's Young
Artist Showcase on WQXR-FM in New York City; she
recently performed the Miaskovsky Cello Concerto with
the Oakville Chamber Orchestra of Ontario, Canada. Alisa
also plays in the Broadway orchestra of the 2007 Tony
Award-Winning Best Musical, “Spring Awakening.” You can
learn more about Alisa at
alisahorn.com.
Watch
The Inventions Trio on YouTube!
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