Biography


Michael Formanek’s singular approach to the acoustic bass has led to an impressive range of musical associations. During his thirty-plus year career, he has played and/or recorded with Elvis Costello, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Marty Ehrlich, Chet Baker, Tony Williams, Gerry Mulligan, Bob Mintzer, Fred Hersch, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Mark Isham, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band, Mingus Big Band, Terumasa Hino, Cedar Walton, Attila Zoller, George Coleman, Jane Ira Bloom, Bob Moses, Gunther Schuller, Peter Erskine, Joe and Matt Maneri, Gary Thomas, Harold Danko, Dave Burrell, and many others.

 

Composition also plays a significant role in Formanek’s overall musical profile, and four albums of his original music, Wide Open Spaces, Extended Animation, Low Profile and Nature Of The Beast have been released to critical acclaim on the Enja label. Am I Bothering You, a recording of solo bass performances made for Tim Berne’s Screwgun label, has firmly established itself as an important contribution to that genre. Formanek produced or co-produced all of these recordings and among the featured musicians are Greg Osby, Tim Berne, Mark Feldman, Dave Douglas, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Marty Ehrlich, Wayne Krantz, and Jim Black. Formanek received Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation and Presentation Grant for 2000-2001 to compose a new piece for the Tim Berne/Michael Formanek Duo, which was recently performed in Philadelphia as part of the Chamber Music America Encore program for 2007. Formanek was commissioned to compose an original piece for the 150th anniversary of the Peabody Conservatory. The piece, The Open Book for Jazz Soloists with Orchestra, was premiered at Peabody in February of 2007, and featured members of the Peabody Jazz Orchestra and the full Peabody Concert Orchestra under the direction of Hajime Teri Murai.

 

Current projects include Tim Berne’s bloodcount, together with saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed, and drummer Jim Black, which has reunited after a ten-year hiatus, and 3081, a Baltimore based quartet featuring trumpeter Dave Ballou, saxophone and clarinetist, John Dierker, and percussionist Will Redman, and a new quartet with Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn, and Gerald Cleaver on drums.

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- commissions & awards -

  • Chamber Music America Doris Duke Foundation New Works Encore grant was given to Ars Nova Workshop in Philadelphia to perform The Offbeat Manifesto in May of 2007
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  • Faculty Appointment to the newly formed Jazz Studies Department at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 2001 as a limited time faculty, and appointed as full-time faculty member in 2003.
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  • Commission form the Peabody Conservatory to compose a piece for Symphony Orchestra with Jazz Soloists – The Open Book was premiered with the Peabody Concert Orchestra in 2007
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  • Chamber Music America Doris Duke Foundation New Works Commission 2000 – The Offbeat Manifesto was premiered in May of 2001
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  • Commission from The Peabody Conservatory for a Fanfare to celebrate the grand reopening ceremonies after major renovation in 2004 – An Uncommon Fanfare was premiered in April of 2004
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  • Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant (1995)
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