Tony Bianco is an American jazz drummer and composer from New York City who moved to Europe in the early nineties. He has been described as a "true master of the drums ". He has played and recorded with many prominent jazz musicians including

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

Paul Dunmall Paul Dunmall (born 6 May 1953) is a British jazz musician who plays tenor and soprano saxophone, as well as the baritone and the more exotic saxello and the Northumbrian smallpipes. He has played with Keith Tippett and Barry Guy. In the early ...

, and

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

. In 2008 he brought Liebman and Parker together for a BBC recording which resulted in the album ''Relevance''. Bianco recorded a contemporary jazz album, ''In a Western Sense'', featuring Zoe Rahman. He played with Elton Dean on his concept called "Freebeat", which resulted in two albums featuring Dean on ''Northern Lights'' and Liebman on ''Monkey Dance''. In 2009 he recorded ''Never Pet a Burning Dog'' with the band

douBt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...

with guitarist

Michel Delville Michel Delville (born 1969) is a Belgian musician, writer and critic. Delville teaches literature at the University of Liège. He is the author of books about comparative poetics and interdisciplinary studies. He was awarded the 1998 SAMLA Book ...

and pianist Alex Maguire. The album received four stars from ''Down Beat'' magazine. In the annual poll by Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Bianco was one of the top five drummers and douBt was the third best instrumental group. In 2011, Bianco and Delville created the electro-jazz project Machine Mass, which was joined by Dave Liebman in 2012. Bianco is known for his "mercurial", "octopusian" drumming style, which combines the sounds of

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and straight jazz and reflects Bianco's "musical creed – to be "loose and tense, free and strict".

Selected discography

* ''Sea of Infinity'' by Elton Dean (Hux, 1997) * ''Hour Glass'' (

Emanem Emanem Records is a record company and independent record label founded in London, England in 1974 by Martin Davidson and Madelaine Davidson to record free improvisation. Its headquarters moved to New York City (1975–76), New Jersey (1979, ...

, 2001) * ''In a Western Sense'' (33 Jazz, 2003) * ''Monkey Dance'' ( FMR, 2003) * ''Never Pet a Burning Dog'' by douBt ( Moonjune, 2009) * ''Spirits Past and Future'' (Duns-limited, 2009) * ''Relevance'' (Red Toucan, 2010) * ''As Real as Thinking'' by Machine Mass Trio (Moonjune 2011)

References

External links

Official site

All About Jazz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianco, Tony American jazz drummers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) FMR Records artists Emanem Records artists