Trombonist Jacob Garchik was born October 12, 1976, in San Francisco, CA. His mother played the piano at home, and from age ten, Jacob took daily band and jazz classes in the San Francisco public school system under the tutelage of Ko Takemoto and Ron Madden, and he also studied classical trombone with Doug Thorley. Transferring to the Manhattan School of Music in 1994, he studied briefly with Steve Turre, then continued his classical training with David Finlayson and David Taylor. He has worked extensively with the Lee Konitz New Nonet since 1997. Garchik has contributed arrangements and transcriptions for the Kronos Quartet of compositions by Thelonious Monk, and musics from China, Korea, Iraq, and Iran. As a freelancer, he's accompanied the Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow Sextet, Judith Berkson, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the Ben Gerstein Collective, the Four Bags, Justin Mullens & the Delphian Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band featuring Elvis Costello, the System Band from Haiti, country musician Billy Gillman, Jackie Cain, and Paul Anka. He has collaborated with composers Joe Maneri, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman, and James Tenney, choreographers Yoshiko Chuma and Anita Cheng, and the Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf. In the world fusion area, Garchik has worked with Golem, Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars, Metropolitan Klezmer, Isle of Klezbos, Greg Wall's Simcha All-Stars, Aaron Alexander's Midrash Mish Mosh, Judith Berkson's East River Orchestra, What I Like About Jew, German Goldenshteyn, Michael Alpert, Slavic Soul Party!, Eugene Hütz, and Gogol Bordello. Garchik also plays bass trombone, tuba, accordion, computer, and piano. ~ Michael G. Nastos