A widely acclaimed composer, bandleader, collaborator, and educator, bassist Michael Formanek has been a major presence in New York and East Coast creative jazz since his 1990 debut album as a leader, Wide Open Spaces, the first of several outings released by the Enja label. Formanek had already proven himself a skillful sideman working with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, and Stan Getz, but his debut was the first time the bassist's own far-reaching compositions were showcased. The '90s found Formanek in a simpatico partnership with saxophonist Tim Berne, performing and recording in duet and in Berne's Bloodcount quartet. In the new millennium, Formanek has recorded for ECM (The Rub and Spare Change, 2010; Small Places, 2012) and Cuneiform (Thumbscrew's eponymous debut, 2014), while joining the jazz faculty of Baltimore's Peabody Institute. ~ Dave Lynch