Tony Bianco

b. USA. Resident in London, England, from the 90s onwards, drummer Bianco established a formidable reputation with the avant garde. He played with trumpeter Loz Speyer’s quartet in 1998, touring the UK and recording Two Kinds Of Blue. Bianco has also played in a duo with cutting-edge saxophonist-composer Paul Dunmall. He and Dunmall, along with saxophonist Simon Picard, also formed the Utoma Trio. Bianco worked in a rather more orthodox but still decidedly contemporary trio with bass player Tony Marino and multi-instrumentalist Dave Liebman. In his own quartet he has included saxophonist Carlos Lopez-Real, pianist Zoe Rahman and bass player Oli Hayhurst. In 2001, Bianco was performing Freebeat, an original concept of pre-recorded bass patterns against which he plays. Living up to the label, these backgrounds are not inflexible as are so many pre-recorded rhythmic backings in contemporary pop music, and thus allow the development of varied improvisations. Drawing from hard bop, post-bop and free jazz traditions, Bianco writes much of his own music, in some instances broad statements that leave ample scope for the improvisations of his collaborators. A fluid, fast-thinking musician with great flair and authority, by the early 00s Bianco was established as a leading member of the London contemporary jazz and improvised music scenes.