Eliot Cardinaux, piano, poetry, compositions
Will McEvoy, double bass, compositions
Max Goldman, drums, percussion, cymbals
Pianist and poet Eliot Cardinaux, double bassist Will McEvoy, and drummer Max Goldman share a collaborative trio aesthetic that has led to two recordings — Take Me by the Hand of Darkness (Bodily Press 2019), and Out of Our Systems (Bodily Press, 2022). The trio’s approach to workshopping Eliot & Will’s tunes — until the music falls off the page and the trio is forced to clean up the resulting mess — has made for some multidirectional developments in arranging, deconstructing, and dismantling long forms that feature some of Eliot’s hard-earned poetry as well. Who knows what shape their music is prone to take on a given night, when their restless spirits linger on a note that is *not quite out of tune*, but “off” somehow. This is a powerful trio made up of energized and dedicated equals. A rare treat to hear them live.
Eliot Cardinaux is a poet, pianist, and composer working in the field of jazz, improvisation, and lyric poetry. He studied briefly at Manhattan School of Music, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam, before completing his degree in music at New England Conservatory. He went on to acquire an MFA in poetry from The University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has traveled frequently throughout the East Coast and Europe over the last decade to perform. Eliot has collaborated on recordings featuring Mat Maneri, Flin van Hemmen, Asger Thomsen, Jonas Engel, Etienne Nillesen, Eivind Opsvik, Dan Weiss, Craig Taborn, Ben Monder, Thomas Morgan, Kresten Osgood, Ryan Blotnick, and many others. At present, in addition to the trio performing here, he has a duo with Gary Fieldman, and is a member of the international ensemble Our Hearts as Thieves. His albums include American Thicket, Sweet Beyond Witness, Pavane, and Pain is a Form of Violence Prone to Happiness (with Our Hearts as Thieves). Eliot’s poems and translations have been featured in Jacket2, Café Review, Spectra Poets, Spoon River Poetry Review, Solstice, and Tupelo Quarterly. His debut collection of poems, On the Long Blue Night, was recently published by Dos Madres Press. Eliot is also the founder of The Bodily Press, an independent chapbook press and record label. He has taught at UMass Amherst, and worked as a bookseller at Amherst Books.
Double bassist and composer Will McEvoy was raised in rural Maryland. His first musical pursuits were based in country, roots, and blues music, playing the guitar and dobro. Taking the leap to pursue double bass studies at age 18, he moved to New York City, and was mentored by Mark Helias, Peter Herbert, and Tony Falanga. He spent time in the city seeking out sources of compositional and improvisational instruction, hustling orchestral and musical theater gigs, and working odd jobs, all while taking part in NYC’s expansive improvised music scene for the better part of 12 years. Current projects include Tom Chess’ Bandit Hat, and Patrick Breiner’s Double Double. He has a book of forthcoming trio music written during the pandemic.
Max Goldman is a musician and teacher living in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music where he studied under Gerald Cleaver and Kenny Washington. He continued to live in New York City for 16 years playing regularly and touring in the US, Europe, Russia and South America. Many diverse collaborators have shaped Max’s unique musical voice, among them The Elan Mehler Group, The Danny Fox Trio, Old Time Musketry, With Orbit, Midnight Magic, Becca Stevens, Chris Tordini, Travis Reuter, Mette Henriette, Jessica 6, Daniel Carter, Will Mcevoy, Patrick Breiner, Eliot Cardinaux, Andrew Dow, Michael Attias, Tim Berne, Kenny Warren, Marty Ballou, Jeff Platz, Brendan Carniaux, John McKenna, Anna Webber, Nomi Ruiz, The Body, Eleanor Friedberger and many more. Max is a proud endorser of Regal Tip drumsticks and brushes.
RUN TIME: 60-90 minutes with no intermission