A flexible quartet format rooted in original music and deep ensemble conversation.
Quartet performance has long been one of Michael’s most comfortable and expressive formats. It gives Michael’s compositions space for melodic development while inviting the distinctive voices of the musicians around him.
The quartet format accounts for a substantial part of Michael’s recorded work. His long-running quartet projects include the Fonda/Stevens Group, Conference Call Quartet, Eastern Boundary Quartet, Generations Quartet, The Katie Bull Project and the Lily White Band, alongside work with vocalists Wendy Jones, Joyce Cobb, Miles Griffith, Nicole Metzger and Brian “Breeze” Cayolle.
Two current quartet settings are central to this work: Rick Dilling on drums, Zack Page on bass and Todd Wright on saxophone, featured on Red’s Blues; and Christian Howes on violin, Rick Dilling on drums and Steve LaSpina on bass, featured on Precipice.
Rick Dilling graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Music Industry Studies. He has performed professionally with Clark Terry, Ernie Watts, Herb Ellis, Joe Temperley, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Billy Taylor and the Unifour Jazz Big Band, and is an adjunct instructor in Appalachian State University’s Jazz Department.
Zack Page has performed professionally as a bassist since the early 1990s. His work with jazz ensembles, theatre companies and the cruise industry has taken him throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, South America, Europe and the Far East. Based in Asheville, he is adjunct faculty at UNC Asheville.
Todd Wright is a saxophonist, clinician and director of Jazz Studies at Appalachian State University. His work spans performance, studio recording, workshops and adjudication, and includes collaborations with Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Richie Cole, Louis Bellson, Peter Erskine, Benny Golson, Herb Ellis, James Williams, Billy Taylor and Eddie Daniels.
Christian Howes is a violinist, educator and composer. The original page notes his DownBeat Critics Poll recognition, work as a cultural ambassador, acclaimed recordings and his founding of Creative Strings, a nonprofit supporting music education through improvisation and contemporary styles.
Steve LaSpina has performed and recorded widely in New York and nationally, including work with Benny Carter, Stan Getz, Phil Woods, Joe Williams, Mark Murphy, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Randy Brecker, Pat Martino and Jim Hall.
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