A working trio for original music, standards and open improvisation.
The Michael Jefry Stevens Trio is a central setting for Michael’s writing and playing, bringing a shared language of jazz repertoire and original composition to the stage. The current trio features Michael with bassist Zack Page and drummer Rick Dilling.
The trio format has been one of Michael’s most important vehicles for musical expression throughout his five-decade career. His early work with Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson, inspired in part by the Bill Evans Trio and the Keith Jarrett Standards Trio, led to six recordings and extensive touring in Europe and the United States from 1990 to 2010.
Alongside that work, the Sorgen-Rust-Stevens Trio focused on improvised recording, releasing three trio recordings and Aercine with Herb Robertson and Mark Feldman. Today, Michael continues that history in western North Carolina with Rick Dilling and Zack Page, performing standards and original compositions.
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 maintains an active freelance schedule and is adjunct faculty at UNC Asheville.
Rick Dilling grew up listening to the great big bands and 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.
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