Dead Cat Bounce

Lineup & Instrumentation: Matt Steckler - saxes, flute & compositions Jared Sims - saxes, clarinet Terry Goss - saxes Charlie Kohlhase - saxes Dave Ambrosio - bass Bill Carbone - drums Presciently stripped from the headlines, the term dead cat bounce denotes a small, brief recovery in the price of a declining stock. To the artists in Dead Cat Bounce, it signifies one’s dedication to creative rebirth and renewal even as times, traditions and masters move on. Featuring four saxophones of all ranges plus upright bass and drums, Dead Cat Bounce since 1997 has been the unique artistic vision of founder and composer Matt Steckler. Word of DCB’s high caliber as a performance ensemble has brought them to festivals and concerts nationally, and garnered distinctions from Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, American Composers Forum, American Music Center, Boston Music Awards, Jazz Times, The Washington Post, Cadence and many others in the creative music community. Dead Cat Bounce invokes Charles Mingus and the World Saxophone Quartet with their "tightly arranged, swirling contrapuntal reeds and multi-part, blues n’ roots-infused tricky compositions" (Jon Garelick, the Boston Phoenix). Their eclectic approach to rhythm is informed by traditions from the Caribbean, Deep South, Brazil, West Africa, Eastern Europe and Detroit. In Dead Cat Bounce, solo and collective improvisations energetically complement the poise of its ever-expanding compositional repertoire. According to Dave Liebman, Dead Cat Bounce "does it all with exquisite writing, the subtle use of a bass-drum rhythm section and above all a definite sense of communication between the members that I am sure will be apparent to even the casual listener. These musicians are not just playing the music on the page, but listening and communing together." Dead Cat Bounce’s members are on the cutting edge of today’s jazz, rock and world music scenes and have performed and/or recorded with: Dave Douglas, Steve Lacy, Ray Charles, Lonnie Plaxico, Roswell Rudd, Matt Wilson, Anthony Braxton, John Tchicai, Michael Cain, Pheeroan Aklaff, Curtis Fowlkes, Melvin Sparks, Leroy Jenkins, the Either/Orchestra, Miracle Orchestra, Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, Mango Blue and others. To boot, DCB’s lineup is comprised of great bandleaders in their own right, offering a heady combination of musicians both self-taught and mentored under such renowned artists as Danilo Pérez, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Jim McNeely, Bob Moses and Cecil McBee. In 2011 Dead Cat Bounce will tour to promote its fourth full-length album Chance Episodes, and also set to work on the new electro-acoustic cycle Eco-Beat Heresy. To their résume add the globally merchandized and seminal recordings Home Speaks to the Wandering (Innova), Lucky By Association and Legends of the Nar (Chonsky), and you have in Dead Cat Bounce one of the most prolific and soul-searching bodies of work available to one Little Big Band That Could. Please visit www.deadcatbounce.org and the official DCB Facebook Fan Page for more details and to join the mailing list for Dead Cat Bounce and other music of Matt Steckler. New Cuneiform CD Chance Episodes OUT NOW