the Nice Guy Trio

The Nice Guy Trio is Darren Johnston on trumpet, Rob Reich on accordion, and Daniel Fabricant on bass. With an emphasis on spontaneity, they create a sound that is both intimate and reflective of their contrasting yet complimentary musical backgrounds. In concert they navigate through a uniquely diverse collection of original compositions and songs from folk traditions all around the globe, from jazz to klezmer to Balkan dance forms, to calypso and beyond. Founded in 2006, the “Nice Guys” have perfored in venues big and small, from local organic gems like Jazz at Chez Hanny and the Café Royale, to classic institutions such as The Great American Music Hall, the Yerba-Buena Garden Festival, and for SF Jazz’s “Summerfest,” Also during this first year, the Red Poppy Art House hosted the Nice Guy Trio for a five-month-long residency called the “Root Exchange.” Each month a different collaborative concert was programmed, featuring special guest artists from radically different musical backgrounds, and a constant stream of new compositions by members of the trio and by its’ guests. Guests included Sameer Gupta on tabla, Ben Goldberg on clarinet and contra-alto clarinet, John Schott on electric guitar, singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero, David Phillips on pedal steel, Smith Dobson V on both drums and vibraphone, Dina Macabee on violin and Alex Kelley on cello. The series was concluded with a very successful concert presented by Intersection for the Arts at the De Young Museum. Almost all of the guest artists from the series were able to attend, and together they played as one large ensemble as well as in various smaller combinations. The following week the Nice Guy Trio concluded their first season by being awarded the SF Weekly award for “best jazz/blues band,” before taking a hiatus to record their first CD and travel with various other projects. Rob Reich plays accordion, piano, or guitar with Gaucho, The Golden Melody Band, Kally Price, The Trifles, Sean Hayes, and many other Bay Area bands. His expansive musical sensibility is rooted with a firm belief in melody, improvisation, and group play, with particular interest in the idioms of Klezmer, traditional Jazz and Blues, Rock 'n Roll, and various Folk Music. Bassist Daniel Fabricant grew up in Ashland, Oregon, where he began playing guitar and trumpet in grade school. Since moving to the Bay Area and transitioning to double bass, he has performed as a freelance sideman with Andrea Marcovicci, Mary Wilson, Spencer Day and others. He recently completed his education degree at SFSU and teaches privately as well as classroom general music. Nice Guy Trio plays a uniquely diverse collection of original compositions and songs from folk traditions around the globe, from jazz to klezmer, Balkan, calypso and beyond.