What Now?
Mike block trio
FOR YOUR
GRAMMY® CONSIDERATION
Best Folk Album
Best American Roots Performance
One Fine Day
Best American Roots Song
One Fine Day
Best Instrumental Composition
Highland Ridge
ABOUT
LISTEN
The debut album from the Mike Block Trio is a long time coming, while the connection between these three unique musicians has been deepening for over a decade in various collaborations and configurations. Led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine, the trio features Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals). Their first album as a trio features mostly original music, composed recently during the pandemic. The album oscillates between intimate meditations and burning improvisational virtuosity, explored through both original songs and instrumentals. There is also a sensitive reinterpretation of a Baroque Sarabande, and playful versions of tunes from Jamaica, Brazil, and a Bluegrass standard for good measure.
ABOUT MIKE BLOCK
Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, hailed by Yo- Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century". Passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music, Mike is committed to inspiring individuals and connecting communities. At home in a wide range of musical styles, through a multi-genre approach to composition, performance and education, he seeks to inspire audiences and empower musicians to find joy in the full world of music. Acclaimed by the NY Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing", Block's solo performances offer a rich mixture of core classical repertoire with original compositions. Mike is member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School. Touring extensively throughout the world with SRE, he has been featured as cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album, Sing Me Home. As an innovator, Mike is among the first wave of cellists to adopt a strap in order to stand and move while playing. With The Block Strap, Mike was the first standing cellist to perform at Carnegie Hall. The NY Times characterized the performance as, "Breathless ... Half dance, half dare." As an educator, Mike is passionate about creativity and collaboration, and is the founding director of Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop, and the Mike Block String Camp.
ABOUT MIKE BLOCK TRIO
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
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