ABOUT
Melbourne based piano trio ISM, featuring bassist Isaac Gunnoo, pianist Selene Messinis, and drummer Maddison Carter formed in 2013, having already shared strong musical relationships together.
The last three years ISM has spent playing together is culminating in their premier album, This Canvas, which comprises of all-original music written by its three members.
Their vast array of influences, tempered by their time together as a band has resulted in the formation of a complex, dynamic and ever-changing sound, which is only supported by their extensive performance experience, knowledge of different styles of music, and the application of improvisation to these elements. They do however, sound decidedly Australian, and their love of local musicians is evident.
One can, at times, hear anything from the classic piano trio sound of a group like the Keith Jarrett trio, to the lyricism of the music of Tony Gould, and the rhythmic complexities of the Avishai Cohen Trio, often within a single piece of music.
This ensemble has performed at such acclaimed music venues and events as Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Uptown Jazz Cafe, Deakin Edge, and the Stonnington Jazz Festival.
The three members, out of the Victorian College of the Arts, have become well-known and highly sought-after musicians and composers in the world of improvised music.
This ensemble is the result of the desire to pay homage to the timeless piano trio, while breaking down the confines of what is expected of a piano trio. The result is a group which is in constant development, never twice the same.
ISAAC GUNNOO
Isaac Gunnoo is a double bassist born and bred in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, in the creative hub of Eltham. Since completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, he has been one of the most in-demand young bassistsin the country, and regularly plays with many of the greats of Australian music; Kimba and Ryan Griffith, Joe O’Connor, Paul Williamson, Jeremy Woolhouse, and Darrin Archer to name a few. Isaac writes for and co-leads the dynamic and exciting ‘Carbo Carter Gunnoo Quartet’ alongside Maddison, and performs with many critically acclaimed musicians and groups throughout Australia, such as the Bean Project, also alongside Maddison, STAV, and with many touring musicians from all over the country who come to the cultural hub of Melbourne City.
SELENE MESSINIS
Selene Messinis is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, known for her versatility and strength of sound. Having been initially inspired by the quintessential ECM recordings at a young age, she now regularly performs in jazz venues and at corporate events across Melbourne as a solo artist and with a number of different ensembles, the ISM trio, co-founded jazz-fusion quartet, ‘Four [Means 4]’, and internationally acclaimed Latin fusion outfit ‘Bella Wolf’. Over the past few years, Selene has studied quite extensively with Australian piano icons Joe Chindamo and Steve Sedergreen, helping her to sculpt the fluid and sophisticated sound she has established today.
MADDISON CARTER
Maddison Carter is a Melbourne-based drummer and composer who improvises fearlessly and sensitively, leading the charge of the next generation of jazz artists on the Melbourne scene. Carter is a versatile artist, working across the art music spectrum from free jazz to minimalism, as well as in folk, West African and pop genres. His sound is influenced by studies with Simon Barker, Andrea Keller and Danny Farrugia, incorporating a vast textural palette, quiet precision and rhythmic vocabulary.
Carter graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in jazz and improvisation in 2016. During this time he developed a series of jazz ensembles including piano trio ISM and Carbo Carter Gunnoo. Alongside his development as a jazz artist, Carter joined folk acts The Bean Project and STAV., and afrobeat ensemble Jarabi.
In 2019 Carter released his debut album as bandleader, Elbow Room, with a quintet featuring Eugene Ball, Theo Carbo, Tamara Murphy and Joe O’Connor. This acclaimed release of original compositions explores the device of polytempi, placing opposing rhythmic structures together to explore the space between. It has been featured on ABC Jazz and PBS Impressions.
Carter has performed with Andrea Keller’s Transients, the Allan Browne Quintet for his memorial concert, Miroslav Bukovsky and Eugene Ball’s MiroBall, Nat Bartsch’s Lullaby Project, Julien Wilson, and James Sherlock, and has performed at numerous festivals across Australia. He has also written commissions for the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Beautiful Fragments project, connecting orchestral and jazz musicians together.
Recorded by ISM at Messi Studios
Produced by ISM
Mixed by Louie Michael
Mastered by Philip Rex
Artwork and design by Luke Fraser/AHR+
Photography by Martin Bennet
credits
released December 18, 2016
license
all rights reserved
CONTACT: ismmcg@gmail.com