Trio Grande – Hekselman, Vinson, Wood (NYC)

Trio Grande (Gilad Hekselman, Will Vinson, Nate Wood) is bigger than the average trio. It might look like there’s no bass player, but in fact there are three: Nate Wood (Wayne Krantz, Kneebody, Tigran Hamasyan) is perhaps the only person in the world able to play at a dazzling level on both drums and bass at the same time. Saxophonist Will Vinson (Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ari Hoenig, Miguel Zenon) doubles on keyboards and guitarist Gilad Hekselman (Anat Cohen, John Scofield, Chris Potter) is renowned for his ability to weave contrapuntal lines across the range of his instrument (and beyond).

Together, the three deliver a sound as big and broad as a group twice its size. The group’s first record (with Antonio Sanchez on drums instead of Wood) was lauded by international critics: Downbeat wrote: “The beauty of this disc of originals is that it’s far more than an all-star session; there’s an exceptional connection here. Each player brings his singular vision to the plate, but the collective sum is something fresh and exhilarating”, while Jazzwise declared: “It’s a project with a hard-hitting contemporary sonic all of its own.”

The group followed up an intense sold-out fall 2022 European tour with a new recording, to be released in 2023 in time for their European/Australasian tour in October/November.