Joe Fiedler

Joe Fiedler was influenced by two cousins who played trumpet. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and has been based in NYC ever since 1993. However, he was inspired by his fourth-grade music teacher, who thought Fiedler and the trombone were a great match. The fourth grade music teacher proved to be a prophetic choice for the shy, young musician who accepted the “arranged marriage”. The trombone and Fiedler met when the young musician fell under the influence of two albums in his father’s collection, Mercy, Mercy, Cannonball Adderley Sextet, and Oscar Peterson’s Night Train. Fiedler spent a time at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, but the trombone was still on the back burner. He then decided to return home and transfer to the University of Pittsburgh. There, he joined the University’s jazz ensemble. “Once my flame was rekindled, I was in love with the trombone and was ready to go all-in. Fiedler said that although I didn’t know how to make a living playing trombone at the time, he was in love with the practice and the process. After graduating, Fiedler quickly became a highly-demand sideman. He worked as a freelancer for many years in Pittsburgh and also toured with the Glen Miller Orchestra. Fiedler made his move to New York City shortly after graduating in 1993. Two big opportunities opened up for him. Through friends of Billy Bang’s quintet, Fiedler learned that Cecil Taylor was starting a large ensemble. Fiedler was a brave, talented, young, and possibly naive musician. He crashed the first rehearsal and didn’t get asked to leave. “After a while, I realized that I was only in the band. Although playing with Cecil was great fun, it was the people I met that lead to other projects either directly or indirectly. Steve Swell and Susie Ibarra, Chris Jonas and Rob Brown were some of the players that I met,” Fiedler said. Fiedler also met future collaborators through Joey Sellers. Joey Sellers is one of his favorite composers/arrangers/trombonists and was hosting open rehearsals at Local 802 Union with his 11-piece band. Fiedler says, “Through the grapevine, I ended up attending one of those rehearsals, and was able to stay around.” I had been a bit mired up in free jazz, which was great, but I wanted to be able to play in an open environment with harmony and form. This is in keeping with Ray Anderson, my idol. Sellers’ band was where I met a lot of like-minded musicians and felt right at home. This band featured Tony Malaby and Dave Ballou as well as Dave Berkman, Dave Berkman, and my future band mates John Hebert, and Michael Sarin. Fiedler was born March 24, 1965. He has been happily ensconced in a whirlwind sideman activity for the past 20 years. Fiedler is one the most prominent trombonists worldwide and is featured on over 100 recordings. A modestly recorded and released a remarkable collection of recordings as a bandleader and composer, which has received high praise from both jazz fans and some of the most respected journalists and critics in jazz and creative music. Fiedler’s rise to stardom is further evidenced by his participation in the DownBeat Magazine Critic’s Poll over the past few years. Fiedler, Rob Jost, and Michael Sarin, the drummer, make it clear that his new recording, I’m in (released April 2015), is an exciting, inventive, funky, and entertaining listen. The fourth album from his latest trio and the second on his label Multiphonics Music, I’m In. Fiedler decided to create a new album that is different from the previous trio sessions. He wanted to play more traditional jazz forms and more blues elements. Fiedler once again uses his curiosity and explorer’s heart to great effect, discovering new ways to play his horn and new levels of mastery with the composer’s pen. Fiedler’s trio recordings, Plays The Music Of Albert Mangelsdorff and Sacred Chrome Orb, are highly acclaimed. These albums put him on the map as a triple threat musician – a gifted improviser and a skilled composer/arranger. I’m in is Fiedler’s latest album. It delivers on all levels. It is balanced like a culinary masterpiece. There are plenty of Latin tunes (“Erstwhile”, In Walked Cleo” – written for Fiedler’s daughter), and funky explorations (“Completely Peccable”) as well as swing (“I’m In”) and more than a little free improvisation (“Moving In Silence”) to keep it fresh. His Trio is not the only project Fiedler has been a part of. Big Sackbut, which features Fiedler and Luis Bonilla, has been a critically-acclaimed project.

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