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Gregg Bendian's Interzone
Biography
The music of percussionist, composer, and bandleader Gregg Bendian reflects his diverse interests in free jazz, contemporary classical music, and even progressive rock. One of Bendian's first major areas of interest was the music of Varese and Webern, which he investigated during his advanced studies at William Paterson College while still a high school student in New Jersey. Early on, Bendian also familiarized himself with the avant-garde jazz explorations of Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, and Ornette Coleman, and he vowed to someday work with Taylor. In pursuit of this goal, Bendian studied drumming (for high school credit) with Steve McCall and Andrew Cyrille. After additional study at Rutgers University, he formed the Gregg Bendian Project, a new music and chamber jazz group, and began collaborating with members of the burgeoning New York downtown scene, including John Zorn, Ned Rothenberg, Tom Cora, Bill Frisell, Butch Morris, Mark Dresser, Leo Smith, George Lewis, and Robert Dick. Bendian also began his first association with Derek Bailey, joining Company, the British improvising guitarist's loose-knit international collective. In 1989, Bendian realized his dream of performing with Taylor, serving as drummer of the Cecil Taylor Unit both in concert and on the A&M recording In Florescence (which includes two solo percussion compositions penned by Bendian: "For Steve McCall" and "Entity").
Selected Discography