Billowing across the firmament with evolving creativity, Cloudmakers Trio continues to be a major force in adventurous contemporary music, blending downtown New York and European jazz with world and rock influences. This project’s original vision – to match the textural density of a piano trio, but instead headed up by vibraphone – places exhilarating improvisation at the core, analogously emulating fleeting, ever-changing skyscapes formed by the cloud-like abstractions of power stations.

The founding synergy of the Cloudmakers Trio – led by vibraphonist Jim Hart (Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Marius Neset Quintet, Daniel Erdmann’s Revolution) with double bassist Michael Janisch and drummer Dave Smith – shaped distinctive, dynamic timbres from the outset; and their recent augmentation as Cloudmakers Five – with saxophonist Antonin-Tri Hoang and electric guitarist Hannes Riepler – has unlocked the concept of divergent collaboration to expand Hart’s artistic scope and compositional repertoire still further.

Live at the Pizza Express (2010), the trio’s first release, features guest trumpeter Ralph Alessi and became a significant ‘light in the sky’ through its unfettered and fiercely compelling chemistry captured in a superb audio recording, garnering glowing press reaction. With that album pulling their already recognized potential into sharper focus, Hart proceeded to tour extensively with thunderous drummer and fellow Loop Collective co-founder Dave Smith (Robert Plant, Outhouse Ruhabi, Fofoulah) and world-renowned bassist, MOBO-nominated solo artist and prolific producer Michael Janisch (leader of his Paradigm Shift band and founder of Whirlwind Recordings), honing this complex, driven powerhouse of invention.

Cloudmakers Trio’s second album, Abstract Forces (2014), throws an even broader spotlight on the band’s progression, described in reviews as having “An aptitude for making a threesome of rhythm-section instruments sound forceful and ethereal by turns.” (The Guardian) and possessing a “Patient, attentive approach to building space and adventure… All utterly bewitching.” (London Jazz News). It was also listed as an album of the year by Downbeat and Jazzwise Magazines; and digital release AJMiLIVE #7 (2015), recorded live at AJMi Jazz Club, Avignon, France, mostly features vibrant interpretations of tracks from this studio recording.

Cloudmakers Five’s Traveling Pulse (2018) captures live performances of animated, cumulonimbus proportion from two nights at the Vortex Jazz Club, its mesh of sound woven through with colorful guitar textures, cirrus-like electronic effects, soaring sax and propulsive beats – “A sense of cognitive assonance where Hart’s imaginative charts merge seamlessly with virtuosic extemporisation from all five protagonists.” (All About Jazz).

Originating in the UK, Cloudmakers Trio tours internationally, commanding an enthusiastic following in the United States, Canada, Norway, Ireland, France, Spain and Austria, as well as at home; and the next trio album is already forecast on the horizon.