James Merenda Trio/Duo/Quartet…

The irrepressible James Merenda leads various small jazz ensembles (typically himself and a few others). These ensembles feature Merenda on piano (or sometimes alto saxophone), usually Jon Dreyer on bass, often a drummer, and sometimes a vocalist or other instrumentalist. Repertoire tends to be from the Great American Songbook, played with energy, musicianship, and creativity that makes these familiar tunes exciting and new.

Always active, James has performed with; Ran Blake at the Knitting Factory, the Darmstadt Jazz Festival in Germany and recorded on Hatology Records; with Roswell Rudd and Beat Science, Cameron Brown, Joe McPhee, Joe Hunt, former Ornette Coleman keyboardist Dave Bryant, Grammy Award winning pianist David Maxwell, the Either/Orchestra, the Ardvark Orchestra, the Slip, contemporary guitarists Marc Ribot, David Fiuczynsdi, Dave Tronzo and with drummer Bob Gullotti. James has also performed on Radio France, Radio Europa in Italy and in Holland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium with Perilous Foil and in Cambridge at the Mandorla Music Series, at Club Passim, and other venues. He has recorded with Ran Blake, Dave Knife Fabris, and others.

Jon Garelick of the Boston Globe and The Arts Fuse calls him irrepressible and says Merenda never fails to bring it.

James is a brilliant performer and composer, but beyond that he's also an exceptional listener, both to his exceptional record collection and to every musician on the bandstand with him.

Listen

Please listen to some of our recent recordings, including:

Jon Dreyer

Please like me! • Jon Dreyer • 781-696-2614 • 341 Red Acre Rd, Stow MA 01775-1185 • email