Band Bio
|
Never Weather is a jazz-inspired quintet led by percussionist and composer, Dillon Vado. Dillon’s original compositions borrow influences from Free Jazz, Rock and Chamber Music to make exciting arrangements that allow for genuine improvisations each performance. Their debut album, Blissonance, was just released in January 2020 on Bay Area Label, Ridgeway Records. “A snapshot of an evolving ensemble, Blissonance is the work of restless intelligence and bountiful heart.” -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News
Never Weather features Dillon Vado on drums, Tyler Harlow on bass, Justin Rock on guitar, Josh D. Reed on trumpet, and Aaron Wolf on alto saxophone. They strive to make music that showcases the five unique voices of the group, while simultaneously exploring complex themes such as the emotional impacts of climate change and human relationships to time. The melodies of Never Weather can draw clear influence from such varying sources as Ornette Coleman, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Thelonious Monk and Paul Motian. Some of their pieces, like Morbique, even utilize incendiary Anthony Braxton style performance techniques involving several melodies played simultaneously and at different tempos, thus featuring smaller groups within the large group to shape a constantly changing environment. Contrastingly, they have pieces that are almost completely through-composed like their piece, Always Setting. No piece better captures the group’s poise and attention to detail than “Always Setting,” a spacious, attenuated melody connected by a mobile bass line. It’s an intricate piece of chamber jazz that gradually gains gravity without density.” (Andy Gilbert: Mercury News) Their debut album, Blissonance, offers an introspective dive into the beautiful but often turbulent landscapes of the human mind, and reflections on climate change all the while demonstrating a unique and thoughtful approach to improvisation and development. |
|
Dillon's bioDillon Vado is a professional drummer and vibraphonist in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a graduate of the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. He grew up in San Jose, where he played many small club gigs on drums and marched snare drum for the Santa Clara Vanguard. He has recorded at Fantasy Studios, and played with many musicians at The Freight and Salvage, Yoshi’s, and the SF Jazz Center. He has also performed overseas at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Dillon has performed with Art Lande, Hafez Modirzadeh, Royal Hartigan, Marcus Shelby, Erik Jekabson, Jeff Denson, Alan Hall, Jovino Santos Neto, Marcos Silva and Kate McGarry.
In 2014, Dillon won 1st place in the Jazz Search West soloist competition on vibraphone. Dillon was also acknowledged as the Most Promising Young Jazz Artist of 2017 from the Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Awards. He can be heard playing both drums and vibes on recent recordings with Alan Hall’s Ratatet, The Jeff Denson Quartet, and Erik Jekabson’s Electric Squeezebox Orchestra and leads several of his own projects, including Never Weather, The Table Trio, and Beyond Words: Jazz and Poetry. Blissonance by Never Weather is his debut album as a band leader and was just released in January on Bay Area Label, Ridgeway Records. |
|
Press quotes
|
"Oakland Drummer/Composer Dillon Vado Unleashes Exquisite Brain Storms With Blissonance, the Debut Album by His Quintet Never Weather" -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News
"These compositions take us into the creative mind and experimentation of Vado as a composer. They also explore opportunities for the ensemble players to express themselves in unique and improvisational ways." -Dee Dee McNeil: Musicalmemoirs Blog "A snapshot of an evolving ensemble, Blissonance is the work of restless intelligence and bountiful heart." -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News "No piece better captures the group’s poise and attention to detail than “Always Setting,” a spacious, attenuated melody connected by a mobile bass line. It’s an intricate piece of chamber jazz that gradually gains gravity without density. -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News "Heady and intricate but never over-thought or busy, Vado’s music reflects the collective personality forged by musicians trained in the art of careful, responsive listening." -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News "What makes Blissonance such an impressive debut album is the music’s combination of emotional and musical intelligence." -Andy Gilbert: Mercury News |
|
