Clusone Trio, also known as Trio Clusone or Clusone 3, was a Dutch musical group active from the late 1980s to the late '90s, composed of saxophonist/clarinetist Michael Moore, cellist Ernst Reijseger and drummer Han Bennink.

Initially planned to be a one-time collaboration for an early 1980s jazz festival in Clusone, Italy, the trio became a regular group by the end of that decade.^[1]

Their music was a blend of free improvisation and jazz, the latter typically in a post-bop or free jazz vein (but sometimes touching on swing music), and including both original compositions by the trio and interpretations of jazz standards. Additionally, their performances often featured a humorous edge due in no small part to Bennink's propensity towards quirky, slapstick humor. Somewhat unusually for a cellist, Reijseger often played pizzicato walking bass in the style of a jazz double-bassist or held and strummed the instrument like a guitar.^[2] They occasionally performed as the Clusone 4, with guests Guus Janssen on piano or Dave Douglas on trumpet.^[3]

Clusone Trio released six albums, the first two on Moore's small independent label before recording for larger labels like Grammavision or HatArt.

Discography

• Clusone Trio (1992) Ramboy
• I Am an Indian (1993) Ramboy, reissued by Grammavision Records in 1995
• Soft Lights and Sweet Music: Clusone Trio Plays the Music of Irving Berlin (1994) Hat Hut Records / Hatology
• Love Henry (1996) Gramavision Records
• Rara Avis (1999) Hat Hut Records
• An Hour With... (2000) Hatology

References