Trio, with Rich Mollin & Brian Kornfeld hits the road

Rich Mollin is a double bassist who has been headquartered at the State University of New York Oneonta campus. Mollin works with Spyro Gyra alumnae Jeremy Wall and for many years performed on Norwegian, Holland, and Carnival Cruise lines working with hundreds of headline acts. He performs with The Catskill Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Theatre, Mask and Hammer Productions and as house Bassist with Sonart recording studios in Woodstock, NY. Drummer Brian Kornfeld is a former student of Peter Erskine, Alex Acuna, Steve Smith, Ernie Adams, Adam Nussbaum, Luis Conte and David Garibaldi. Like Mollin, Brian performed worldwide on cruise lines, in hotels, and other entertainment venues for years before diving into other aspects of the music industry.

JAZZ REVIEW By Arts Agenda  | Arts critic

Sparks Fly With Chris Bakriges New Trio

Besides his touring, teaching and recording activities, Kornfeld is also an in-demand drum tech with groups lead by Mike Stern, Dave Weckl, Anton Fig, Simon Phillips, Jojo Mayer, Oz Noy, and others.

Described as a lyrical and intimate voice in contemporary jazz, Chris Bakriges has forged a unique path which embodies the essence of jazz exploration, global influences and pure improvisation.  From critical acclaim as a bandleader to exposure in collaborations with Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Burrell, David Darling and the late Stax/Truth diva Sandra Wright, Bakriges continues to garner admiration from both jazz purists and music enthusiasts alike. His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio and solo and larger ensemble settings, has seen brilliant re-workings of traditional songs alongside the ever evolving breath of his own significant catalogue of original compositions. Bakriges is described as an adventurous pianist "whose work transcends the particulars of any one style and instead is part of the reforming process of the new millennium" (Anthony Braxton) and “penetrating and probing…a solid vision of music.” (Times of India)