Album Notes

The Gavin Ahearn Trio have recently released their debut CD, Flight of The Arctic Tern. This CD features original compositions by the trio members: Gavin Ahearn (piano), Christian Coleman (drums) and Chris Riggenbach (bass). Four of the pieces also feature the innovative playing of NYC based saxophonist Mike Dopazo.

The trio formed in 2002 and has performed virtually 6 nights a week since then courtesy of a cruise-ship gig that has been treated not only as a performance space but as an opportunity to expand the musical palette of the trio and to ‘wood-shed’ original material. As a consequence of playing so much, the group has also developed a tight sound and the ability to play complex and intricate original pieces. During this time the trio met with alto/soprano saxophonist Mike Dopazo and had an instant rapport that led to frequent musical interaction over the course of a few years and inevitably to the recording of this debut album.

Inspired/influenced by the current music of Peter Erskine, Enrico Pieruninzi, Mike Nock, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Dave Douglas, Marc Johnson, Chick Corea as well as all the jazz greats and a very diverse range of influences e.g. Andre 3000, Xenakis, Ravel, Curtis Mayfield, Nitin Sawhney, ACDC, Sergio Mendes, Richard Bona, Van Halen, Micheal Jackson, Djavan, Zappa, etc etc…

The album ‘Flight of the Arctic Tern’ features songs penned by Ahearn, Riggenbach and Coleman. The title track was inspired by the French wildlife documentary “Winged Migration” and specifically by the incredible migration undertaken by the Arctic Tern each year. More info on the songs is available at www.gavinahearn.com.