3 Leg Torso

Genre: World
Secondary Genre: Classical Portland, Oregon USA Contact

3 Leg Torso creates charming, elegant and daring modern chamber pop music infused with equal parts tradition and innovation. Evoking tango, Eastern European folk and other world music traditions, their cosmopolitan style embraces wit and humor within thoughtful, uncommon and beautiful arrangements.

Artist Information

Biography

3 Leg Torso creates charming, elegant and daring modern chamber pop music infused with equal parts tradition and innovation. Since the ensemble's humble start in 1996 with spontaneous street performances -- called Meestering by co-founders Béla Balogh and Courtney Von Drehle -- they have been featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, successfully toured the east and west coasts, released four CDs (two with New York spoken word artist, NPR contributor and Duplex Planet founder David Greenberger), composed and recorded film and documentary scores as well as licensing music for film and television both in the US and internationally, written new evening length works commissioned by the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) and performed both their original compositions and their arrangements of traditional music with several symphony orchestras.

Influenced by tango, Eastern European folk and other world music traditions, their cosmopolitan musical style embraces wit and humor within thoughtful, uncommon and beautiful musical arrangements.

Highlights
• Profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered”
• Performed at the re-opening of the Hollywood Bowl, June 2004
• Debut album reached #12 on Amazon.com’s Top 100
• Two CD collaborations with New York-based spoken word artist David Greenberger
• Performances with the Portland Festival Symphony, Metropolitan Youth Symphony and Pacific Crest Wind Symphony.
• Scored Music for Academy Award winning animator Joan Gratz
• Composed music for United Nations documentary in Thailand
• Recorded music for Deutsche Komtel in Germany
• Provided theme music for Bosnian television series
• Commissioned by PICA for new work at 2003 TBA Festival
• Residency at 2006 San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival
• Two songs included in the 2007 film "What Would Jesus Buy?," directed by Rob VanAlkemade and produced by Morgan Spurlock (SUPER SIZE ME)

Instrumentation

Béla Balogh - violin, trumpet
Courtney Von Drehle - accordion
Michael Papillo - double bass
Gary Irvine - percussion, mallets
T.J. Arko - mallets, percussion

Discography

"3 Leg Torso" (3 Leg Torso)
"Astor In Paris" (Meester Records)
"Legibly Speaking" (Meester Records)
"Whispers, Grins, Bloodloss and Handshakes" (Meester Records)
"Animals and Cannibals" (Meester Records)

Official Website

http://www.3legtorso.com

Audio

Video

Photo Gallery

  • 3 Leg Torso

Press

  • The Oregonian

    A success in the fluid netherworld between serious art and popular culture.

  • CMJ

    All the beauty of Astor Piazolla's music and all the spunk of Kronos Quartet's.

  • Dirty Linen

    Wildly exciting, wildly eclectic, rather difficult to describe.

  • Willamette Week [+ Show ]

    3 Leg Torso's classically tinged combination of gypsy folk and whirling tangos is both devilishly cl...

Setlist

Sets range from 45 to 90 minutes and include primarily original music, with a few traditional tunes arranged by the ensemble also included.

Repertoire includes modern chamber music, French musette, Argentinean tango, Hungarian gypsy, Klezmer, Middle Eastern folk and dance music, bluesy waltzes, mid-century cartoon music and jazz ... sometimes all within the same song!

Maximum gig length is 3 hours, including breaks. Exceptions are possible through direct negotiation.

Basic Requirements


Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
Jun 1, 2013 Saturday 7:30 PM THE COASTER THEATRE Cannon Beach, OR, US
Jun 2, 2013 Sunday 12:00 PM PRIVATE EVENT US
Jun 14, 2013 Friday 7:30 PM Elkton Community Education Center Elkton, OR, US
Jun 15, 2013 Saturday 8:00 PM Pistol River Hall Gold Beach, OR, US
Jun 18, 2013 Tuesday 7:30 PM The Steynberg Gallery, San Luis Obispo US
Jun 20, 2013 Thursday 12:00 PM PRIVATE EVENT, LOS ANGELES, CA US
Jun 21, 2013 Friday 8:00 PM 142 Throckmorton Theater Mill Valley, CA, US
Jun 22, 2013 Saturday 7:30 PM MUSIC IN THE MOUNTAINS Grass Valley , CA, US
Jul 5, 2013 Friday 8:00 PM Tony Starlight's Supper Club Portland, OR, US
Jul 25, 2013 Thursday 6:30 PM WALLACE PARK Portland, OR, US
Jul 26, 2013 Friday 9:00 PM DISCOVER MUSIC SERIES at the PRESS CLUB , US
Aug 23, 2013 Friday 9:00 PM DISCOVER MUSIC SERIES at the PRESS CLUB , US
Aug 24, 2013 Saturday 7:00 PM Silverton Wine Festival Silverton, OR, US
Sep 8, 2013 Sunday TBA PRIVATE EVENT US
Sep 14, 2013 Saturday 7:30 PM Old Liberty Theater Ridgefield, WA, US
Sep 28, 2013 Saturday 9:00 PM 3 Leg Torso w/ Chervona at Dante's! , US
Oct 3, 2013 Thursday 7:00 PM Northwest Housing Alternatives HOME SWEET HOME -- A benefit for affordable housing in Oregon Portland, OR, US
Dec 5, 2013 Thursday TBA Wanderlust Circus and 3 Leg Torso Present "A Circus Carol" , US
Dec 6, 2013 Friday TBA Wanderlust Circus and 3 Leg Torso Present "A Circus Carol" , US
Dec 7, 2013 Saturday TBA Wanderlust Circus and 3 Leg Torso Present "A Circus Carol" , US
Dec 8, 2013 Sunday TBA Wanderlust Circus and 3 Leg Torso Present "A Circus Carol" , US
Jan 17, 2014 Friday TBA 3 Leg Torso performs with the Beaverton Symphony Beaverton , OR, US
Jan 19, 2014 Sunday TBA 3 Leg Torso performs with the Beaverton Symphony Beaverton , OR, US
Feb 9, 2014 Sunday 2:00 PM CELEBRATION WORKS SERIES First Presbyterian Church Portland, OR, US