Rhombus

Rhombus is a Boston-based band focused on playing creative original music that explores a wide range of ideas and atmospheres through intricate compositions and daring improvisations. Their music draws on a vast array of influences and personal experiences, combining elements of jazz, balkan music, and rock with unique, catchy melodies and a passion for spontaneity. The instrumentation of the band; voice, saxophone, guitar, piano, bass, and drums, allows for creative combinations of sounds that are the ideal vehicle for the expression of their repertoire. They have earned much praise for the consistent creativity and virtuosity of their work as performers and composers.

Rhombus' bandleader, pianist, and primary composer, Brian Friedland, draws on extensive experience working in and across several genres to create his multi-faceted and meticulously crafted music. His sonic palette ranges from the well-studied mainstream to the boldly progressive. A composer and experimenter since childhood, Friedland has penned hundreds of pieces for small jazz groups, big band, and classical ensembles. He has performed his music at the Lima Jazz Festival in Peru, the American Pianists Association Cole Porter competition, and respected Los Angeles jazz venues such as the Jazz Bakery, Cafe Metropol, and the Vic as well as with top-notch student groups at the University of Southern California and the New England Conservatory of Music. Grammy nominated composer and University of Southern California faculty member Kim Richmond describes Friedland's music as "not only professional quality material, but inspirationally crafted, an excellent and interesting mix of art works. He shows his dedication towards creating and performing new music." Friedland is also in demand as a pianist, and has garnered much acclaim for his playing on recent recordings as a sideman. In a review of saxophonist Alexei Zoubov's 2007 release "Rejuvenation," respected jazz critic and frequent AllAboutJazz.com contributor Scott Yanow says, "Friedland contributes lyrical solos that would not be out of place on a Keith Jarrett record." On another 2007 album featuring Friedland's piano work, Kim Richmond's Origin Records release, "Live at Cafe Metropol," Yanow describes the band's playing as "colorful" and "a joy to hear" and proclaims the music "highly recommended."

The other five members of Rhombus are also highly acclaimed and experienced performers and composers. Cadence Music's David Kane points out that guitarist and composer Phil Sargent's "compositional originality is matched by his incisive playing which ranges from "inside" lyricism to hard edged, riff-based, screaming rock and satisfying surreal textures aided by his intelligent use of electronics." Sargent has honed a strong musical connection with Rhombus drummer Mike Connors, and bassist Greg Loughman, in several other groups, including the critically acclaimed band Iskar.

Astonishingly for this age of college- and conservatory-trained musicians, Mike Connors has been largely educated in the School of Old, alternately known as "The Street" or "The Bandstand", which makes the erudite polish of his drumming an even more unusual gift. His unshakable solidness and orchestrational approach to the drum set are key to the big-picture musicality he lends to the literally hundreds of bands in which he can be heard.

Greg Loughman's playing, imbued with a uniquely heartland-American warmth that points to his Ohioan origins, speaks for itself. You might never notice the fact that he plays the bass– an already unwieldy instrument– left-handed, since his naturally-flowing musicality belies a remarkable technical prowess born of tireless dedication. "Loughman swings with something close to nonchalance... but can equally arrest the listener's attention with his deeply resonant soloing," says Paul Donnelly of eJazz News. David Horgan of Lively Times notes that "Greg Loughman is a fine bassist and composer. His bass tone is warm and woody...[and he] provide[s] virtuosic playing in service to the fundamental groove of each tune."

Vocalist Aubrey Johnson has been widely recognized as an extremely versatile musician and skilled improviser. In 2006, Johnson recorded on pianist Ron DiSalvio's Origin release, "Essence of Green" which featured Jimmy Cobb, the drummer on Miles Davis' famed album "Kind of Blue." In 2007, Aubrey received a grant from her alma mater, Western Michigan University, to record her own album and subsequently released her debut album, "It Might Be Well As Spring." Aubrey is currently attending the New England Conservatory of music in pursuit of her Masters Degree in Jazz Performance. Most recently, she was awarded "Best Jazz Vocalist" in the 2008 DownBeat magazine Student Music Awards.

Saxophonist Sean Berry, also a longtime collaborator with Sargent, Connors, and Loughman, is a captivating soloist whose playing has been described as "robust and brash", "capt