Accomplished keys player and composer
Anthony Coleman has gained recognition as an inspired player and talented standout of the avant-garde and klezmer-oriented jazz coming out of N.Y.C.'s downtown throughout the '80s and '90s.
Coleman has performed and recorded with just about every musician involved in this downtown scene, including
John Zorn, guitarist
Elliott Sharp,
David Moss, renowned trumpeter
Dave Douglas, premier accordion player
Guy Klucevsek,
David Shea, former
Captain Beefheart bandmember
Gary Lucas, classical and klezmer clarinetist
David Krakauer, guitarist
Marc Ribot, and many more.
Coleman has performed and recorded all over the world, with his groups
Sephardic Tinge -- they've toured Europe three times, and released two CDs -- and
the Selfhaters, all releases on the Tzadik label. Found on the related Avant label is
Coleman's
Disco by Night, a recording inspired by his experiences in ex-Yugoslavia. Through most of the '90s,
Coleman and saxophonist
Roy Nathanson have co-led projects, performing all over the U.S. and Europe together. The duo has also recorded several albums, including
Lobster and Friend.
Coleman has received commissions for his compositions from various ensembles including
Bang on a Can, Concert Artists Guild, and the Crosstown Ensemble. His compositions can also be heard on harpist
Carol Emanuel's Koch release
Tops of Trees and
Guy Klucevsek's accordion extravaganza
Manhattan Cascade, among others. In 2006,
Coleman released two albums,
Shmutsige Magnaten, in which he played the songs of Yiddish folk composer Mordechai Geburtig, who died during the Holocaust, and
Pushy Blueness. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide