released August 4, 2023

Alex Nauman – Guitar, Objects & Effects Pedals
Matt Smiley – Bass
Ron Coulter – Drum Set, Percussion, Low-fi Electronics & Found Objects

All compositions by Alex Nauman, Matt Smiley, and Ron Coulter

Recorded February 23 & 24, 2021 in Casper, WY
Audio Recording, Mixing, and Mastering: Ron Coulter

ALEX NAUMAN has been a regular player throughout the Rocky Mountain Gig circuit and an integral member of a long list of eclectic groups even before he could drive himself to gigs. Playing everything from straight-ahead Jazz, Bop, Funk, R&B, Soul, Rock, Hip-Hop, Big-Band Swing, Acoustic Bluegrass, Avant Garde, Experimental, and even a little country, it's easy to see why Alex is considered one of the most talented & versatile musicians around.

Raised in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin, Alex began studying guitar with legendary local guitarist Jeff Troxel at a very early age. After graduating from Riverside High School in Basin, he attended Northwest College in Powell, WY where he continued studying guitar. A three-year stint in the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Studies program yielded Alex a Bachelor's degree in jazz guitar performance. During his stay in Colorado, he won numerous soloist awards at the UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival and was awarded the Walt Francis Jazz Award for outstanding graduating senior. In 2014 Alex joined the staff of Rocky Mountain College as professor of guitar and currently teaches guitar, bass, and banjo at Allied Music in Billings, MT as well as maintaining an active performance schedule throughout the West.

MATT SMILEY is a bassist, composer, and educator residing in Denver, CO.

In his work as a performer and a composer, Smiley focuses on developing systems and modes of playing at the nexus of composition and improvisation that reference elements of established American and European vernacular and experimental music traditions, while simultaneously and idiosyncratically deviating from them. His multifaceted and studied approach to both the bass and composition enable an adroit facility in both idiomatic and non-idiomatic settings.

Smiley has worked with a number of diverse and prominent performers and composers including Alvin Lucier, Christian Wolff, Stephen Drury, Jean-Claude Risset, Terrell Stafford, and Greg Osby. In addition to his rigorous performance schedule, he teaches at both Denver School of the Arts Jazz Camp and The Gift of Jazz, and he completed his D.M.A. degree in jazz studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2022.

RON COULTER is a percussionist, composer, and improviser. He has presented at 100+ universities and has toured internationally appearing in all 50 U.S. states, Europe, Canada, and Japan with artists such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, David Murray, Sean Jones, Sam Newsome, Matthew Shipp, Nate Wooley, Linux Laptop Orchestra, Hugh Ragin, Vinny Golia, Sandy Duncan, Bolokada Condé, Music from China, Youngstown Symphony, Gino Robair, Michael Zerang, Eric Mandat, Chris Corsano, and Tone Road Ramblers, among many others. Ron has presented at numerous conferences, including: ISIM, PASIC, NIME, LiWoLi, BMC3, JEN, CMS, a.pe.ri.od.ic, Futurisms, Soundlines, RadiaLx, and the JVC and Montreal Jazz Festivals. He is co-founder of the Percussion Art Ensemble, duende entendre, Marble Hammer, Drm&Gtr, RACCA TRIO, and founder of SeFa LoCo, the Southern Illinois Improvisation Series, Creative Music Series, and Wyoming Experimental Sound Series. Additional interests include noise, intermedia, interdisciplinary collaboration, and organizing Fluxconcerts. Ron has created 430+ compositions for various media.