Tom Christensen- Saxophone
Pete McCann- Guitar
Phil Palombi- Bass
Scott Neumann- Drums
Since 2014, contemporary jazz band Spin Cycle has been bringing their original music to clubs and concert halls across the US and Canada. Co-lead by Scott Neumann and Tom Christensen, the band highlights their flexibility, reach and capacity to surprise their audiences. On any given song, you might encounter the modal influence of John Coltrane, the second-line funk of New Orleans, or the edgy experimentation of free jazz.
Featuring guitarist Pete McCann and bassist Phil Palombi, both bandleaders and well-respected artists in their own right, Spin Cycle has spent the last 7 years touring, recording, and providing educational workshops at colleges. The band’s fourth CD will be released soon on their label, Sound Footing Records.
There is, to be sure, plenty of musical variety provided by Spin Cycle, with compositions by Christensen, a consummate multi-instrumentalist who mostly plays tenor saxophone, and by Neumann a versatile and expressive drummer. Having performed in all kinds of settings including the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Jazz Mandolin Project, the Gil Evans Project, Madeleine Peyroux’s touring group, Broadway pit bands and with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Rufus Reid and Maria Schneider the co-leaders know how to bring out the intimacy of a ballad as well as the soulful feeling of swing.
Since joining forces to form Spin Cycle in Fall of 2016, drummer Scott Neumann and saxophonist Tom Christensen have been serving up an eclectic blend of jazz featuring original compositions by both musicians. The band can most often be heard at venues like Smalls in Greenwich Village or Bar Bayeux in Brooklyn, The Rex in Toronto, Birdland, Visiones, The Village Vanguard, the legendary Augie’s on the upper westside and headlining at jazz festivals.
Once they decided on the format of the band, getting Pete McCann on guitar was a no-brainer. Neumann has played with the Wisconsin native for more than 30 years, going back to their days at the esteemed music program at North Texas State (now the University of North Texas). And Christensen had played with the guitarist in Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra. Matt Pavolka, a gifted bassist with whom Neumann had played was the final inspired piece to fall into place.
Tom Christensen attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied classical music, was a member of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, appearing on five of their albums. He also has played on such notable recordings as Joe Lovano’s Celebrating Sinatra, Don Sebesky’s I Remember Bill, Rufus Reid’s Quiet Pride, the David Liebman Big Band’s Tribute to Wayne Shorter, and Ryan Truesdell and the Gil Evans Projects’s Lines of Color—Live at the Jazz Standard.
Scott quickly became a busy player on the New York scene playing with such luminaries as Woody Herman Orchestra, Kenny Barron and Ben Allison, Neumann also accrued impressive credits as a vocal accompanist.
