Recorded at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, this album documents a trumpet / guitar / drums trio that has been developing its language through regular collaboration over the past several years.
Featuring one composition from each member alongside six improvised pieces, the record moves between sparse ambient textures and high-intensity free improvisation. The music emphasizes collective form, timbre, and dynamic contrast within a bass-less ensemble.
Composed pieces such as “Child’s Hymn” (Deric Dickens) unfold over a loose, Motian-influenced foundation, creating space for muted trumpet and triadic guitar harmony. In contrast, improvisations like “Improv 3”(or whatever it’s going to be called) explore collage-based approaches informed by musique concrète and electro-acoustic improvisation.
Trumpeter Diego Hedez often drives the ensemble through dense, aggressive gestures while leaving room for breath and interaction. Guitarist Aaron Quinn uses pedals to establish static harmonic fields as well as noise-based textures, supporting both the ambient and more volatile moments. Drummer Deric Dickens shapes the music through elasticity and restraint, guiding form without fixing it.
This recording serves as a document of an ensemble pushing one another through trust and shared vocabulary, contributing to the lineage of trumpet-guitar-drums groups while developing a distinct collective sound.
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Individual Bios
Diego Hedez
Diego’s musical journey includes collaborations with avant-garde icons like William Parker and Daniel Carter, and performances at notable venues and festivals globally like The Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Roulette Intermedium, Bric Festival, Forward Festival among others. His recent projects, including “The Forward Quartet” and collaborations with the William Parker Ensemble, showcase his commitment to pushing musical boundaries through free improvisation and sonic exploration.
Aaron Quinn
Aaron Quinn (Stamford, CT 1986) is a performer/composer living in Brooklyn, New York. As a performer, Aaron has given concerts internationally and has collaborated with a wide range of ensembles, including Realicide, Sunchoke, Liver Quiver, and Team Players and has performed newly composed works with artists such as Wadada Leo Smith, Andrew Cyrille and Miho Hazama.
Notable performance and premiere locations for Aaron’s compositions include The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institute, and The Manhattan School of Music. His work has been released on labels such as Lurker Bias, Triptick Tapes, Mole Tree Records and Illuso Records among others.
Primarily being a self-taught composer, he has sought out private guidance from such luminaries as Michaël Attias, Tim Berne, and Aurora Nealand.
He was selected as one of the composers to take part in the European/American Alliance in Paris for 2025, studying with Julliard professor and former Nadia Boulanger pupil Philip Lasser, Dr. Benjamin C.S. Boyle, and Abbie Betinis.
As an educator, he has been an artist in residence as a performer/composer recently at such schools as Capital University in Columbus, Ohio (NOW Festival), and The Georgetown Day School in Washington DC (Jazz Festival). He teaches privately at the The Kaufman Music Center in New York City.
His recent compositions includes new work for his quartet Sunchoke (David Leon, Walter Stinson, Matt Honor) which combine the harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary of early 2000’s grindcore/hxc/skramz with Afrological improvisatory vessels. A new ASMR influenced lowercase duo with frequent collaborator Ishmael Ali utilizing SP-404s, Pure Data and their respective instruments.
Works in process/commissions include a long form chamber ensemble work that utilizes musical and physical gestures in a modular setting for improvisers, a new work for a Pierrot Lunaire ensemble, a string quartet premiering in Paris summer of 2025 and a Violin Concerto with Orchestra premiering in November 2025.
Deric Dickens
Deric Dickens is a Brooklyn-based percussionist, composer, and improviser whose work bridges creative improvised music, jazz and independent rock. His work focuses on rhythm, collaboration, and sound, using percussion in composition and performance.
He has toured and recorded extensively with artists including Robinella (Columbia Records), Daniel Carter, Jaimie Branch, John Ralston, Russ Lossing, Caroline Davis, Erica Dicker, Sara Schoenbeck, and Steve Swell. His work also extends to film and television, with soundtrack contributions to Indignation (James Schamus), Too Cold to Swim (D.W. Young), and numerous independent projects.
A committed collaborator and ensemble leader, Deric has been a founding member of Brad Linde’s Team Players, DAD’s, Dix Out, Urbane Outfit, Arms Bent Thrice, and John Ralston. He currently leads or co-leads Speed Date, Rocket #9, The Dickens Campaign, Left Bomb Bay, Arabic for Beginners, Zero Point, and a trio with Steve Swell and Hans Tammen. His recorded work appears on labels including Infrequent Seams, Adhyâropa Records, Lurker Bias, and others.
His performances span major venues and festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia.
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