Michael Janisch

London-based electric and double bassist, composer, producer, and record label owner Michael Janisch is an inventive performer known for his modern creative jazz. Following his work with the forward-thinking TransAtlantic Collective in the early 2000s, Janisch drew praise for his solo albums including 2010's Purpose Built and 2015's MOBO Award-nominated Paradigm Shift. The latter album found him embracing a stylistically adventurous electro-acoustic style which he also showcased on 2019's Worlds Collide. He has also worked with artists like Quincy Jones, Donny McCaslin, Ingrid Jensen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Miguel Zenon, among many others. All of Janisch's solo albums have been issued on his own Whirlwind Recordings, for which he has also produced and/or executive produced over 180 albums. Born in 1979 in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, Janisch studied piano and bass while growing up. Initially, though, he focused on a sports career, studying history at Minnesota State University, Mankato, which he attended for three years on a football scholarship. However, after an injury put his football career on hold, Janisch refocused his studies on playing music, ultimately earning his bachelor's degree in double bass performance and music business from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After a brief stint in New York City, Janisch moved to Britain with his English wife. It was there that he formed the band the TransAtlantic Collective with saxophonist Patrick Cornelius. In 2008, they released the album Traveling Song. In 2010, Janisch formed his own record label, Whirlwind Recordings, and released his debut solo album, Purpose Built. He was joined on the album by a bevy of players, including trumpeter Jason Palmer, saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Aaron Goldberg, and others. That was followed two years later by his collaboration with Cuban-born pianist Aruán Ortiz, Banned in London. In 2014, Janisch joined Lee Konitz for the concert album First Meeting: Live in London, Vol. 1, also released on Whirlwind Recordings. The following year, Janisch issued the double-disc Paradigm Shift, which featured his quintet with trumpeter Palmer and found him augmenting a live recording with post-production electronics from Alex Bonney. It was nominated for a Parliamentary Jazz Award and a MOBO Award for the Best Jazz Act. He returned in 2019 with the similarly expansive, rock and electro-acoustic-leaning Worlds Collide, which again featured Palmer, saxophonist John O'Gallagher, guitarist Rez Abbasi, and drummer Clarence Penn, as well as guest spots from keyboardist John Escreet, saxophonist George Crowley, and percussionist Andrew Bain.
© Matt Collar /TiVo