Drop Trio
| Drop Trio | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Houston, Texas |
| Genres | Spaceship Jazz |
| Years active | 2002-present (on and off hiatus) |
| Labels | Independent |
| Website | www.droptrio.com |
| Members | Ian Varley, Michael Blattel, Patrick Flanagan |
| Past members | Nino Batista, Marc Reczek |
Drop Trio is a jazz band from Houston, Texas, consisting of Michael Blattel (drums and percussion), Patrick Flanagan (bass guitar), and Ian Varley (Rhodes piano, Hammond B3 organ).
Drop Trio publish their music via Magnatune and gig regularly in Texas and neighboring U.S. states.
Drop Trio started in 2002 when keyboardist Ian Varley, who had just moved to Houston, answered a classified ad on JazzHouston.com posted by drummer Michael Blattel "seeking keyboardist for jazz/funk trio". They played together, and wrote 2 songs immediately. Blattel then contacted his friend, bassist Nino Batista, and asked him to jam with them. After learning those 2 songs from a rough recording of the session, Batista jammed with Blattel and Varley. Subsequently, the three formed Drop Trio in the fall of 2002. The band immediately recorded a 6 track demo called Little Dipper at Batista's home in late 2002, followed by their first - and critically heralded - album Big Dipper, recorded at SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston only a few months later.
By mid-2003, the tour schedule was too much for Batista to keep up with (his wife gave birth to their first child in April of that year) and he stepped down as bassist. Following Batista's departure, Varley and Blattel called on friend and acclaimed Houston guitarist Marc Reczek to join the band on bass.
Reczek soon found the tour schedule grueling when added to the tour schedule of his own band, Little Brother Project. He left the band in late 2003. Batista rejoined the trio on bass, resumed touring, and ultimately recorded Drop Trio's second album on Feb. 29, 2004 at Sugarhill with Varley and Blattel. This album, an improvised and experimental studio session, was titled Leap.
By late 2004, Batista opted to leave the band again, this time for good. He parted ways with Varley and Blattel, who began to search for a bassist. Their search led them to Patrick Flanagan from Houston. Flanagan had been playing professionally in jazz and rock bands since his early teens, gaining notoriety in North Texas as an experimental virtuoso in several bands (e.g. Fort Worth's Spiritual Hum). Soon after Batista's departure, Flanagan jammed with Drop Trio on several occasions, each time yielding more and more impressive results. Flanagan joined them on the road. The band grew into a well-respected progressive jazz trio.
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