Since its inception in 2006, the Matt Flinner Trio has been performing its own brand of acoustic music around the country to rave reviews. Mandolinist Matt Flinner, guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Eric Thorin cover a wide variety of musical styles — all with the common ground of originality. Bluegrass, jazz and Celtic music are all present here, but not necessarily overtly or in a contrived sense. Call it Americana Music, or New Acoustic, or Chamber Grass, or just call it great music; whatever label you put on it, it is guaranteed to be fresh and original, and definitely something you’ve never quite heard before.
On select tours, the Trio performs music that is as fresh as it gets — music written the day of the show. In these “Music du Jour” Tours, each member of the Trio writes music each day of the tour, and each day?s music is debuted on that evening?s show. The results are stylistically varied, unpredictable and always exciting. Their new CD, “Traveling Roots,” was released on Compass Records in January 2016.
Matt Flinner, mandolin? — Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Whether it’s with his own Matt Flinner Trio or with Phillips, Grier and Flinner, the Frank Vignola Quartet, Darrell Scott, Steve Martin, the Ying Quartet, Tim O’Brien, Leftover Salmon or the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Flinner’s style and compositional ability have established him as one of the most accomplished and musically diverse mandolinists in the world.?Starting out as a banjo prodigy who was playing bluegrass festivals before he entered his teens, Flinner later took up the mandolin, won the National Banjo Competition in Winfield, Kan. in 1990, and won the mandolin award there the following year. He moved to Nashville in 1999, and his musical horizons quickly broadened.
Ross Martin, guitar? — Ross Martin has established a reputation as one of the most exciting jazz and bluegrass musicians in Colorado, and his reputation is rapidly expanding around the country. After graduating form the jazz program at the University of North Texas, Ross moved to Denver and soon joined the Tony Furtado Band, with whom he toured for four years. More recently, Ross wowed bluegrass audiences during his stint with the Drew Emmitt Band from 2003-5. He also continues to tour the country actively with Mollie O?Brien, The Theory of Everything (with Michael Kang and Kyle Hollingsworth of the String Cheese Incident) and jazz trumpeter Ron Miles. Ross currently lives in New York City.
Eric Thorin, bass? — A native Coloradoan, Eric got his start on piano and trombone at an early age from the prodding of his musical parents and later studied bass at the University of Northern Colorado. He played in salsa bands, toured extensively with rock act The Thugs, and toured with the Tony Furtado Band for four years. Thorin also teaches bass at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival. He currently lives in Lyons, Colo., and continues to sit in with a variety of musicians including Hamster Theater, K.C. Groves, Leftover Salmon, Manuel Molina’s Combo Caliente, and Greenwich Gulch. He also has produced a collection of songs for Japanese elementary school children who are learning English.
Catch the Matt Flinner Trio at the Burnham Music Series on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Burnham Hall, 52 River Road in Lincoln. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments are served during intermission. The cost is: $10 for adults; teens and kids are free. For more information, call (802) 388-6863.