Up and Coming: Trio Flux, Trio Subtonic

by Rebecca Wilson on May 22, 2013.

As their name suggests, Trio Flux self-identifies as a jazz fusion trio. But they have a dirty little secret, one that I think they are beginning to come to terms with: They are actually a clandestine rock band. A prog rock band, to be sure, but a rock band nonetheless. Their second album, Möbius, was produced by Riley Geare, who has worked with Radiation City and drums for Unknown Mortal Orchestra. It’s totally unfettered by pedestrian conventions regarding genre, structure, and length. Neil Mattson’s guitar riffs range from the smoothest of smooth to gritty distortion, sometimes in the same song. Bassist Julio Appling and drummer Adam Ochshorn provide the cool heart of the album, playing seamlessly off each other regardless of what else is happening around them. And there’s a lot: “For the Simple Reason Is” is a big, dusty, wordless country song; a few tracks later, they cover Miles Davis’ “Nardis.”

Trio Flux and friends at the Blue Monk: Oliver, Gregg, Hutchinson adding to excellence

by Tom D’Antoni on November 7, 2011.

There is something totally seductive about the sound coming out of Neil Mattson’s guitar on a wet Sunday night in early November at the Blue Monk when he, acoustic bassist Julio Appling and drummer Adam Ochshorn, performing as Trio Flux take to the bandstand.

Part Frisell, part Metheny, some Chris Mosley even…but something else. As his hands seemed to hover over the strings, it was obvious why I was not the only one who was drawn into the sound, even though the audience at the Monk was unusually loud. The band grew organically from a long series of weekly jams at Proper Eats. Those jams are over, but the band remains. Read more…

Trio Flux – their first, and self-titled album

by Mark Niemann-Ross on January 11, 2011

There’s something you ought to know about Jazz jams. If you’re not a musician, and just attending casually, you are probably not aware of the undercurrent and secondary purpose behind the evening sessions. If you’re a musician, you know they are more than just playing music. They are a chance to meet other jazz artists, both person-to-person, and instrument-to-instrument. Composers can bring new charts, vocalists can display their chops, bands can form. Granted, the music is rough and unpracticed – but you can find the essence of the jazz scene, and a preview of what is to come over the next year.

2010 saw the demise of the Proper Eats Jazz Jam, but in the form of Trio Flux, at least the house band lives on. Trio Flux, brainchild of Neil Mattson along with Julio Appling on bass and Adam Ochshorn on drums continue the original music that was first aired at Proper Eats. Unlike playing music in a jam session, Trio Flux took the opportunity to understand each other, and the music they created. Their self-titled album is the first fruit of those labors. Read more…

Trio Flux – hidden, but worth hearing

by Mark Niemann-Ross on April 3, 2010

Portland has great jazz hidden all over town, and available for your cheap (or free) listening pleasure. You just have to hear about it from a friend, and then show up. Here’s your first tip – go see Trio Flux with Neil Mattson on guitar, Adam Ochshorn on drums, and Julio Appling on bass. Why Trio Flux? Because they play jazz. Not Jazz standards. Jazz. Read more…