Trio Flux is the collaborative effort of three talented Portland musicians, Neil Mattson (guitar), Julio Appling (bass), and Adam Ochshorn (drums).  The trio brings together a wide array of musical moods and textures, stretching the bounds of the traditional guitar-bass-drums jazz trio.  Trio Flux, as the name suggests, adeptly moves through its funky grooves, its dark and distorted rock gestures, to its twangy free-jazz improvisations with a focus on musical dialogue between the three.  The band strives to have a unique sound but doesn’t deny its influences.  Guitarist Neil Mattson’s compositions betray his listening habits, Ornette Coleman, Bill Frisell, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, and Pat Metheny, to name a few.

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Neil Mattson – guitar

Neil Mattson is a 2004 Summa Cum Laude Jazz Studies graduate of Wayne State University.  He was also the recipient of the Carl & Elinor Thom Harmony House Scholarship in 2002-2003 and the Joe Fava Scholarship in 2003-2004.  Mattson was nominated and elected into the Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Fraternity in May 2003.  Prior to attending Wayne, Mattson’s serious guitar studies began with the Detroit guitar master and Nashville session veteran, Jack Pitt, himself a student of Andreas Segovia.  This experience led him to discover the discipline and beauty of the classical guitar tradition.  Mattson continued his classical guitar studies under Helene Rottenberg in the tradition of her teacher Manuel Lopez-Ramos while getting his degree in Jazz Studies at Wayne.  After Wayne, Mattson studied with the brilliant vibist, pianist and master theoretician, Robert Pipho, which proved to be a genuine jazz-apprenticeship and a huge stepping stone from his college learning to his professional music career.

Mattson’s professional associations have included stints with internationally renowned trumpeter Marcus Belgrave’s Louis Armstrong Tribute Band, and with clarinet prodigy Dave Bennett’s group.  He was an original member and arranger for both the Detroit Swingtet, and the Hot Club of Detroit.  During his time with the HCOD the band won the 2004 Heineken Starquest Competition that landed them a spot at the prestigious Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival.  In addition, Mattson has been a featured performer at music festivals including the Detroit Django Reinhardt Festival, The Ann Arbor Blues And Jazz Festival, and the Michigan Jazz Festival.  He has shared the stage with many Detroit-based jazz luminaries including James Carter, Art Van Damme, Terry Harington (The Simpsons), Jeremy Kittel, Martha Reeves (Martha & The Vandellas), Frank Vignola, and Mel Wanzo (Count Basie Orchestra).

Mattson currently performs with many groups in Portland, Oregon including the acid-jazz/fusion group Trio Flux, which he composes and arranges for.

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Julio Appling – bass

Musician, educator, techie, and coffee shop loiterer Julio Appling grew up in Tacoma, Washington, where his upbringing included classical piano and guitar, gospel guitar and bass, an Amiga computer, comics, and a lot of Legos.  Julio received his bachelors’ degree in music (bass performance) from the University of Redlands and earned his masters’ degree in Musicology from Bowling Green State University. As an educator Julio has served as an instructor of both music and technology courses at BGSU Firelands, Tiffin University, and Clark College. In addition to playing with Trio Flux, Julio serves as the primary bassist for The Student Loan, a Portland-based jamgrass group, and has made appearances alongside a number of Northwest artists including Matthew Gailey, Simon Tucker, Will West, Laura Ivancie, and Adam Sweeney.

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 Adam Ochshorn – drums

Adam Ochshorn grew up the youngest of three boys in a household of musicians.  He began playing drums at the age of 10 after starting his musical study in classical piano five years previously.  He continued both dedications for five more years before deciding to concentrate more fully on percussion and especially jazz drumming.  Adam attended Purchase College in NYC where he continued his studies in music and jazz performance studying under Adam Nussbaum and Richie Morales.  Since then he has toured heavily on the East Coast in an original jazz/fusion group, recording two albums and playing 400+ shows in several years, before moving to Portland to continue his musical efforts.  He continues to teach, write, arrange, and perform original music in the Portland area.