Behind the Beat with Tomato Box

Michael Brenneis formed the Tomato Box creative music ensemble in 1998 to explore the fringes of Jazz and free music, always with the goal of developing something unique. The band found much inspiration in the music of predecessors such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and contemporaries such as Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio, Chris Speed’s Yeah No, and Tim Berne’s Bloodcount.   Tomato Box concludes their decade long hiatus by introducing a new iteration to interested ears. Expanding to a sextet, the group includes new membersTony Barba on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Jamie Kember on trombone, and Paul Hastil on piano. Brad Townsend returns on bass from the 2010s iteration, and stalwart mallet percussionist Geoff Brady, an original member, completes the lineup.