Jen Allen (piano and Fender Rhodes), Noah Baerman (organ and synthesizer), Jonathan Blake (drums)

Trio 149 celebrates the release of their debut album Raise Up on RMI Records. This project is the brainchild of keyboard players Jen Allen and Noah Baerman. The unorthodox piano/organ/drums instrumentation belies the organic sonic blend and musical synergy at the heart of the group. Raise Up presents a narrative of intergenerational support and inspiration, articulated by textures that are at times lush and at other times raucous and gnarly. Featuring the brilliant Jonathan Blake on drums, the trio aptly explores these themes in their first chapter as a recording ensemble.

Noah Baerman’s tenacity and soulful music have made him an inspiring figure to a growing legion of admirers. Over ten years after nearly walking away from the piano due to his struggles with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), an incurable connective tissue disorder with which he was born, Noah is playing and composing with more authority than ever. These challenges and his experiences as a foster parent have deepened his already fierce commitment to "message music," as evidenced by his powerful 2014 release Ripples. In his review, Owen McNally wrote "With its heady mix of transcendence, activism, deep lyrical expression and soulful sense of swing...Baerman’s triumphant new CD is one of the best and the brightest releases to grace our region in quite some time."

Jen Allen never shies away from honest self-revelation. Her compositional output reads like an intimate diary of life experiences and relationships, offered with subtle and surprising narrative power. She is on the faculty of Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut, where she directs the Jazz Ensemble, teaches jazz history and the business of music. She loves connecting with her students and teaching them about the deep possibilities for using music to reflect, connect, and transform the world around them. Jen is also a senior teaching artist for Litchfield Performing Arts, Inc. and has previously held positions at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and The University of Hartford.

Learn more at:
http://www.jenallenmusic.com
http://www.noahjazz.com