Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ed Maguire brings a unique multi-cultural sensibility to his music. The diversity of his music experiences and collaborations and a deep understanding of modern harmonic and compositional techniques give depth and character to this emerging voice.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts December 4, 1963, Ed was raised in a musical household. Both his mother and father played piano, and encouraged him to develop his talents. A family vacation to Budapest, Hungary and exposure to the Gypsy violin tradition spurred Ed to chose his first instrument, the violin at age 7. At age 13, he picked up the electric bass after being captivated by the raw energy of rock music. Along the way he developed additional skills on keyboards, viola, mandolin, guitar, and upright bass. A summer session at the Berklee School of Music in 1980 exposed him to the extensive world of jazz theory and practice, and as an undergraduate at Columbia University he majored in classical music composition and arranging. A chance meeting in 1986 led to a brief association with legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius, who has been a great musical influence.

A student of esoterica, Ed's talents were tapped by local choreographers and playwrights to collaborate in their productions, then for a few years after his graduation Ed dove headlong into a foray with avant-garde "improvisational" music, which culminated in the release of Chainsaw Jazz' Disconcerto, a group for which he played violin, electric mandolin and keyboards that garnered critical acclaim. "The music we played was harsh, violent, and cerebral; we explored odd-time signatures and atonal writing, thrashing improv and just good-old fashioned bashing and howling. It was truly sonic Drano, and I'm glad to have gotten it out of my system."

Heading back down a more conventional musical path with his schoolmate from Columbia, guitarist Jack Lee, with whom he shared an innate aesthetic sensibilty, Ed arranged and played on a number of pop and jazz projects, notably Jack's first recording Poong-Un (Warner Music). An Asian tour with Jack's band in1992 introduced him to saxophonist Chico Freeman, with whom he shares a long and fruitful songwriting association that has been documented on the last four of Chico's solo recordings. In the past couple of years Ed has been drawn to the diverse cultures represented in the "world" music category, recording with Senegalese kora master Via-Jo (Triloka), Indian slide guitarist Debashish Battacharya (India Archive), Dominican merengue singer Charlie Mosquera, and others.

"It seems that since the contemporary forms of jazz, rock and pop have become cliched and fragmented, and modern classical music has become listener-hostile and superfluous, I have to keep searching for music that gives me an emotional connection. I've been finding stimulation from sources as diverse as Algerian Rai music, Puerto Rican Salsa, Indian Ragas, Zairan Soukous, Cape Verdean Mornas, Argentinian Tangos, and Indian Carnatic Classical music.

" The music I am trying to present incorporates bits of these influences, but what is most important to me is to make an emotional connection with the listener. I have found that a simple melody that sticks in people's heads along with a nice, funky groove really connects and represents where I'm coming from. Of course, I always like to slide in some fancy harmonic movement, as long as it's subtle enough that it doesn't detract from the song."

On Ed's demos he plays all of the keyboards, violin, and bass, with an occasional guest appearance from saxophonist Chico Freeman. The fully realized productions feature live drums and bass, guitar, saxophone, and percussion as well as a few surprises.