Leaning in to the chamber music aesthetic of the drummer-less trio format, Wellington based Arc Trio play a blend of structured improvisations and deconstructed written material.

Playing largely original compositions from all three members, and drawing inspiration from the likes of Jimmy Giuffre, Henry Threadgill and Anthony Braxton, the trio accesses a broad musical palette, with the stripped back timbres of clarinet, bass and guitar at times augmented by electronic textures.

Blair Latham is a saxophonist, composer and multi-instrumentalist with a deep love of the bass clarinet. With a prodigious technique and an expansive creative vision inspired by the likes of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman, he can be found lending his talents to a diverse range of projects.

Guitarist and composer Joe Callwood has been involved with the Wellington creative music scene for over 20 years. With a background in jazz guitar, he went on to explore the freer side of improvisation with Jeff Henderson’s ‘Syzygy’ and ‘Urban Taniwha’ (featuring Richard Nunns), alongside regular performances at Henderson run venues ‘The Space’ and ‘Happy’. These included writing and performing with his own ensembles, and improvised performances with local and visiting artists including Nunns and Dutch saxophonist Kris Wanders. More recent projects include working with composer John Psathas on music for film and his multimedia project ‘No Man’s Land’, recording an album of solo guitar pieces ‘Lowlands’, and writing and performing with instrumental quartet ‘The Woods’.

A stalwart bassist of the Wellington creative music scene, Tom Callwood has collaborated with a long list of local and international musicians spanning 4 decades. Current bands include: Farewell Spit, Devil’s Gate Outfit, Melancholy Babes, Stinging Nettles, Lucien Johnson, David Long, The Electrons, The Woods, Teeth & The Phoenix Foundation.

Their debut album ‘Twice Thought’ can be found at arctrio.bandcamp.com