The Noonan Trio

                                                                                                             Matthew Bourne - piano
                                                                           Michael Bardon - double bass
                                                                                                              Sean Noonan - drums

We're thrilled to announce that The Noonan Trio's debut album is dropping soon!  Promoters: Interested in booking us for a 2025-26 performance? Reach out to us now! 

The Noonan Trio: Morphic Resonance in Music

Matthew Bourne - Piano  

Michael Bardon - Double Bass  

Sean Noonan - Drums, Vocals, Compositions

The Noonan Trio explores the outer boundaries of musical innovation, seamlessly blending new music, free improvisation, and rhythmic storytelling. 

With influences ranging from Rupert Sheldrake's theory of Morphic Resonance to the pioneering works of Malcolm Mooney, Conlon Nancarrow, Frank Zappa, and drummer Milford Graves, Sean Noonan's distinctive style blurs the lines between drumming and narration, offering a fresh perspective in today's music scene.

T.N.T’s debut album, slated for release soon, mirrors Sheldrake's notion that patterns of activity transcend traditional concepts of space and time, promising an auditory journey unlike any other. Featuring Matthew Bourne, honored with "Jazz Innovation" at the BBC Radio Jazz Awards, and Michael Bardon, celebrated for his "unorthodox approach to music-making," The Noonan Trio is poised to captivate your audience and elevate your season's program to new heights. 

Modern Drummer Magazine highlights Noonan's independence: "Independence might be the ruling concept of this drummer/leader’s career. It defines a common relationship not only among his hands, feet, and voice, but between his art and almost everything else in drumland." 

Full Biographies

Dr. Sean Noonan 

A speaking drummer and composer whose music defies categorization, Sean Noonan prefers the title "rhythmic storyteller" – an apt description for a modern-day sonic griot. He spins imaginative yarns in the ancient tradition of wandering minstrels while weaving captivating narrative tapestries through his unique polyrhythmic language.

Noonan has released over 32 albums, influenced by an eclectic variety of genres, including orchestral, rock opera, avant-garde chamber music, and improvised jazz-rock. His music has reached thousands of listeners in 15 countries. His projects have included collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, Marni Nixon, Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Malcolm Mooney (CAN), Matthew Bourne, and Abdoulaye Diabaté.

Recent accomplishments, including earning a Doctorate from Guildhall School of Music and composing/recording a speaking drum kit concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra, underscore Noonan's dedication to using music as a vehicle for meaningful storytelling.

"The drummer and composer Sean Noonan approaches postmodern jazz and world music from the same angle of self-discovery ....he manages to make his pieces speak coherently, and in a unified voice." - The New York Times

Matthew Bourne  

With a reputation as a fearlessly unpredictable pianist, Matthew Bourne is a passionate explorer of sound, driven by a burning desire to make music on anything old, broken, or infirm.  Bourne's career took off in 2001 and his artistic journey evolved to include collaborations with various artists and groups such as Nostalgia 77, Marc Ribot, and John Zorn. In 2012, Bourne released "Montauk Variations" on The Leaf Label, a remarkable album that marked a significant shift in his musical direction. Noted for its lyrical and romantic mood, it earned the prestigious "Leftfield Album of the Year" award from the Sunday Times. It also caught the attention of fellow musicians like Amon Tobin and Nancy Elizabeth, both of whom invited Bourne to reinterpret their material.

Michael Bardon  

Michael Bardon is a Northern Irish bassist, cellist, composer, and improviser, based in Leeds, UK. He has collaborated with a variety of musicians across different disciplines, including Shatner's Bassoon, Keeley Forsyth, Matthew Bourne, Dave Kane, Tipping Point, James Mainwaring, Sean Noonan’s Pavees Dance, Hiby/Bardon/Hession trio, Jaktar, Hassan Erraji, Craig Scott’s Lobotomy, and the Nat Birchall Quintet. Bardon is a founding member and joint composer of Shatner's Bassoon, a group of five composers and improvisers known for their unorthodox approach to music-making. His performance interests lie in pairing the electronic sonorities of electric bass, DIY effects pedals, and synthesizers with the more traditional acoustic setup of double bass and cello.

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