Biography
Brad Shepik relocated from Seattle to New York City in the early 1990s, joining Jim Black, Chris Speed, and Briggan Krauss in an effort to establish themselves on the downtown scene. Guitar skills opened opportunities to perform and record with Carla Bley, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian, while his command of modal traditions from Eastern Europe and the Balkans positioned him as the central force in several ensembles devoted to ethnic-hybrid jazz.
Pachora, formed with Black, Speed, and bassist Skuli Sverrisson, fuses jazz with music from the Mediterranean Basin. Trumpeter Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio, also featuring Jim Black, pursues a more experimental treatment of Eastern European repertoire. The Paradox Trio—Matt Darriau on reeds, Rufus Cappadocia on five-string cello, and Seido Salifoski on dumbek—takes Eastern Europe and the Balkans as its structural model. Leading the Commuters alongside Peter Epstein, Sverrisson, Salifoski, and Mike Sarin, Shepik merges Turkish and African elements with Balkan-flavored jazz. All four groups originated in the mid-1990s and continue as periodic working projects.
Proficiency in the idiom also led to engagements with Yuri Yunakov, once a member of Ivo Papasov’s band, in performances of Bulgaria’s high-energy wedding music. Setting those leanings aside, Shepik co-led BABKAS with alto saxophonist Briggan Krauss and drummer Aaron Alexander, a jazz trio oriented toward collective interplay and improvisation. Later ventures include the Brad Shepik Trio, with Chris Dahlgren on bass and Tom Rainey on drums, and Tridurga, an acoustic trio featuring Tony Scherr on bass balalaika and Yuri Lemeshev on accordion. Additional work encompasses associations with Owen Howard, Andy Laster, Franz Koglmann, and the Ken Schaphorst Big Band, plus membership in Joey Baron’s Killer Joey. As a leader he has issued several recordings since the late 1990s: Short Trip and Drip on Knitting Factory, followed by Loan, Well, and Places You Go on Songlines.
Pachora, formed with Black, Speed, and bassist Skuli Sverrisson, fuses jazz with music from the Mediterranean Basin. Trumpeter Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio, also featuring Jim Black, pursues a more experimental treatment of Eastern European repertoire. The Paradox Trio—Matt Darriau on reeds, Rufus Cappadocia on five-string cello, and Seido Salifoski on dumbek—takes Eastern Europe and the Balkans as its structural model. Leading the Commuters alongside Peter Epstein, Sverrisson, Salifoski, and Mike Sarin, Shepik merges Turkish and African elements with Balkan-flavored jazz. All four groups originated in the mid-1990s and continue as periodic working projects.
Proficiency in the idiom also led to engagements with Yuri Yunakov, once a member of Ivo Papasov’s band, in performances of Bulgaria’s high-energy wedding music. Setting those leanings aside, Shepik co-led BABKAS with alto saxophonist Briggan Krauss and drummer Aaron Alexander, a jazz trio oriented toward collective interplay and improvisation. Later ventures include the Brad Shepik Trio, with Chris Dahlgren on bass and Tom Rainey on drums, and Tridurga, an acoustic trio featuring Tony Scherr on bass balalaika and Yuri Lemeshev on accordion. Additional work encompasses associations with Owen Howard, Andy Laster, Franz Koglmann, and the Ken Schaphorst Big Band, plus membership in Joey Baron’s Killer Joey. As a leader he has issued several recordings since the late 1990s: Short Trip and Drip on Knitting Factory, followed by Loan, Well, and Places You Go on Songlines.
Albums
Hard Believer
2025
Human Activity: Dream of the Possible
2024
Believers
2020
Human Activity Suite
2016
Quartet 1991
2016
Places You Go
2006
The Well
2000
The Loan
1997
Singles
