Biography
Dwight Trible values exploration alongside contemporary sounds whether he fronts his own ensemble, directs vocals for the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, or performs with Kamasi Washington, Mark de Clive-Lowe, and Carlos Nino. The year 2001 brought his first recording, the Tapscott homage titled Horace. Living Water earned a nomination for BBC Radio One's Worldwide Album of the Year upon its 2004 release. Dwight Trible & the Life Force Trio delivered Love Is the Answer through Ninja Tune in 2005. Across the span from 2004 to 2011 he contributed vocals, touring, and four albums to the multigenerational collective Build An Ark. Solo activity resumed in 2011 with the appearance of Cosmic and the John Beasley collaboration Duality. Gondwana enlisted him for 2017's Inspirations alongside Matthew Halsall and for his own Mothership in 2019. Ancient Future arrived as a solo statement in 2023, the same year he joined Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Tribute To Don Cherry).
Born in Cincinnati, Trible started singing during elementary school and followed leading R&B and soul artists of the era from Big Joe Turner and Lloyd Price through Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye. High school found him regularly fronting groups and sitting in with older musicians across gospel, funk, R&B, blues, and jazz. At age 21, having reached every goal available in Ohio, he relocated to California in 1971.
Los Angeles drew him into social-service work and the black liberation movement while he explored its diverse music community. He soon began performing with jazz musicians, attracting the attention of composer, pianist, and bandleader Horace Tapscott, who became his mentor. The vocalist developed improvisational skills that deepened and expanded his already distinctive phrasing. He advanced to vocal director of the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and continued leading the ensemble after Tapscott's death in 1999. Two years afterward Trible issued his debut leader recording, the Tapscott tribute Horace on Elephant Records. Co-produced with Nino, the album also featured drummer Billy Higgins, saxophonist Charles Owens, and bassist Trevor Ware. Its centerpiece was a reading of Tapscott's "Mothership," a spiritual-jazz anthem. Released on Passinthevibe in 2004, Living Water marked Trible's breakthrough, securing both the BBC Radio One Worldwide Album of the Year nomination and LA Weekly's Artist of the Year designation. Additional coverage placed his singing alongside that of Leon Thomas and Donny Hathaway. In 2004 Trible also entered Build An Ark, the transcultural, multi-generational jazz collective led by Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The roster further included percussionist Derf Reklaw, trombonist Phil Ranelin, Gabby Hernandez, Dexter Story, and additional members. Their debut album Peace with Every Step received worldwide recognition.
Ninja Tune signed Trible for 2005's Love Is the Answer. The project had originally been conceived as an Ammoncontact production by Nino, yet the addition of multi-instrumentalist Story led to its release under the Dwight Trible & The Life Force Trio name. An instrumental-only variation of the album also appeared that year. In 2006 Trible guested on Ammoncontact's With Voices. Build An Ark's Dawn emerged on Kindred Spirits in 2007 and drew critical attention across North America. The following year Trible participated in The Gathering, an expansive loose collective of Los Angeles jazz musicians that included saxophonists Azar Lawrence, Jesse Sharps, and Michael Sessions, percussionist Ndugu Chancler, bassist Roberto Miranda, and others. The group independently issued the live recording Leimert Park: Roots & Branches Of Los Angeles Jazz. Trible also appeared on Venus of Harlem, the 2008 album by Paul Zauner's Blue Brass.
Trible resumed recording under his own name in 2011 after 2009 brought Build An Ark's most celebrated release, Love Part 1. The highlight track "More Love" presented a notable duet between Trible and Carmen Lundy. Trible was also featured on Venus of Harlem, a 2008 album by Paul Zauner's Blue Brass.
Trible returned to recording under his own name in 2011. Cosmic appeared on Katalyst Entertainment, featuring a large ensemble that included Story, producer and percussionist Munyungo Jackson, and pianist and organist John Beasley. Later that year Trible and the keyboardist released Duality, a set of live duets captured during the preceding twelve months. His profile rose sharply in 2011 and 2012 after he became the voice of the Pharoah Sanders Quartet and Build An Ark issued its final album, Love Part 2.
Trible supplied lead vocals for Kamasi Washington's 2015 triple-length debut The Epic on Ninja Tune, the jazz recording that reached crossover audiences among soul, hip-hop, and EDM listeners. Gondwana Records subsequently signed the singer. 2017's Inspirations, recorded with label head and trumpeter Matthew Halsall, earned international attention for its contemporary treatment of spiritual jazz. The next year jazz quintet Cosmic Vibrations recruited Trible as a co-billed guest for Pathways & Passages, a percussion-driven collection of spiritual and modal jazz pieces issued by Spiritmuse in 2020. The following year he appeared on the title track of Inkswel's Astral Love. He also supplied lyrics and vocals for two songs on Sohan Wilson's Love Is The Key in 2022.
March 2023 saw Trible release Ancient Future on England's Gearbox label. The vocalist wrote or co-wrote all eight tracks. He was joined by an all-star Los Angeles cast that included Beasley, Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow, drummer Greg Paul (Jazz Is Dead, Kamaal Williams), guitarist G.E. Stinson (Shadowfax, Alex Cline), gospel bassist André Gouché, percussionist and backing vocalist Megashia Jackson, and percussionist Rene Fisher. Later that year he joined Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Tribute To Don Cherry) from Spiritmuse.
Born in Cincinnati, Trible started singing during elementary school and followed leading R&B and soul artists of the era from Big Joe Turner and Lloyd Price through Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye. High school found him regularly fronting groups and sitting in with older musicians across gospel, funk, R&B, blues, and jazz. At age 21, having reached every goal available in Ohio, he relocated to California in 1971.
Los Angeles drew him into social-service work and the black liberation movement while he explored its diverse music community. He soon began performing with jazz musicians, attracting the attention of composer, pianist, and bandleader Horace Tapscott, who became his mentor. The vocalist developed improvisational skills that deepened and expanded his already distinctive phrasing. He advanced to vocal director of the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and continued leading the ensemble after Tapscott's death in 1999. Two years afterward Trible issued his debut leader recording, the Tapscott tribute Horace on Elephant Records. Co-produced with Nino, the album also featured drummer Billy Higgins, saxophonist Charles Owens, and bassist Trevor Ware. Its centerpiece was a reading of Tapscott's "Mothership," a spiritual-jazz anthem. Released on Passinthevibe in 2004, Living Water marked Trible's breakthrough, securing both the BBC Radio One Worldwide Album of the Year nomination and LA Weekly's Artist of the Year designation. Additional coverage placed his singing alongside that of Leon Thomas and Donny Hathaway. In 2004 Trible also entered Build An Ark, the transcultural, multi-generational jazz collective led by Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The roster further included percussionist Derf Reklaw, trombonist Phil Ranelin, Gabby Hernandez, Dexter Story, and additional members. Their debut album Peace with Every Step received worldwide recognition.
Ninja Tune signed Trible for 2005's Love Is the Answer. The project had originally been conceived as an Ammoncontact production by Nino, yet the addition of multi-instrumentalist Story led to its release under the Dwight Trible & The Life Force Trio name. An instrumental-only variation of the album also appeared that year. In 2006 Trible guested on Ammoncontact's With Voices. Build An Ark's Dawn emerged on Kindred Spirits in 2007 and drew critical attention across North America. The following year Trible participated in The Gathering, an expansive loose collective of Los Angeles jazz musicians that included saxophonists Azar Lawrence, Jesse Sharps, and Michael Sessions, percussionist Ndugu Chancler, bassist Roberto Miranda, and others. The group independently issued the live recording Leimert Park: Roots & Branches Of Los Angeles Jazz. Trible also appeared on Venus of Harlem, the 2008 album by Paul Zauner's Blue Brass.
Trible resumed recording under his own name in 2011 after 2009 brought Build An Ark's most celebrated release, Love Part 1. The highlight track "More Love" presented a notable duet between Trible and Carmen Lundy. Trible was also featured on Venus of Harlem, a 2008 album by Paul Zauner's Blue Brass.
Trible returned to recording under his own name in 2011. Cosmic appeared on Katalyst Entertainment, featuring a large ensemble that included Story, producer and percussionist Munyungo Jackson, and pianist and organist John Beasley. Later that year Trible and the keyboardist released Duality, a set of live duets captured during the preceding twelve months. His profile rose sharply in 2011 and 2012 after he became the voice of the Pharoah Sanders Quartet and Build An Ark issued its final album, Love Part 2.
Trible supplied lead vocals for Kamasi Washington's 2015 triple-length debut The Epic on Ninja Tune, the jazz recording that reached crossover audiences among soul, hip-hop, and EDM listeners. Gondwana Records subsequently signed the singer. 2017's Inspirations, recorded with label head and trumpeter Matthew Halsall, earned international attention for its contemporary treatment of spiritual jazz. The next year jazz quintet Cosmic Vibrations recruited Trible as a co-billed guest for Pathways & Passages, a percussion-driven collection of spiritual and modal jazz pieces issued by Spiritmuse in 2020. The following year he appeared on the title track of Inkswel's Astral Love. He also supplied lyrics and vocals for two songs on Sohan Wilson's Love Is The Key in 2022.
March 2023 saw Trible release Ancient Future on England's Gearbox label. The vocalist wrote or co-wrote all eight tracks. He was joined by an all-star Los Angeles cast that included Beasley, Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow, drummer Greg Paul (Jazz Is Dead, Kamaal Williams), guitarist G.E. Stinson (Shadowfax, Alex Cline), gospel bassist André Gouché, percussionist and backing vocalist Megashia Jackson, and percussionist Rene Fisher. Later that year he joined Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Tribute To Don Cherry) from Spiritmuse.
Albums
Singles
