Biography
Named after the George Jones-Roger Miller composition, Tall Tall Trees functions as the indie folk outlet for multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Savino. The project's 2009 self-titled debut arrived as a full-band recording that wove traditional bluegrass with folk and world-music elements. Over time the endeavor shifted toward a solo format, prompting Savino to develop specialized gear and refine live-looping methods for the road. His sound soon moved beyond its earlier roots influences into psychedelic pop territory, achieved through simultaneous deployment of looping devices and effects pedals alongside a heavily altered electric banjo. The 2017 album Freedays marked a pronounced psychedelic turn for the project, whereas A Wave of Golden Things in 2020 adopted a leaner framework for Savino's characteristically upbeat material. The 2023 release Stick to the Mystical I, a genre-blending effort, originated in spontaneous home-studio sessions alongside drummer Josiah Wolf of Why?.
Savino, raised on Long Island, performed on saxophone and bass guitar during his formative years before pursuing jazz double-bass studies at The New School in New York City. Encounters with global music during this period, followed by a subsequent tour through Brazil, sparked his interest in folk traditions. He retrieved a banjo acquired earlier, mastered the instrument, and began shaping the songs that formed the 2009 Tall Tall Trees debut. Issued on his own Good Neighbor Records imprint, that album featured drummer Mathias Kunzli and guitarist Kyle Sanna. With Benjamin Campbell added on bass, the more reflective album Moment appeared in 2012.
Extensive solo touring to support Moment established Savino's profile as a one-man-band performer whose shows revolved around the customized instrument he termed the "banjotron," outfitted with pickups, real-time effects, and looping pedals. He simultaneously became a frequent member of Kishi Bashi's touring ensemble, contributing custom-banjo parts and backup vocals across several runs. The 2014 EP The Seasonal highlighted an intensified focus on the banjo and an increasingly psychedelic aesthetic.
In 2015 Savino relocated his equipment to Blairsville, Georgia, to serve as caretaker of an unoccupied health retreat amid national-forest acreage. The extended period of isolation allowed concentrated work on his third album, the first conceived entirely as a solo statement. Using his distinctive banjo rig to generate varied acoustic, electronic, and percussive layers, he tracked the material alone before enlisting K Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi) along with drummers Philip Mayer and Claude Coleman, Jr. (Ween) for final contributions. Additional touring, both independently and with Kishi Bashi, ensued, leading in late 2016 to a signing with Joyful Noise Recordings; the label issued Freedays in early 2017.
Following a move from his longtime Harlem residence to Asheville, North Carolina, Savino undertook another songwriting retreat at a hemp farm near Leicester. Working at an accelerated pace, he completed the more economical A Wave of Golden Things in under three weeks during early 2019. The album, featuring Micah Thomas on drums, appeared on Joyful Noise in January 2020.
Pandemic-related touring disruptions prompted Savino to expand his home studio, where he captured several collaborative recordings. The El Ten Eleven 7-inch pairing "Every Day Is a Sunday" (with Kishi Bashi) and "Slow Motion Feel" (with Tall Tall Trees) surfaced on Joyful Noise in August 2021. December brought the label's holiday compilation containing Tall Tall Trees' exuberant "Free Jazz Drummer Boy," while the more organic duo album Ponder Machine, produced by Kramer and recorded with bassist J.D. Pinkus (Butthole Surfers, Melvins), emerged on Shimmy Disc in June 2023. Three months afterward Joyful Noise released the full-length Stick to the Mystical I. Captured in Savino's newly finished basement facility, affectionately called GalleyTapes, the set grew from improvisatory exchanges with Why? drummer Josiah Wolf after the pair convened to document prepared material that Savino ultimately discarded. Despite the musicians sharing recent personal losses, the result remains animated, foregrounding looping textures, Wolf's spontaneous drumming, and an even more extensively modified iteration of Savino's banjo.
Savino, raised on Long Island, performed on saxophone and bass guitar during his formative years before pursuing jazz double-bass studies at The New School in New York City. Encounters with global music during this period, followed by a subsequent tour through Brazil, sparked his interest in folk traditions. He retrieved a banjo acquired earlier, mastered the instrument, and began shaping the songs that formed the 2009 Tall Tall Trees debut. Issued on his own Good Neighbor Records imprint, that album featured drummer Mathias Kunzli and guitarist Kyle Sanna. With Benjamin Campbell added on bass, the more reflective album Moment appeared in 2012.
Extensive solo touring to support Moment established Savino's profile as a one-man-band performer whose shows revolved around the customized instrument he termed the "banjotron," outfitted with pickups, real-time effects, and looping pedals. He simultaneously became a frequent member of Kishi Bashi's touring ensemble, contributing custom-banjo parts and backup vocals across several runs. The 2014 EP The Seasonal highlighted an intensified focus on the banjo and an increasingly psychedelic aesthetic.
In 2015 Savino relocated his equipment to Blairsville, Georgia, to serve as caretaker of an unoccupied health retreat amid national-forest acreage. The extended period of isolation allowed concentrated work on his third album, the first conceived entirely as a solo statement. Using his distinctive banjo rig to generate varied acoustic, electronic, and percussive layers, he tracked the material alone before enlisting K Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi) along with drummers Philip Mayer and Claude Coleman, Jr. (Ween) for final contributions. Additional touring, both independently and with Kishi Bashi, ensued, leading in late 2016 to a signing with Joyful Noise Recordings; the label issued Freedays in early 2017.
Following a move from his longtime Harlem residence to Asheville, North Carolina, Savino undertook another songwriting retreat at a hemp farm near Leicester. Working at an accelerated pace, he completed the more economical A Wave of Golden Things in under three weeks during early 2019. The album, featuring Micah Thomas on drums, appeared on Joyful Noise in January 2020.
Pandemic-related touring disruptions prompted Savino to expand his home studio, where he captured several collaborative recordings. The El Ten Eleven 7-inch pairing "Every Day Is a Sunday" (with Kishi Bashi) and "Slow Motion Feel" (with Tall Tall Trees) surfaced on Joyful Noise in August 2021. December brought the label's holiday compilation containing Tall Tall Trees' exuberant "Free Jazz Drummer Boy," while the more organic duo album Ponder Machine, produced by Kramer and recorded with bassist J.D. Pinkus (Butthole Surfers, Melvins), emerged on Shimmy Disc in June 2023. Three months afterward Joyful Noise released the full-length Stick to the Mystical I. Captured in Savino's newly finished basement facility, affectionately called GalleyTapes, the set grew from improvisatory exchanges with Why? drummer Josiah Wolf after the pair convened to document prepared material that Savino ultimately discarded. Despite the musicians sharing recent personal losses, the result remains animated, foregrounding looping textures, Wolf's spontaneous drumming, and an even more extensively modified iteration of Savino's banjo.
Albums
Stick to the Mystical I
2023
Ponder Machine
2023
A Wave of Golden Things
2020
Freedays
2017
Tall Tall Trees
2009
Singles
