Trevor Dunn

Bassist and composer Trevor Dunn pursues an unbound path across prankish rock, experimental forms, the avant-garde, and jazz. His initial recognition stemmed from off-kilter alternative rock outfit Mr. Bungle, after which he joined grunge forefathers the Melvins, arty mental ensemble Fantomas, ambitious jazz/rock group the Nels Cline Singers, and numerous ventures led by avant-garde composer and bandleader John Zorn. Separate recordings under his own direction appeared with ensembles Trio Convulsant and MadLove.

Trevor Dunn entered the world in Eureka, California, on January 30, 1968. Early listening centered on rock and pop acts such as Cheap Trick, Kiss, and the Beach Boys; at nine he began clarinet lessons. Rock took stronger hold at thirteen, leading him to the electric bass and a local band. Following high school he entered Humboldt State University to study composition and contrabass. Two years later he co-founded experimental alternative rock band Mr. Bungle, whose demo cassette Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny appeared soon afterward. In 1989 Mr. Bungle vocalist Mike Patton joined Faith No More as work on their third album neared completion. That album, The Real Thing, became a surprise hit once the track “Epic” received steady MTV airplay, elevating Patton to rock stardom and industry leverage. He secured a major-label contract for the resolutely uncommercial band, and Mr. Bungle’s self-titled debut arrived on Warner Bros. in 1991. Dunn participated in two further Mr. Bungle albums—1995’s Disco Volante and 1999’s California—while also performing with bandmates Danny Heifetz and Trey Spruance in Secret Chiefs 3, whose debut First Grand Constitution and Bylaws surfaced in 1996.

His first release as bandleader, Debutantes and Centipedes, emerged in 1999 as a quirky fusion of free jazz and prog rock credited to Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant. The same year he appeared on the self-titled debut from Mike Patton’s metal project Fantomas, which included Buzz Osborne of the Melvins and Dave Lombardo of Slayer; four additional studio albums with the group followed by 2005.

In 2000 Dunn relocated from California to Brooklyn, New York, and began regular work with John Zorn, the celebrated experimental composer and instrumentalist who had produced the first Mr. Bungle album. He contributed to more than three dozen Zorn releases, among them the Electric Masada project, as well as recordings by Tzadik label artists and Radical Jewish Culture series participants. Additional affiliations encompassed the improvisational ensemble the Bureau of Atomic Tourism, a 2013 guest spot with Tomahawk (another Mike Patton project featuring Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard) on Oddfellows, bass duties on the Nels Cline Singers’ 2014 album Macroscope, and accompaniment for outré jazz legends Marshall Allen and Roswell Rudd on 2019’s Ceremonial Healing, alongside numerous other jazz and experimental collaborations.

Solo projects continued despite the schedule, among them 2008’s Four Films and 2019’s Nocturnes. After the Fantomas association with Buzz Osborne, Dunn entered the Melvins’ creative circle, appearing on the joint Fantomas/Melvins release Millennium Monsterwork in 2002 and touring with the group for the concerts documented on Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony and Lust; further appearances followed on 2012’s Freak Puke, 2013’s Everybody Loves Sausages, and 2016’s Basses Loaded. In 2020 he co-starred with Osborne (billed as King Buzzo) on the acoustic solo LP Gift of Sacrifice.