Avant-garde jazz trio Explosion:Cerebral makes music that includes improvisation, experimentation, lovely tunes, and fiery wailing from three impressive young musicians. Formed in Ann Arbor, MI, in 1997, Explosion:Cerebral featured improvisations and some excellent compositions by drummer Eric Roth, tenor saxophonist Matt Bauder, and bassist Zach Wallace. While Roth and Bauder met while attending the University of Michigan Music School, they presumably met Wallace on the local music scene, as he was already active in indie band Flashpapr. After forming, the trio gigged frequently in Ann Arbor, winning audiences with their intense style and no-compromise sets: a mix of abstract improvisations, melodic ballads, and scorching blazes of free jazz.

When the Vandermark 5 came to town, Explosion:Cerebral got the opening slot and impressed the Chicago group; over the next few years, Explosion:Cerebral would play several shows in Chicago as a quartet with trombonist Jeb Bishop. By the time the trio's self-released recording was available, both Matt Bauder and Eric Roth had graduated and Roth moved to Chicago, where he started up a trio that included Ken Vandermark collaborator Dave Rempis. Matt Bauder relocated to the Windy City not long after and Zach Wallace went to the East Coast to begin his studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. The trio has played together a few times since, including at Ann Arbor's avant music festival Edgefest, in late 1999. ~ Joslyn Layne, Rovi