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Bixler | Incognito Ergo Sum
Four years after INSIDE THE GRIEF captured David Bixler’s trio working through pandemic uncertainty, INCOGNITO ERGO SUM finds the alto and soprano saxophonist, bassist Dan Loomis, and drummer/percussionist Fabio Rojas in a completely different place. The raw, searching energy remains, but now it’s channeled into something more liberated—a musical conversation so intuitive it consistently catches you off guard.
Their music was born from playing for parkgoers in pandemic-era New York. INCOGNITO ERGO SUM (“I am incognito, therefore I am”) carries the spirit of those impromptu shows: no names on the bill, no rules about genre, just music for anyone who might wander by and listen. It’s an album that’s been stripped of ego and polished by curiosity.
Musically, this resists easy categorization—and that’s the point. It’s not quite free jazz, not exactly bop, but you’ll hear echoes of both, plus flashes of rock, Venezuelan rhythms, and the kind of spontaneous downtown-NYC interplay that would make early Tim Berne or Henry Threadgill nod in recognition. There’s structure here, but it breathes.
Tracks like ‘Liminal Space’ and ‘What’s At Hand’ are long-form explorations that shift and evolve naturally, pulling the listener along like a current. Bixler tends to build tunes around short motifs—often rhythmically tight, slightly angular sax lines—that loop and shift. It gives his music a kind of internal momentum, like a conversation that keeps circling back to the same point but with a new emphasis each time. The recurring ‘You Are…’ interludes (cryptic fragments, about a minute long, that build up phrase by phrase) offer punctuation—little mantras—or maybe just reminders that identity, like music, is fluid.
The trio’s chemistry is tight without ever sounding closed off. Loomis can anchor a groove with authority, then pivot into melodic counterpoint that feels almost vocal in its phrasing. Rojas brings a kind of dancing energy, his percussion full of textures, timbres, and soft echoes, often using his cymbals and toms to create atmospheric layers. Bixler’s approach on both horns avoids the obvious choices – his alto tone stays clean and focused rather than chasing brightness, his soprano skips the almost-oboe timbre others favor, and throughout, he drops in unexpected intervals and rhythmic twists that keep you paying attention.
There’s humor here too. A track called ‘Old Dog New Bix’ finds the group playing with expectation, teasing grooves and melodies without fully committing—like they’re daring each other to break the pattern. The closing sequence is even more telling: Jerome Kern’s ‘Nobody Else But Me’ dissolves into the final track ‘You’re Making Me Hate,’ creating the kind of emotional whiplash that suggests a sly wink rather than a heavy hand.
It’s also worth noting what’s not here: INCOGNITO ERGO SUM has no overplaying, no grand solos, no genre checklists. It’s an album built on trust. You can hear it in the way the trio leaves space for each other—and for the listener. The album stands as proof that the most compelling improvised music happens when everyone involved is more interested in the conversation than in having the last word.
After moving to NYC thirty years ago, saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler cut his teeth touring the world with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Toshiko Akioshi. He later joined the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Big Band, with whom he played a decade-long residency of Sunday evenings at Birdland and won a LATIN GRAMMY for the recording, Final Night at Birdland. The passage of time encompassed a twelve year period of managing his son’s health issues which caused a humbling reboot to his priorities in life and the role of music in it. In the summer of 2016, after reevaluating his circumstances he recorded In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet, and Inside the Grief (2020) with trio incognito. His latest project, THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT vol. 1, which PARIS-MOVE describes as "a touch of genius" is a new recording featuring music inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes..
Bixler is the host of LINER NOTES with David Bixler, a podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician and performer throughout the world.
Bixler and his family reside in New York City.
Four years after INSIDE THE GRIEF captured David Bixler’s trio working through pandemic uncertainty, INCOGNITO ERGO SUM finds the alto and soprano saxophonist, bassist Dan Loomis, and drummer/percussionist Fabio Rojas in a completely different place. The raw, searching energy remains, but now it’s channeled into something more liberated—a musical conversation so intuitive it consistently catches you off guard.
Their music was born from playing for parkgoers in pandemic-era New York. INCOGNITO ERGO SUM (“I am incognito, therefore I am”) carries the spirit of those impromptu shows: no names on the bill, no rules about genre, just music for anyone who might wander by and listen. It’s an album that’s been stripped of ego and polished by curiosity.
Musically, this resists easy categorization—and that’s the point. It’s not quite free jazz, not exactly bop, but you’ll hear echoes of both, plus flashes of rock, Venezuelan rhythms, and the kind of spontaneous downtown-NYC interplay that would make early Tim Berne or Henry Threadgill nod in recognition. There’s structure here, but it breathes.
Tracks like ‘Liminal Space’ and ‘What’s At Hand’ are long-form explorations that shift and evolve naturally, pulling the listener along like a current. Bixler tends to build tunes around short motifs—often rhythmically tight, slightly angular sax lines—that loop and shift. It gives his music a kind of internal momentum, like a conversation that keeps circling back to the same point but with a new emphasis each time. The recurring ‘You Are…’ interludes (cryptic fragments, about a minute long, that build up phrase by phrase) offer punctuation—little mantras—or maybe just reminders that identity, like music, is fluid.
The trio’s chemistry is tight without ever sounding closed off. Loomis can anchor a groove with authority, then pivot into melodic counterpoint that feels almost vocal in its phrasing. Rojas brings a kind of dancing energy, his percussion full of textures, timbres, and soft echoes, often using his cymbals and toms to create atmospheric layers. Bixler’s approach on both horns avoids the obvious choices – his alto tone stays clean and focused rather than chasing brightness, his soprano skips the almost-oboe timbre others favor, and throughout, he drops in unexpected intervals and rhythmic twists that keep you paying attention.
There’s humor here too. A track called ‘Old Dog New Bix’ finds the group playing with expectation, teasing grooves and melodies without fully committing—like they’re daring each other to break the pattern. The closing sequence is even more telling: Jerome Kern’s ‘Nobody Else But Me’ dissolves into the final track ‘You’re Making Me Hate,’ creating the kind of emotional whiplash that suggests a sly wink rather than a heavy hand.
It’s also worth noting what’s not here: INCOGNITO ERGO SUM has no overplaying, no grand solos, no genre checklists. It’s an album built on trust. You can hear it in the way the trio leaves space for each other—and for the listener. The album stands as proof that the most compelling improvised music happens when everyone involved is more interested in the conversation than in having the last word.
After moving to NYC thirty years ago, saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler cut his teeth touring the world with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Toshiko Akioshi. He later joined the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Big Band, with whom he played a decade-long residency of Sunday evenings at Birdland and won a LATIN GRAMMY for the recording, Final Night at Birdland. The passage of time encompassed a twelve year period of managing his son’s health issues which caused a humbling reboot to his priorities in life and the role of music in it. In the summer of 2016, after reevaluating his circumstances he recorded In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet, and Inside the Grief (2020) with trio incognito. His latest project, THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT vol. 1, which PARIS-MOVE describes as "a touch of genius" is a new recording featuring music inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes..
Bixler is the host of LINER NOTES with David Bixler, a podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician and performer throughout the world.
Bixler and his family reside in New York City.