BrianLynchJazz.com

Brian Lynch Unsung Heroes in Camden; All Star Quartet at Smalls NYC

Straight Ahead And Swinging with LeDonne and Cobb; Messengers Legacy in Europe

News From The Recording Front: Madera Latino Sneak Peek

Hi All,

Here’s news about the upcoming doings at the 92nd St. Y in New York City – the good folks there have tapped me to put together a brand new festival devoted to the vibrant sounds of Afro-Caribbean (Latin) Jazz! Read on:

Latin on Lex: A Latin Jazz Festival at the 92nd Street Y

Thursday March 12, 2015 at 8 PM

Salute the man who is Afro-Caribbean jazz!

New York’s very own piano King, NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri is celebrating the third decade of his historic octet. With its Latin rhythm section, hard-bopping horns and Palmieri piano thunder, the group changed the course of jazz. Hear its whole history come alive on one electrifying night.

Join us at 7 pm for a pre-concert talk with Brian Lynch, artistic director of Latin on Lex: A Latin Jazz Festival.

Eddie Palmieri -piano, 
Donald Harrison – alto sax
, Steve Davis – trombone
, Luques Curtis – bass, Little Johnny Rivero, conga & percussion – 
Anthony Carillo, percussion
 – Camilo Molina, percussion

 And Brian Lynch, host and trumpet

Friday March 13, 2015 at 8 PM

Feel the heat of Cuban jazz’s young vanguard—brought together by Grammy-winning trumpet maestro Brian Lynch.

Friends and Fans,

I have some exciting news – the new CD I’ve recorded in collaboration with new star pianist Emmet Cohen, Questioned Answer, is now available! The official release date is next Tuesday, October 28th, but you can already pick up a copy through Amazon or the Hollistic MusicWorks website (access through www.brianlynchjazz.com). There are two CD release events in New York City and environs coming right up, with more in the pipeline. First, the gigs, and below that information about the CD and how to buy. Hope to see you at one of the gigs! – Brian

Brian Lynch and Emmet Cohen – Questioned Answer CD Release Events:

The Jazz Gallery NYC: Friday, October 31, 2014
Brian Lynch/Emmet Cohen Quartet presents the music from their new CD Questioned Answer (Hollistic MusicWorks)
Brian Lynch – trumpet; Emmet Cohen – piano; Russell Hall, bass; Mark Whitfield – drums
http://www.jazzgallery.org/

The Falcon, Marlboro, NY: Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Brian Lynch/Emmet Cohen Duo celebrating the release of Questioned Answer (Hollistic MusicWorks)
http://www.liveatthefalcon.com/

Questioned Answer Available Now!

CD:

From the Hollistic MusicWorks website:
http://hollisticmusicworks.com/store/cds/brian-lynch-and-emmet-cohen-questioned-answer-cd/

From Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Questioned-Answer-Brian-Lynch-Quartet/dp/B00O6WXSGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413971166&sr=8-1&keywords=brian+lynch+cohen

On digital:
Questioned Answer: https://brianlynch.bandcamp.com/album/questioned-answer
Questioned Answer – The Extra Tracks (eight extra tracks from the duo sessions) https://brianlynch.bandcamp.com/album/questioned-answer-the-extra-tracks

Brian Lynch / Emmet Cohen Quartet and Duo – Questioned Answer

Hollistic MusicWorks HMW 12  Street Date: Oct. 28, 2014

This intergenerational collaboration between Grammy© Award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch and new piano star on the modern jazz horizon Emmet Cohen combines new school excitement and exuberant swing, and is shaping up to be one of the must have discs for late 2014. In the quartet setting, joined by legendary drummer Billy Hart and master bassist Boris Kozlov, Lynch and Cohen present a program of their own searching and often epic original music, bridging traditional and contemporary sounds with virtuosity, passion and swinging aplomb. And as a duo, they essay and recast jazz classics and standards (both classic and contemporary) with warmth, intelligence and lack of cliche, often journeying into uncharted territory only bound by their searching imagination and desire to swing.

The musical lock between Lynch and Cohen has roots that go beyond the work they’ve put in towards crafting a distinctive sound in both quartet and duo formats. Their common ground in committing to grounded, yet contemporary and uncliched playing and composing, combined with the mixture of Lynch’s magisterial command and Cohen’s poised beyond his years musicality, has resulted in a original and compelling group sound tailored for the contemporary listener.

Hi Everyone,

It’s been an busy and eventful spring and early summer, in both the playing and teaching realms. As July gets underway, I’m embarking on a fairly busy round of performing, including some welcome hits of my own. That’s where I’d like to take things at this point, patiently as I craft a new identity after all the years of sideman-ing, but with what I think is a new resolve on my part.

I’m definitely experiencing a time of transition at present, as the consequences of career and life decisions initiated in the last year and a half (and continuing to coalesce) begin to take hold and translate into change. My primary goal right now is, through reflection, application, and action, to emerge with artifacts that will both satisfy myself and please those who have blessed me with the gift of interest in my music.

I’m writing en route to Guadalajara, Mexico, where the duo project I’ve initiated with my young collaborator Emmet Cohen will be making its premiere in concert at the Jalisco Jazz Festival on Friday, July 5th. (Emmet and I will also be part of the associated Tonica Jazz Seminar there, from the 6th to the 12th of that same month) The duo on our return to the US will be making its NYC debut at the Zinc Bar on Wednesday, July 16th.

My group Spheres Of Influence will also be performing in NYC this month, as part of the “Jazz At The Crossroads: The Dance Of Eleggua” festival at Minton’s club uptown. Along with my regular band of Zaccai Curtis (piano), his brother Luques on bass, and Little Johnny Rivero on percussion, I’m elated to have the great Ralph Peterson Jr., who I’ve been playing a lot with these days, as our special guest on drums.

I’ll be appearing around NYC in other capacities during July as well. I always look forward to playing with my longtime mentor Charles McPherson when the opportunity presents itself. After more than 30 years, he continues to be an inspiration as a musician and equally as a person. I’ll be at the Jazz Standard with his Quintet (Jeb Patton, piano; Kiyoshi Kitagawa, bass; and Victor Lewis, drums) from Thursday, July 10th to Sunday, July 13th. Another long time friend, pianist Bill Charlap, has invited me to take part once again in the Jazz In July events at the 92nd Street Y; I’ll be playing the music of Leonard Bernstein with an all star cast including saxophonist Jimmy Greene on Thursday, July 14th.

I hope to see you at one of these hits!

2014 SO FAR…..

Here’s a few vignettes in pictures and sound of what I was up to during the first six months of this year:

A killer lineup of trumpeters introducing the next generation Yamaha Xeno trumpets at January’s NAMM show (l to r front row: Rex Richardson, BL, Jim Ross, Tiger Okoshi, Allen Vizzuti)

Feeling good after my Quartet’s concert in Sochi during the Winter Olympics (l to r: Emmet Cohen, Boris Kozlov, BL, Ralph Peterson, Jr.)

March saw the debut of the LPK (Lynch-Prieto-Kozlov) Afro Caribbean Experimental Trio. A picture from our NYC Zinc Bar gig and a selection from our concert in Miami:

With two of my first crop of graduates from the Frost School of Music at graduation in May. Master of Music Aquiles Navarro (l) and Doctor Of Musical Arts Ryan Chapman (r).

NEWS FROM HOLLISTIC MUSICWORKS

The Brian Lynch / Emmet Cohen quartet/duo project is FINALLY mixed and mastered, and on its way to becoming a real corporeal entity (as in CD) – the package design should be done in the next week and the whole thing sent off to the manufacturing plant. A long time coming, but we think it’s worth the wait! (thank you Kickstarter backers for your patience)

GIGS

July 5  Brian Lynch/Emmet Cohen Duo – Jalisco Jazz Festival, Guadalajara, Mexico
July 10-13 – w. Charles McPherson Quintet – The Jazz Standard, NYC
July 16  Brian Lynch/Emmet Cohen Duo – The Zinc Bar, NYC
July 22 – Brian Lynch and Spheres Of Influence – Minton’s, NYC
July 24 – The Music Of Leonard Bernstein, Jazz In July at The 92nd St.Y, NYC
July 25 – Special Guest with the Jill McCarron Trio, The Harvard Club, NYC (private gig)
July 31 – Special Guest with Robby Ameen Group, Babylon Soho, NYV
Aug. 4 – Orlando “Maraca” Valle Latin Jazz All Stars, Marciac Jazz Festival, Marciac, France

It’s been a while since my last update. A lot of good things have been going on, and now that things have slowed down a little bit (even as we swing into the holidays) I can take a moment to recount for those who are interested.

JAZZ TIMES FEATURE

Last month’s (October 2013) issue of Jazz Times had a very nice feature story about yours truly, well written and researched by Michael West. For better or worse, the spiffy photo by my buddy Nick Ruechel of me resplendent in a coral (it only looks pink) Paul Smith suit looks like a new trademark shot for me. The Yamaha ad in the same issue featured a more sober NY black vine though. Order the magazine through http://jazztimes.com/ It’s the Brass Issue, and there’s stories about a lot of other players as well.

LYNCH/COHEN KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN SUCCESS

It was a nail biter, almost last moment thing, but the Kickstarter crowd funding campaign for production of the upcoming Brian Lynch / Emmet Cohen recording on Hollistic MusicWorks met its goal. The funding will go towards post production of the completed tracks (mixing, mastering), manufacturing of the physical CD (yes, we still make those), promotion and tour support for the recording. The CD will be out early next year. The main challenge right now is to find the time to get the work done!

Thanks to all the supporters of this project – we are so thankful and we love you madly! Your assistance makes it possible for us to bring to you and the world high quality work that expresses our artistic vision in the way we think it deserves.

Check out the Kickstarter appeal video with some impromptu duo jamming by Emmet and myself:

And the Quartet live at NYC’s Iridium last July:

UNSUNG HEROES VOL. 2 – FINALLY ON CD!

I’m happy to relate that the second volume of my acclaimed (5 stars in Downbeat) Unsung Heroes project is finally available on physical CD, after existing purely in the ethereal (digital download) realm for so long. You can cop at Amazon, CD Baby, or on the Hollistic MusicWorks website.

Check out the press release for Unsung Heroes Vol. 2 here.

FALL PERFORMANCE TOUR

I had a blast playing at home in New York and out on the road this fall with some great musicians, peers, mentors, and legends alike.

The end of September found me way up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where bassist Steve Kirby is keeping the flame strong through his stewardship of the scene as well as his work as chair of the jazz program at the University Of Manitoba. The real deal! We played together with my bud, tenor sax great Eric Alexander and the redoubtable Davis brothers, Xavier on piano and Quincy (also on the faculty at the U) on drums. My friend, trumpet great, and another Manitoba professor, Derrick Gardner, stopped by one of the concerts and played some. Dangerous! There’s some stuff going on up there in Winnipeg!  http://jazzwinnipeg.com/artists/steve-kirby/ 

Next up was a week in NYC at the Jazz Standard and a weekend on the road (Boston, San Francisco, Kansas City) with the Messengers Legacy band. This alumni association of our music’s ultimate finishing school, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, is a most distinguished collection indeed: Donald Harrison (alto sax), Bill Pierce (tenor sax), Donald Brown (piano), the august presence of Reggie Workman (bass), yours truly on trumpet, and Ralph Peterson on drums, who put the group together and can justly lay claim to being a Messenger from his incumbency in Buhaina’s big band in the 1980s. I had a truly great time playing and being together with these giants. We hope to keep this group together and bring the Message to a new generation!

Not even pausing to stop home (neither NYC or Miami), I then jumped on a plane for Paris to perform at the storied Theatre Du Chatelet with the virtuoso Cuban flautist Orlando “Maraca” Valle and his Latin Jazz All Stars. There were a lot of good buddies there to share the stage with, including Giovanni Hidalgo, El Negro Hernandez, and Steve Turre. A most successful concert, later rebroadcast by French radio.

In the City Of Lights less than 24 hours, I turned right back around to NYC to start a 6 night run between two of the top clubs and alongside two legendary altoists and longtime mentors. At the Blue Note, the Phil Woods Quintet, with which I’m entering my 22nd year as a member, did a two night midweek engagement. Pianist emeritus (and close friend) Bill Charlap graced the group with his artistry, filling in for regular pianist Bill Mays. Then the scene changed to a few blocks uptown back at one of my favorite clubs, the Jazz Standard, with a true master of the art form of jazz music, Charles McPherson. I’m proud every time I can get on stage with Charles. The band was smoking too: Jeb Patton, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and my main man Johnathan Blake on drums.

It was a great run!

TEACHING, TEACHING, TEACHING

My “day gig” at the University Of Miami’s Frost School of Music continues to reward with stimulating students and amazing colleagues. I’m pleased to relate that I’ve been awarded tenure and advanced to the rank of Associate Professor as of this fall. My artist ensemble at Frost is doing a great job of playing my compositions and arrangements in the Afro-Caribbean jazz idiom alongside me. Check us out here:

IN OTHER NEWS

I was honored to be a part of the Cedar Walton Memorial Celebration at NYC’s St. Peter’s Church on November 15th. It was great to play Cedar’s music in the company of old friends, the jazz community, and Cedar’s family. In particular, it was memorable to hook up with my old Horace Silver front line partner (and one of the greatest of my generation on his or any instrument), tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore. Cedar and his music (along with his comrade in arms Clifford Jordan) had a major impact on how I play and what I value musically. After the concert, I had a great hang reminiscing more about the man in the company Ralph, Kenny Washington, Ted Panken, Cedar’s widow Martha Walton and Cilfford Jordan’s widow Sandra, who gave me a fresh CD of Clifford’s “Glass Bead Games”; incredibly touching since it’s one of the most important recordings of my musical life as well as one of the best jazz records of all time! From 1973, Glass Bead Games features Cedar, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins in one of two quartets, the other being pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Bill Lee and Billy. All heroes!

Buy Glass Bead Games here.

All right, enough! Thanks if you made it this far – keep swinging!