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| Brian Groder, composer, trumpeter, and ensemble leader. |
Equally fluent on trumpet and flugelhorn, Brian Groder draws on the entire jazz tradition, as well as world music
influences, to create compositions critics have called "Music not only for today, but also for tomorrow," and AllAboutJazz hailed as "Music of ceaselessly fascinating
possibilities."
Groder's preference for working with other composer/performers gives his brand of modern progressive jazz unique
improvisatory richness and depth. For performances and recordings of the Brian Groder Ensemble, founded in the early 1990s, Groder chooses from a pool of talented
musicians, including core members Francesca Tanksley, acclaimed pianist and composer (Billy Harper Quintet, Erica Lindsay, David Newman, Cecil Payne), and percussionist,
composer and solo artist Newman Taylor Baker (Benny Powell, Ahmad Jamal, Dewey Redman, Henry Threadgill). The Ensemble has performed throughout the country, including the
Cape May Jazz Festival, the Orlando Fringe Festival, the Rittenhouse Square Arts Festival, and, in New York, at
The Stone, Visiones, The Knitting Factory, the Jazz Gallery and the Cornelia Street Cafe, among
others.
The Brian Groder Ensemble's first CD,
Ancestral Tongues, received special commendation from critic Andy Bartlett for the beauty of the ballads and the compelling solo work from all." Subsequent recordings,
Perihelion and Incantations, drew critical praise in Europe and Japan, becoming staples on The National Radio Show in the
Netherlands. In 2007 Brian released Torque, a CD featuring the legendary composer/performer Sam Rivers and his trio, which received a
"Four Star" rating from Downbeat Magazine. 2009 saw the release of Groder & Greene, a collaboration between
Brian and avante-jazz pioneer Burton Greene, called "one of the year's best" by
All About Jazz. |
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| Brian's list of jazz cohorts includes an enviable collection of players from all segments of the jazz spectrum; Rez Abbasi, Albey
Balgochian, Amanda Butterfield, Taylor Ho Bynum, Dominic Duval, Burton Greene, Katsuyuki Itakura, Jackson Krall, Kevin Kuhn, Andrew Lamb, Andy McKee, John McLellan, JD Parran,
Alpio C Neto and Blaise Siwula are just some of the musicians who have shared a stage or recording session with Mr. Groder. In May, 2006, the
Ensemble premiered Groders new three movement Suite for Dance for choreographer/dancer Cherylyn Lavagnino at Danspace in St. Marks in New York City, which the Village
Voice called "a brave experiment" and "strikingly beautiful". For the score of the Orlando International Fringe Festival production of
Solos by Joseph Reed Hayes, Brian composed progressive compositions
that were contemporary and yet conveyed the flavor of every jazz scene from the 1940s to present day. |
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| Brian has worked with guitar great Dennis Sandole (composition teacher to John Coltrane and others) and continues to work and write
with the legendary Joanne Brackeen. A New York native, Groder comes by his musical abilities honestly. Both his parents were working musicians during the Swing Era. During the 80s,
Brian Groder performed with the Atlantic City house bands of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., and, like his record-mate Rivers, has toured with Joe Cocker. |
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