Life in NYC has been continuing apace since last I had time to write here. Both my musical life and my ‘other job’ (as a web developer) have been busier than ever!

2011 finished, and 2012 started, with my being back in the UK. I made a welcome return to The Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas for a limited engagement in London’s West End. Great fun to be back playing the show and marvellous to see so many friends, old and new! A bonus was being over there to see my family at Christmas time, although it was at the expense of the planned visit to my wife’s family in Los Angeles; no winter sun for me!!

Since my return to New York in late January, I’ve been keeping busier than ever and playing with an array of fun groups. I’ve written about the one of the more incredible – the Fundraiser for Clark Terry – already in the blog section of this site. What a remarkable event that was!!

Looking forward to the next couple of months, I’ll be playing with Mr Ho’s Orchestrotica Big Band once again – we’re playing the music of Juan Garcia Esquivel in Bethlehem, PA on May 27th. This is actually a gig to replace the one cancelled by the Hurricane last Summer! We also have a second gig a month later, but I’m not permitted to give any details about that yet. More information soon…

Another upcoming performance will be on June 5th with Mike Longo’s NY State of the Art Jazz Ensemble at the Baha’i Center in NYC. Mr Longo was sideman to, and Musical Director for, the late, great Dizzy Gillespie for many years. His writing and playing are extraordinary, and the band formidable! Please come and check it out if you’re nearby.

Looking forward to August, I’ll be heading up to Boston, MA to play with the New Life Jazz Orchestra at the famous Sculler’s Jazz Club on August 24th. Led by Kendrick Oliver, this band is always a swinging affair – the last site update here was just before a concert we played last summer – and it’ll be a great show. We are joined by special guests Rachael Price and Warren Wolf. If you’re in that neck of the woods, it’ll be well worth checking out!!

Enough for now. Thanks again for looking in.

BD

Looking back to June, I had a great trip back to the UK, visiting family and friends and doing some playing and teaching. One highlight while I was there was resurrecting the “Quarter To Four” band at Grimsby Jazz. We had a great time playing and it was so nice to see so many old friends, both on and off the bandstand. I made a reference recording of the evening and have posted a couple of samples in my Soundcloud account – they are linked elsewhere on the site.

Just before I left for the UK, I spent a chop-bursting evening at the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn, attempting to play the lead book with The Chase Experiment. Bandleader Jackie Coleman has painstakingly transcribed much of the music of Chase; the iconic Trumpet-section-led Jazz/Rock group devised by former Woody Herman lead trumpet, Bill Chase. I’ve enjoyed that music for a long time and playing it gave me a new appreciation for what a monstrous player he was!

Upon my return to New York, I played with the Nathan Parker Smith Large Ensemble for the Jazz Vespers service at St Peter’s Church. Nathan has written some great, if slightly unconventional, music and it was tremendous fun to play something a bit different. I look forward to playing with them again soon.

Hope you’re having a great summer.

BD

The one gig I do have on the books is at Grimsby Jazz in Thursday, June 9th. We will be reprising the so-called “Quarter to Four” band that proved so successful a few summers ago. So called because of a last minute mix up, on the day of a supposed Grimsby Jazz gig with a different band; the replacement group was finally settled at 3:45pm! It will be a great pleasure to play with Pat McCarthy (guitar), Piero Tucci (piano/saxes) and Tony Burkill (tenor sax) again. Rounding out the band this time will be Ken Marley (bass) and John Perry (drums). It promises to be a good night!

There are some lesson spots available, while I’m in the UK. I will likely be visiting friends in Leeds on Sunday, June 12th and can be elsewhere as the situation dictates. Please check the Teaching page for details and drop me a line if you’re interested. Skype lessons are always available, as well, as when I’m in NYC. However, the smaller time difference may make them more viable for interested students in Europe – I know that can make scheduling a headache sometimes.

On the subject of lessons, I must offer my apologies for the current absence of the Store on my site. If you would like to organize a lesson, please drop me a line and I can send you a PayPal link to prepay your Skype (or in-person) lesson. The store will be fixed shortly.

Enjoy your summer!
BD

The dates and cities are as follows. For more details, please check my schedule page.

• Feb. 17 – Richmond, VA
• Feb.18 – Newberry, SC
• Feb.19 – Henderson, NC
• Feb.21 – Lancaster, PA
• Feb.22 – Zelionople, PA
• Feb.23 – Princeton, NJ
• Feb.24 – Nashua, NH
• Feb.26 – Mahwah, NJ

Looking forward to March, I’m actually playing my first gig in New York City, since the move here. On March 18th, I’ll be tackling the Lead trumpet chair with Mr Ho’s Orchestrotica, on their CD release concert at Le Poisson Rouge, in the West Village. This peculiarly named group plays the music of the great Juan Esquivel – considered by many to be Mexico’s answer to Duke Ellington! The style has been described both as ‘exotica’ and ‘space-age’; all I know is that it’s a lot of fun, particularly since the Lead book is somewhat high!! Hope to see some NY folks there – either for moral support, or to point and laugh!

More news about my prospective trip to Europe in June, upon my return from this round of travels.

BD

Included on the Resal CD is the studio version of “Der Rock des Trompeters – A Tribute to Bill Chase”. If you’re looking for the live video, with Thomas Gansch and Adam Rapa, which has been frequently posted on my homepage, you can find it here.

Since my return from Austria, life has continued apace in New York. Most of my musical activities have been in the educational realm; not only teaching trumpet lessons but also doing some “substitute band directing” at NYU. I’m pleased to say that the Online Skype Trumpet Lessons have become increasingly popular, with students on both sides of the pond. During 2010, I’ve worked with students from Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, in addition to the USA. The Skype technology has improved noticeably over the past couple of years I’ve been teaching through it – it really is worth considering!

Looking forward to 2011, it seems likely that I will be visiting Europe again in June. There are a couple of likely projects in Austria at the beginning of the month and I’m already starting to schedule some gigs and lessons in the UK afterwards. Aside from musical endeavours it will, of course, be good to get back and visit my family. More details will be forthcoming as they are firmed up, but please keep it in mind if you are interested in booking a lesson, or could use me for any kind of gig!

In the meantime, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!

Bryan is back home in New York City for the rest of July, unless the phone rings! Unfortunately the same is now true of August as well. His previously planned trip to play with the LACJO in Austria has been cancelled – following his recent move to the USA, Bryan is temporarily unable to leave the country without authorization papers, which haven’t arrived in time to book flights. Apologies to the band, and to the students who had requested lessons. The good news is that Bryan will definitely be making the trip to play with Thomas Gansch in late October – lessons will be reorganised for during that tour.

The Gansch & Roses CD Launch Tour is set for October 29th – November 3rd, 2010; further information is on the Schedule page. The current plan is for Adam Rapa to be back with Thomas and Bryan in the Trumpet section once again. The early mixes of ‘Resal’ – the new CD – sound terrific. Included is Thomas’ tribute to Bill Chase – “Der Rock des Trompeters”. Here is the performance of this piece from last Autumn’s concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna:

We look forward to sharing more information about the CD, as it becomes available. Bryan will be in Austria from October 27th to November 7th, so there will be plenty of opportunities to organise lessons/masterclasses.

Please check out the information in the Teaching section of the site if you wish to avail yourself of Bryan’s services as a Trumpet teacher for Private Lessons or Clinics, or as a guest artist with your School/College band. Don’t forget that Online Lessons via Webcam are available if you are elsewhere in the US, or indeed the world!

You can find all Bryan Davis’ contact information on the Contact page of this website. He looks forward to hearing from you soon!

We are pleased to announce that Bryan Davis has now joined the Artist Roster on JazzCorner.com – the premier portal for Jazz sites. Big thanks to Lois Gilbert, JazzCorner supremo, for welcoming Bryan to the family. In celebration of that, we will be upgrading and redesigning the site before long. Watch this space…

Have a great summer!

Please check out the information in the Teaching section of the site if you wish to avail yourself of Bryan’s services as a Trumpet teacher for Private Lessons or Clinics, or as a guest artist with your School/College band. Don’t forget that Online Lessons via Webcam are available if you are elsewhere in the US, or indeed the world!

You can find all Bryan Davis’ contact information on the Contact page of this website. He looks forward to hearing from you soon!

We are pleased to announce that Bryan Davis has now joined the Artist Roster on JazzCorner.com – the premier portal for Jazz sites. Big thanks to Lois Gilbert, JazzCorner supremo, for welcoming Bryan to the family. In celebration of that, we will be upgrading and redesigning the site before long. Watch this space…

Looking ahead to the Autumn, Bryan will be returning to Austria again, this time to play with Gansch & Roses on their CD launch tour. The dates are between October 29th and November 3rd – further details on the Schedule page. The early mixes of “Resal”, the new CD, sound terrific – we look forward to sharing further details about it as we have them. Once again, as on the last tour, Bryan and Thomas Gansch will be joined in the trumpet section by Adam Rapa. The gigs will be a lot of fun – if last year is anything to go by. Decide for yourself – here’s a video of Thomas’ Bill Chase Tribute “Der Rock des Trompeters”:

Have a great summer!

Please check out the information in the Teaching section of the site if you wish to avail yourself of Bryan’s services as a Trumpet teacher for Private Lessons or Clinics, or as a guest artist with your School/College band. Don’t forget that Online Lessons via Webcam are available if you are elsewhere in the US, or indeed the world!

You can find all Bryan Davis’ contact information on the Contact page of this website. He looks forward to hearing from you soon!

In December 2009, Bryan was on the road with the ‘Christmas with The Rat Pack – Live At The Sands’ holiday show. They spent a very pleasant, although colder than expected, 2 weeks in Dallas, TX, followed by a week in Hartford, CT. While in Dallas, Bryan had the opportunity to visit the University of North Texas and not only attend a rehearsal of the famed One O’Clock Lab Band, but also visit the Maynard Ferguson music collection at the UNT library. They have the entire surviving library from Maynard’s estate, some 400+ charts, and have archived and preserved it – a task that took a little over a year! A fascinating look into Jazz history!

During September and October 2009, Bryan Davis paid a couple of visits to Austria. During the first, he played a couple of concerts, and spent 3 days in the studio with Thomas Gansch and his band. For the studio sessions and the concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, the trumpet section was augmented by Adam Rapa – a wonderful trumpet player and great guy. Thomas wrote a few new tunes for this 3 trumpet line-up. These included his tribute to Bill Chase – ‘Der Rock des Trompeters’. Fans of high note trumpet are not going to disappointed when they hear the resulting CD. We are informed that the resulting CD, entitled ‘Resal’, will be released by the Schagerl Company; makers of fine brass instruments in Austria, including Thomas’ ‘Gansch-horn’. We hope to have news of a release date before long. In the meantime, you can enjoy a couple of videos from the Porgy & Bess concert including this one:-

Bryan returned to Austria at the end of September for the Autumn Tour with the LACJO – reprising their ‘Murdering The Classics’ programme. We are pleased to announce that the CD of this programme is now available. You can currently only order it directly from the LACJO website, although we understand that it should soon be available from the ORF Shop in Vienna (and online). We are inquiring as to whether there is any plan for international distribution – ultimately, it is likely that Bryan Davis will procure a few copies to sell through this site. More news about that as we have it.

In December 2009, Bryan was on the road with the ‘Christmas with The Rat Pack – Live At The Sands’ holiday show. They spent a very pleasant, although colder than expected, 2 weeks in Dallas, TX, followed by a week in Hartford, CT. While in Dallas, Bryan had the opportunity to visit the University of North Texas and not only attend a rehearsal of the famed One O’Clock Lab Band, but also visit the Maynard Ferguson music collection at the UNT library. They have the entire surviving library from Maynard’s estate, some 400+ charts, and have archived and preserved it – a task that took a little over a year! A fascinating look into Jazz history!

During September and October 2009, Bryan Davis paid a couple of visits to Austria. During the first, he played a couple of concerts, and spent 3 days in the studio with Thomas Gansch and his band. For the studio sessions and the concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, the trumpet section was augmented by Adam Rapa – a wonderful trumpet player and great guy. Thomas wrote a few new tunes for this 3 trumpet line-up. These included his tribute to Bill Chase – ‘Der Rock des Trompeters’. Fans of high note trumpet are not going to disappointed when they hear the resulting CD. We are informed that the resulting CD, entitled ‘Resal’, will be released by the Schagerl Company; makers of fine brass instruments in Austria, including Thomas’ ‘Gansch-horn’. We hope to have news of a release date before long. In the meantime, you can enjoy a couple of videos from the Porgy & Bess concert including this one:-

Bryan returned to Austria at the end of September for the Autumn Tour with the LACJO – reprising their ‘Murdering The Classics’ programme. We are pleased to announce that the CD of this programme is now available. You can currently only order it directly from the LACJO website, although we understand that it should soon be available from the ORF Shop in Vienna (and online). We are inquiring as to whether there is any plan for international distribution – ultimately, it is likely that Bryan Davis will procure a few copies to sell through this site. More news about that as we have it.

In December, Bryan will be hitting the road once more for a brief excursion with the “Christmas with The Rat Pack – Live At The Sands” holiday show. He will be in Dallas, TX from December 1st – 12th and then in Hartford, CT from December 15th – 20th.

In addition to live performances, Bryan Davis is always available to teach trumpet lessons and clinics, whether at home or elsewhere. For prospective students outside of the USA, online lessons via webcam are also available. The online lessons, in particular, are proving quite popular. All you need is a computer, webcam setup and the free Skype software. Bryan was, himself, sceptical about the usefulness of this system in teaching but, we are pleased to report, that he’s very pleased with how it works out! In celebration of his recent emigration, Bryan is currently offering a discount price on lessons in both formats. See the Teaching pages for details.

During September and October, Bryan Davis paid a couple of visits to Austria. First, he played a couple of concerts, and spent 3 days in the studio with Thomas Gansch and his band. For the studio sessions and the concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, the trumpet section was augmented by Adam Rapa – a wonderful trumpet player and great guy. Thomas wrote a few tunes for this 3 trumpet line-up; dubbed the ‘Trumpet Porn Suite’. These included his tribute to Bill Chase – ‘Der Rock des Trompeters’. Fans of high note ‘big’ trumpet are not going to disappointed when they hear the resulting CD. We hope to have details of a release in Spring 2010 before long. In the meantime, you can enjoy a couple of videos from the Porgy & Bess concert including this one:-

Bryan returned to Austria at the end of September for the Autumn Tour with the LACJO – reprising their ‘Murdering The Classics’ programme. They played 6 concerts. Unfortunately the first couple were rather poorly attended but the band is really hitting it’s stride! The final concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna was particularly special! There is a provisional plan for European Tour in September 2010 – more details as they become available. We also imminently expect details of an release for the live LACJO CD they recorded at the inaugural concert in 2008. It should be initially available from the ORF broadcast network in Austria – details of worldwide distribution will follow shortly after. We will make the requisite announcements as soon as the details are confirmed.