Bryan Davis has now, finally, moved to New York City! He finally made the move during October 2009. During November, he will be in New York, seeing gigs, meeting musicians and making connections. He was granted work permission upon entry to the USA so, if you need a trumpet player, he is available! Hopefully we will have more news about his upcoming performances in the New York area before too long.

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.

The first tune from the Gansch & Roses gig at Porgy & Bess in Vienna; September 15th 2009. The tune is ‘Italian Folk Song’ by Thomas Gansch.

Trumpets: Thomas Gansch, Adam Rapa, Bryan Davis
Trombone: Johannes Herrlich
Saxes/Woodwinds: Florian Truebsbach, Klaus Dickbauer
Piano: Oliver Kent
Bass: Uli Langthaler
Drums: Mario Gonzi

Thomas Gansch and his band, live at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Vienna; May 26th 2008. The piece is Thomas’ tribute to Bill Chase – “Der Rock Des Trompeters”

Trumpets: Thomas Gansch, Tobias Weidinger, Bryan Davis
Trombone: Dominik Stoeger
Saxes: Florian Truebsbach, Herwig “Hank” Gradischnig
Piano: Oliver Kent
Bass: Joschi Schneeberger
Drums: Mario Gonzi

The quality of this one is a little rough – seems to have been taken by a handheld camera from the back of the room.

Thomas Gansch and his band recorded at the Schagerl Brass Festival 2008 with special guest Andy Haderer (tpt).

Trumpets: Thomas Gansch, Tobias Weidinger, Bryan Davis
Trombone: Dominik Stoeger
Saxes: Florian Truebsbach, Herwig “Hank” Gradischnig
Piano: Oliver Kent
Bass: Joschi Schneeberger
Drums: Mario Gonzi

This month sees Bryan returning to The Rat Pack – Live From Las Vegas, following the tour’s summer break. They kick off in Belfast, at the marvellous Grand Opera House, on Monday the 8th. The previous weekend Bryan will be performing with Mark Gillbanks and his fine orchestra for a couple of events. September also sees Rat Pack dates in Sunderland and Southport.

Perhaps more importantly, this month also marks the inaugural concert with the Lower Austria Concert Jazz Orchestra, to which Bryan was recently appointed as Lead Trumpet. Bryan will be visiting Austria twice in September, first to rehearse with the Orchestra and then to perform in the concert at the St. Pölten Jazz Festival on the 27th. The program is challenging but looks like a lot of fun; it’s entitled “Murdering The Classics” and features, amongst other works, the Stan Kenton version of Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Looking ahead to October, Bryan expects to be returning to the USA with the Rat Pack US National Tour. Visa permitting, he will be visiting Salt Lake City, Utah and Tempe, Arizona.

In any of the locales he visits, Bryan is always available to teach Trumpet Lessons; something he’s been doing a lot of lately! If you’re interested in organising a lesson, please check the Calendar to see when he’s nearby and get in touch to set it up.

Bryan had a fantastic trip to Austria at the end of May, playing with Thomas Gansch and his band; Gansch & Roses. The first concert they played, at the Schagerl Brass Festival, was broadcast live online by TheMusicPage.com. We’re promised that, at some stage, highlights from that concert will be made available on their site. In the meantime, please enjoy this video of the band playing Thomas’ Bill Chase tribute – “Der Rock Des Trompeters” – from the gig at Porgy & Bess in Vienna.