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Craig Brenan

Creative jazz trombonist and composer Craig Brenan has performed and recorded in a wide variety of settings from trio to large ensemble, and has been featured on over 20 albums as a composer and performer. Brenan was born in 1969 in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada, and at the age of 12 he began his training on the trombone in Edmonton, Alberta. As a student Craig won a number of awards at national music festivals, and various other honors and grants came from both his jazz and classical music skills. In 1990, Craig created the creative opportunity orchestra, a diverse collection of musicians exploring a wide palate of musical styles and tastes. this ensemble would become the foundation for developing Craig’s musical identity. years later, thanks to a grant he received, Craig moved to Boston to work on his masters degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory. While in Boston, Craig studied with artists including Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Bob Brookmeyer, Danilo Perez, Steve Lacy, George Lewis, Curtis Fuller, Gene Bertoncini, and Bob Moses.

Craig recorded his debut album, modo trio, in 1999 under the death defying records label. Craig formed the modo trio with bassist Jeff Johnson. Solo and working with his trio, Craig performed and continues to perform across the nation at festivals and concert halls. ‘The uninvited’, Craig 's second album, was released in 2006 on the 482 music label. It was a critical and underground hit as it featured keyboard wizard Jamie Saft of John Zorn fame. A year later Craig teamed up with twin brother Jim and recorded the successful brenan brothers album “the throwdown” with tracks such as "prince of orphans," "the kingdom," and "were the colour”. “Dogleg” followed with guest artist Wayne Horvitz, as well as an appearance on Earl MacDonald’s juno nominated big band album. The new decade saw Craig embark on a prolific schedule of performing dates leading various ensembles that demonstrated his wide range in post-bop, modern jazz, creative improvisation, and other styles and idioms. Recently Craig was featured leading a sextet of winds and drums that included the best improvisers in the province called 7zark7. That same project has been re-imagined into a recording project that features drummer Ted Poor and tenor saxophonist/bass clarinetist John Ellis. The ensemble features six winds and drum kit. Due out later this year, the ensemble has been re-imagined, re-formulated and re-named “autonomic robots”.

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Album Review

Florian Ross: Tunes & Explorations

Read "Tunes & Explorations" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Variety and nostalgia are the essence of Tunes & Explorations, the twenty-second album by German-born composer/arranger Florian Ross who observes his fiftieth anniversary by dipping into the Great American Songbook to revive and reshape for his splendid octet a number of luminous evergreens from the Golden Age of American music. Ross underlines the contrast via jazz compositions from Bill Evans ("Fun Ride") and Horace Silver (the closing “Sister Sadie") and his own groovy curtain-raiser, “Baking Magels." The ...

4
Album Review

Florian Ross Octet: Tunes & Explorations

Read "Tunes & Explorations" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Florian Ross is a German-born composer, arranger and jazz pianist who has a fondness for releasing albums with double names which began with his debut release Seasons & Places (Naxos Records, 1998). He has continued with that “idée fixe" in almost every year in which he has delivered a release. This year is no exception; the latest incarnation is Tunes & Explorations, an octet session given over (with one exception) to the exploration of some well-known compositions from the Great ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Tunes & Explorations

Toy Piano Records
2022

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Dog Leg

Death Defying Records
2019

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craig brenan's...

Death Defying Records
2014

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