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Brian Charette
Awards
Grammy Nominated, 2012 & 2013 runner up Downbeat Critic's Poll "Rising Star:Organ"
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Jim Josselyn: Shape Shifter
by Kyle Simpler
Keith Richards once said if you don't know the blues, there's no point in picking up the guitar." This is certainly true about rock, but it could just as easily apply to jazz. Many of the great jazz guitarists have roots in the blues, and Jim Josselyn is no exception. His album Shape Shifter offers a tasty serving of jazz seasoned with the blues. Josselyn started playing guitar when he was young, but he took his ...
read moreEric Zolan: Calder's Universe
by Kyle Simpler
Musicians spend years practicing to become proficient. Technical ability is an important aspect of playing an instrument, but in order to really communicate a message, a musician needs to love the music as well. Guitarist Eric Zolan is obviously someone who has not only spent a great deal of time practicing but listening to music as well. This comes across clearly in his debut album Calder's Universe. Zolan, a native of Connecticut, developed his chops playing jazz ...
read moreBrian Charette: Jackpot
by Pierre Giroux
In the tradition of some great Hammond organ players of the past, such as Jack McDuff, Melvin Rhyne, Don Patterson, Larry Young and Jimmy Smith, one leading practitioner on this instrument, Brian Charette, wanted to write some swinging and soulful bebop tunes which would honor the memory of these past greats. The musicians Charette chose to travel on this journey were steeped in this genre, tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, funky guitarist Ed Cherry and the swinging drummer Bill Stewart. To ...
read moreDoug Webb: The Message
by David A. Orthmann
The trappings of The Message, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb's eleventh release for Posi-Tone Records, are perhaps recognizable to anyone with an interest in jazz conventions. All hands, except for drummer Charles Ruggiero, contribute at least one composition. While some are more adventurous (tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds' Where Did You Come From?," and alto saxophonist Greg Osby's Nekide") than others (Webb's Caught In The Webb" and organist Brian Charette's Bonnie Lass"), there is nothing here that pushes the envelope or prompts ...
read moreBrian Charette: Like the Sun
by Dan Bilawsky
With time on his hands, neurons firing fast and a serious hankering for tinkering, organist and keyboard whiz Brian Charette created what can best be described as an integrated groove orchestrion with catholic tastes. Using samplers, drum machines and arpeggiators programmed to react to and accompany his playing, Charette birthed a man-meets-machine outfit bent on exploring the outer limits, welding atmospherics to grooves, and forwarding catchy and playful lines that seem tailor-made for their territory, though the reverse is actually ...
read moreDoug Webb: Apples & Oranges
by David A. Orthmann
The ingenuity of veterans operating within the recognizable parameters of the jazz mainstream never ceases to impress. A case in point is Apples & Oranges, tenor and soprano saxophonist Doug Webb's tenth release for the Posi-Tone imprint. A program comprised of the warhorses In A Sentimental Mood," Spring Is Here," and Estate," the 1960s pop song How Can I Be Sure," plus a blues, a waltz and a couple of bebop lines composed by the leader may seem passé in ...
read moreTake Five With Brian Charette
by Brian Charette
Meet Brian Charette: Grammy-nominated organist/pianist, Brian Charette, has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Besides being a critically acclaimed composer and bandleader, he has worked with many notable artists such as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Lou Donaldson and countless others. Charette is a Hammond endorsed, SteepleChase and Posi-Tone recording artist. In 2019, Charette released Beyond Borderline (Steeplechase), his sixth as a leader and was rated with 3 ½ stars in Downbeat. His recordings have been ...
read moreInterview: Brian Charette on 'Jackpot'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Brian Charette knows his way around an organ. He began playing a Hammond M3 in high school but didn't graduate to the B3 until he moved to New York at age 20. While gigging in the city, he was schooled by Brother Jack McDuff in Harlem at Showman's Jazz Club. Brian also knows how to write soul-jazz. His new album, Jackpot, is terrific. It features Brian on organ backed by Cory Weeds on tenor saxophone, Ed Cherry on guitar and ...
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John, Gary and Eartha
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed John Fogerty on Bad Moon Rising for my Anatomy of a Song" column. John wrote the song for Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969 and was inspired by a 1941 movie, Elvis and San Francisco hippie astrology. I last interviewed John on the writing and recording of Proud Mary in 2013. As you might imagine, John is a great guy and a wonderful interview. Recently, he released Fogerty's Factory, an album of ...
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Brian Charette Releases New Solo Hammond Electronica Album, 'Like The Sun'
Source:
Brian Charette
New York City organist/pianist, Brian Charette describes his latest recording Like the Sun as Kraftwerk meets Harlem juke joint." It's Hammond with electronics and drum machines that he has programmed to react to him in provocative ways. Everything is tracked live. Here is Charette recording Track 2, Time Piece" (view video). Like the Sun was recorded in the first months of lock down. The release date is December 1, 2020. The music is original catchy instrumental tunes with hip beats, ...
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Grammy-Nominated US Jazz Organist Brian Charette In UK With His Organ Sextette For One Night Only As Part Of Major European Tour
Source:
Rebecca Ladbury
Grammy-nominated US jazz organist Brian Charette in UK with his organ Sextette for one night only as part of major European tour “a master of space and time” LA Weekly The Brian Charette Organ Sextette is in the UK for one night only as part of a major European tour. Brian Charette is a New York-based Grammy-nominated, Hammond endorsed, SteepleChase and Posi-Tone recording artist who has been playing to sold out shows across Europe. He will be performing on Wednesday ...
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Brian Charette - Upside (Steeplechase)
Source:
Master of a Small House
The hoary Hammond organ is an instrument oddly resistant to revolutionary application. A survey of its history in jazz yields only a comparative handful of players who have taken it to truly new places. Brian Charette isn't among that select few, but he does have something valuable to say as evidenced by the pleasures and strengths indicative to this debut. It's no coincidence that he counts Steeplechase label mate Gary Versace as a colleague. Both men take the lineage of ...
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Brian Charette Trio at Smalls on June 29th, 2009
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Organist Brian Charette will be performing with his Trio at Smalls in New York City on Monday, June 29th, 2009 Set times are 7:30 PM & 9:00 PM Hammond Organ Ace Brian Charette’s latest release Missing Floor uses the disciplines of Chess and Kung Fu to influence his inspired Jazz composition. The group uses a standard organ trio model, but replaces the guitar with electronic treatments. Join them on this evening to hear some of the most exciting new trio ...
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The Ed Cherry-Brian Charette-Sylvia Cuenca Trio @"Jules Bistro" tonight!
Source:
All About Jazz
The Ed Cherry Trio will be performing tonigt @ Jules Bistro(65 st.marks place,bet.1st and 2nd.ave.) 8-11pm w/Brian Charette-organ and Sylvia Cuenca-drums
As a kid,Ed Cherry was initially attracted to rock and r&b.Only later did he get involved in jazz,partly as a result of the influence of his dad,a fan of the music.Ed recalls confiscating his record collection." Guitarist Ed Cherry has brought his superb artisry to the groups of such diverse heavyweights as Sam Rivers,Big John ...
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"Both B-3 stylist and student, serious jazz scholar and glitzy entertainer, Charette is a burning soloist who understands the tradition of the Hammond B-3 as well its future—just as cerainly as he understands his place in that lineage." —Ken Micallef, Downbeat Magazine
"A Master of Space and Time." —Josh Jackson, WBGO NYC
"Reliably Burning." —Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times
"Just the right proportions of refinement and rambunctiousness." —Chris Barton, LA Times
Primary Instrument
Organ, Hammond B3
Location
New York City
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Lessons 100$ for 1 1/2 hr lesson extensive private and classroom teaching experience regular contributor to Keyboard Magazine master class section
Clinic/Workshop Information
I teach clinics on harmony especially unusual systems like that of Olivier Messiaen and it's use for jazz, writing for a larger ensemble using music from my chamber group, "Music for Organ Sextette". I also teach body awareness/stillness drawing from my experience with Internal Kung Fu systems
Photos
Music
Shape Shifter
From: Shape ShifterBy Brian Charette
Time Piece
From: Like the SunBy Brian Charette
I Came So Far To See U
From: The Question That Drives UsBy Brian Charette
Fugue For Kathleen Anne/ Ex-girlfriend Variations
From: Music for Organ SextetteBy Brian Charette