The oldest of five kids, Grayson Hackelman was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. He first studied piano but then switched to the double bass in his middle school orchestra. Grayson attended North Carolina School of the Arts throughout high-school where he developed a strong foundation in classical and jazz music. After obtaining his Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he relocated to New York City in 2010 where he completed his Master's Degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. His final presentation featured saxophonists Seamus Blake and Stephen Riley in a multimedia performance. Grayson wrote, directed, filmed, and edited the silent film "Blood Canon" which was presented with an original soundtrack by a live band. While in New York he appeared as a sideman at notable venues such as Birdland, Dizzy's Club at JALC, and the Blue Note. After a year of supporting himself by bartending and waiting tables, he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. He quickly found steady work playing alongside legendary musicians including Nicholas Payton, Jason Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Shannon Powell, Wessel Anderson, and Adonis Rose. He played with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra from 2015-2017 and regularly contributed arrangements for the 18 piece band. In April of 2016 he shared the stage with Stevie Wonder for an impromptu 3 hour performance. In November of 2016, Grayson married his wife Betina. He took his wife’s last name and now goes by Grayson Brockamp. Soon after, Brockamp formed his own band entitled the New Orleans Wildlife Band featuring his brother-in-law, Bailey Hinton. The group released their debut EP in September of 2017 under Paytone Records. He is scheduled to release the full album on December 12, 2018. He continues to freelance as a bassist, composer, arranger, and educator.
The jazz tradition is often one featuring drummers leading bands. Gene Krupa headlined a group known by his name as have jazz greats Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones and the list goes on. Appearing on that same list of the 50 greatest jazz drummers, why not Johnny Vidacovich too? With no explicit intent to break the molds from which jazz drummers emerge and set new standards, his thing comes effortlessly--it is who he is rather than a ...
GRAYSON BROCKAMP AND THE NEW ORLEANS WILDLIFE BAND, SELF-TITLED (PAYTONE RECORDS)
DECEMBER 27, 2017 OFFBEAT MAGAZINE
It’s difficult to effectively walk the line between modern jazz and gospel music in a way that comes across as genuine to both, but that’s exactly what Grayson Brockamp has
done on his EP with the New Orleans Wildlife Band, co-produced and released by Nicholas Payton’s Paytone Records and featuring some of the older local young lions of jazz
backing the justifiably acclaimed gospel singer/keyboardist Bailey Hinton.
Covering ground from the 1960s Blue Note recordings of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Elvin Jones to praise and worship music, and the blazing fast horn solos of big
band bebop to heartfelt ballads treated with the sensitivity and reverence of hymns, all in a mere 16-minute release, is a daunting task that Brockamp makes sound easy, to
say nothing of the world-class quality of his bass playing.
More impressive still are the organic stylistic transitions between the fast and slow, dense and sparse, quiet and loud, and even sacred and secular—all beautifully blended and
blurred, never forced or jarring
GRAYSON BROCKAMP AND THE NEW ORLEANS WILDLIFE BAND, SELF-TITLED (PAYTONE RECORDS)
DECEMBER 27, 2017 OFFBEAT MAGAZINE
It’s difficult to effectively walk the line between modern jazz and gospel music in a way that comes across as genuine to both, but that’s exactly what Grayson Brockamp has
done on his EP with the New Orleans Wildlife Band, co-produced and released by Nicholas Payton’s Paytone Records and featuring some of the older local young lions of jazz
backing the justifiably acclaimed gospel singer/keyboardist Bailey Hinton.
Covering ground from the 1960s Blue Note recordings of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Elvin Jones to praise and worship music, and the blazing fast horn solos of big
band bebop to heartfelt ballads treated with the sensitivity and reverence of hymns, all in a mere 16-minute release, is a daunting task that Brockamp makes sound easy, to
say nothing of the world-class quality of his bass playing.
More impressive still are the organic stylistic transitions between the fast and slow, dense and sparse, quiet and loud, and even sacred and secular—all beautifully blended and
blurred, never forced or jarring. The purposely unresolved chord at the end of the final song feels like an unanswered question, and leaves one craving the full-length album
that I’m told is presently in the works.
By Nick Benoit
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