Lafayette Gilchrist
“Lafayette Gilchrist lives in Baltimore but grew up in D.C., knee-deep in the city's go-go music and hip-hop. Go-go dance beats inform his piano the same way freight-train boogie-woogie does. Players like EubieBlake, James P. Johnson and Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith could keep going for hours without exhausting their folkloric materials. If there's one thing Lafayette Gilchrist loves, it's feeding a groove like that. There's something trance-inducing about dance music in general, and in the textured patterns that Lafayette Gilchrist plays at the keyboard. His two-handed piano also has techno and minimalism behind it. It's not just about the notes; it's also about the waves in which they come, and the troughs in between.” Kevin Whitehead-NPR Fresh Air
Lafayette Gilchrist leads the New Volcanoes and the Sonic Trip Masters All Stars. Gilchrist's bands are genre-defying; featuring a propulsive rhythm section and a dynamic horn line, which never fails to raise the roof. His solo work and trio Inside Out invite adventurous ears everywhere.
While steadily leading his Baltimore-based bands with a progressive stream of new music, Lafayette Gilchrist toured with David Murray in his octet and quartets for 13 years. During his time with Murray, he has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival, recorded on Murray’s Sacred Ground EP for the National Hungarian Radio and Television, and played the Winter Jazz Festival and Vision Jazz Festival in NYC to name a few
Read moreTags
Album Review
Multiple Reviews
Album Review
- Dark Matter by Jerome Wilson
- Dark Matter by Franz A. Matzner
- Soul Progressin' by Jay Deshpande
- 3 by Chris M. Slawecki
Multiple Reviews
Album Review
- Soul Progressin' by Troy Collins
October 08, 2020
Sat., October 10: Lafayette Gilchrist Celebrates 'Now' With Livestream...
January 13, 2010
Louis Moholo-Moholo with Lafayette Gilchrist at Jazzway in Baltimore on...
September 01, 2008
Lafayette Gilchrist to Release "Soul Progressin,'" Announces East Coast...
August 05, 2008
18th Annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival: Holly Cole, Lafayette Gilchrist and...
September 14, 2007
Lafayette Gilchrist at Chris' Jazz Cafe on September 21
April 03, 2007
Lafayette Gilchrist "Three" on Hyena Records
August 21, 2005
Lafayette Gilchrist Heads 'Towards the Shining Path' on HYENA Records
January 25, 2005
Lafayette Gilchrist Returns To Zanzibar Blue Feb. 18 & 19 in...
September 02, 2004
Lafayette Gilchrist in Philadelphia @ Chris' Jazz Cafe / Friday,...
April 08, 2004
Lafayette Gilchrist Signs With HYENA / Debut Album Available June 29th
“Imagine pianist Billy Preston in the FBI witness protection program; he hides out in the Washington, D.C., go-go scene and then the jazz underground; he invents an unlikely pseudonym to go with his new style: a sort of twisted, funky, neo-juke-joint avant-gut-bucket. — Detroit Metro Times
“...it's Gilchrist’s cussed willingness to continually put a Baltimore-centric stamp on jazz that has made him the city's most respected pianist.” — Baltimore City Paper
Photos
Albums
The Wonder of Being Here
From: NowBy Lafayette Gilchrist
For The Go Go
From: Dark MatterBy Lafayette Gilchrist