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Brent Canter

With his eclectic writing style and highly developed approach to the guitar, Los Angeles native Brent Canter comes to the modern jazz scene with a sense of purpose. On Urgency of Now, his Posi-Tone Records debut, Canter presents a program of original music which draws on jazz, indie rock and pop while seeking to redefine the sound of the organ trio format for a new generation of listeners. At twenty five years old Canter creates music that is at once accessible and always pushing the boundaries of this classic group format.

As a New York City transplant Canter has developed his sound with his working trio featuring organist Adam Klipple and drummer Jordan Perlson. Urgency of Now sees Canter’s trio joined by acclaimed saxophonist Seamus Blake and features Pat Bianchi, another of today’s most notable organists. The recording consists entirely of the original material which Canter has developed through his many performances in New York City venues including Smalls, 55 Bar, Nublu and Iridium and which earned him the 2011 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award.

While some performers express a modern sensibility through arrangements or covers, Canter communicates by synthesizing his influences into his original works. From Mehldau and Metheny to Radiohead and Stone Temple Pilots, Canter draws from the artists he loves to create a sound which is uniquely his own. The results are songs with memorable melodies played with passion and great skill. Urgency of Now captures the high energy performances which are the group’s signature and which have set Canter’s group apart as a must see live act. Most recently New York’s Encore Magazine has described Canter’s music as ‘on the cutting edge’ and the Hollywood Weekly describes his songs as ‘a new vocabulary for jazz’ and as ‘the new jazz standards for his generation’.

Brent Canter’s musical development began in Los Angeles, California where he was born and raised. Canter grew up with a father who is a multi-instrumentalist and who started his son on the violin at an early age. Some of Canter’s earliest memories consist of getting music history lessons from his father in the car while hearing a steady mix of classic rock and pop. While in high school Canter turned to jazz after being exposed to recordings of Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter and John Scofield by his bandleader at Crossroads School, a well known breeding ground for many acclaimed artists. By the time Canter received a scholarship to study music at UCLA from legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, Canter had performed at many of LA’s most notable venues including the Jazz Bakery, Catalina’s and the Roxy Theater.

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Album Review

Brent Canter: Urgency Of Now

Read "Urgency Of Now" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Red flags usually pop up the minute an organ is spotted on the personnel list of a record. Regardless of the quality of the music, the direction is often set in stone, with bluesy Jimmy Smith-style swing dominating the proceedings, but that doesn't always prove to be true. In fact, guitarist Brent Canter's Urgency Of Now might be the least derivative organ-based date to hit the streets in 2011. Canter's music is full of surprises, as he ...

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Recording

Brent Canter - Urgency of Now (2011)

Brent Canter - Urgency of Now (2011)

Source: Something Else!

With a tone resembling Kurt Rosenwinkel's but with the soft touch of Jim Hall, Brent Canter's soulful maneuverings display the lessons he learned first hand from Kenny Burrell. And by the way, who won this year's ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award? That's right, Brent Canter. The L.A. native who attended UCLA on a music scholarship (where he got to study under Burrell) wasted little time in striking out to NYC and making a name for himself there. He formed a ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Urgency Of Now

Posi-Tone Records
2011

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