Brian Chahley

10.12.08 | What I've Learned...
Well, I've been living here in New York for a little under two months now. The city has shown me a lot already in such a short period of time:

The most important thing about playing music is to listen, not to think. Don't think about what you should play, just listen and you will know what you are GOING to play. The more you think about it, the less it is going to sound like YOU.

There is no reason to ever get dark on your own playing. There are times when people come up to me after a set or a show and tell me I played great, and inside I am like "ARE YOU F---ING KIDDING ME!?" The thing I never realized is that the person didn't sit there the whole set listening to me play less than my best then say to themselves "I'm going to go blow smoke up his ass." They truly did enjoy it and loved the sounds I made, regardless of what I thought of them. This in mind, I've learned to say "Thank you very much, I'm so glad you enjoyed it" in the most humble way possible every time somebody compliments me on my playing, regardless of my own opinion.

The music world is like the real world. There are plenty of sad players making a fine living in New York. What do we do? Do we look down on them because they can't play, envy them because they somehow have more/better paying gigs than we do, or dismiss them as unimportant? None of the above. I personally would try to observe how good of a businessperson they are and take it as a lesson that ones playing is just a single factor in their musical success. Success is paradigm. This guy might think success is being signed to Blue Note Records, where that guy will always think of himself as successful as long as he has a gig at least once a week. Hell, the other guy just wishes he could get his scales straight, and he'd be happy with that.

And that's all that matters. That you're happy. Everything else will fall into place.

09.12.08 | New York!
Well, I'm living in Brooklyn attending the New School now and I must say this city is incredibly inspiring. I've been playing and practicing more than ever, and I feel that getting back to a daily routine and "normal" school has been the healthiest thing I could do for myself.

I'm still pretty fresh in the city, but hopefully I'll have some great playing opportunities to share in the near future. I'll try to start updating this site a little more regularly...

B

07.16.08 | On The Road...
Greetings!

I just finished a week in sunny (read: boiling) Arizona with Lucas Pino, Glenn Zaleski, Chris Smith and Colin Stranahan. It was one of the most musically rewarding times of my life, and I will be posting some recordings of our explorations. Some of it may sound a little raw, but the road to musical enlightenment is not paved with Ontario strawberries and gold. That being said, Ontario strawberries are some of the juiciest most flavorful strawberries out there and if you haven't indulged, I strongly recommend them!

I have a few down days here in California before the gig at Stanford begins (on the 20th), so I'm just visiting some old friends and getting some good practice time in. The gig at Stanford is called the Jazz Mentors program - it is a part of the Stanford Jazz Workshop and it allows "young professionals" such as myself to get some real teaching experience and meet some great people. I'm highly looking forward to it!

Other than that, the big move is coming up soon. I start at New School on August 24th. I can't wait to finally be living in New York!

05.24.08 | New York, Here I Come!
It's been quite a while since I've updated this site, for too many reasons to get into...

I am finally moving back east from Stockton. My time here has been wonderful, but I feel as though settling down here would be simply too easy for me, and not necessarily the most musically rewarding path I could choose.

That is why I am embarking towards NEW YORK CITY to attend New School University on a full scholarship worth approximately $30,000. I can't wait to finally live where jazz music lives... to look out my window and see it moving through the air, spinning beautiful melodies right in front of me. I can't wait to capture them all with a pencil and send them through my horn. I can't wait!!!!

My only performance in Toronto this summer will be at Chalker's Pub on Marlee just south of Lawrence. It's just me and a rhythm section. Expect this to be an intimate night, and expect to hear a lot of my new songs.

I'll be returning to Arizona to tour with the Lucas Pino Quintet this summer and help launch Luke's new CD, "Yellow Flower With Snail". You can check out more about Luke and the group at www.lucaspino.com

After that, it's back to California for a moment to work as an intern at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, then off to New York! Feel free to drop me a line if you have any advice :-)

Brian

09.12.07 | "This Way" Now Available!
*NOW ALSO AVAILABLE FOR DIRECT ORDER AT http://cdbaby.com/cd/brianchahley*

It is my pleasure to kick off the release of my new album "This Way"! The album is available as a physical purchase from Amazon.com or a digital download from digstation.com - see the "buy my music!" section for more details.

In the coming weeks, the album will also be digitally available on iTunes, MusicMatch, Rhapsody, and pretty much any download site you can think of, and available for mail order from CdBaby and Super D One-Stop (for retailers).

If you have any questions about this CD or don't understand any of the digital mumbo-jumbo and just want a copy don't hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to figure out a way to get this album into your hands.

Enjoy!

Brian

05.07.07 | The End... or is it?
Well, it's been a busy three weeks since my last update. I'll start with the biggest piece of news: I am now an employee of the Brubeck Institute! I took a paying job at the Institute that involves being the bandleader, manager, booker, road manager, PR guy, soundman, and coordinating all logistics for the Brubeck Institute. Not only will I be doing all of this (and making great connections!), but I still get to play in the quintet, even though I am not a fellow. I think it's a rewarding opportunity to really get some good experience with the industry and every part of it looks golden on a resume. I really care about the future of the Brubeck Institute - I have much to be thankful to them for, and I want to do everything I can to help make it as successful as possible.

Other than that, we just this Saturday the 6th played in a small town called Antioch. They were hosting a jazz festival that featured 4 of the top California jazz combos and The Christian McBride Suituation, with Geoff Keezer and Justin Brown. Justin was one of the original Brubeck fellows, and playing with guys like McBride and Keezer allows him to really open up and play his best. He has developed exponentially since I last heard him (and he sounded pretty damn good then) and it's great to see one of my peers helping pave the road of this new generation.

We played right before Christian, and he seemed pretty amped by our set - or amped enough to call a jam on the last tune. Lucas and I ran up first and the band played like they meant it. Everything about that event embodies what's great about jazz. It wasn't a competitive festival, pitting combos and big bands against each other like dogs in a "higher! faster! louder!" setting. Instead, it was just a great opportunity for some great sounding bands to get together and share their music with each other and the audience... topped off with one of the most caring people I've ever met as the headliner. Christian hasn't been the artistic director of the Brubeck Institute since 2005 but he cares every bit as much about us as he always did, always greeting us with a hug and a warm smile.

The link I've attached to this entry is to a video of Maynard Ferguson performing "Round Midnight" with the Canadian All-Stars Big Band. It is one of the most simple yet moving performances of this piece I have ever heard, and Maynard's amazing control and lyricism in all registers on the trumpet will leave you breathless. Enjoy.

Brian

04.22.07 | Andrew Hill: 1931-2007
I was shocked and saddened this morning to learn that the great Andrew Hill has succumbed to lung cancer. Andrew helped to bring more Avant-Garde elements to the post bop of the 1960's with albums like "Point of Departure", "Black Fire" and "Passing Ships" (with some fabulous nonet arranging on the last one). He recently completed his final album "Time Lines", a beautiful cadenza which featured Greg Tardy on reeds. Andrew's death is a great loss to the jazz community, but hopefully now more people will begin to check out all of the incredible music he made over a 40 year career with players like Bobby Hutcherson, Charles Tolliver, Joe Chambers, Richard Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, and MANY more.

Rest in peace Andrew Hill - June 30, 1931 - April 20, 2007

04.21.07 | Are You Feelin' Lucky?
The BIJQ played at Clint Eastwood's Mission Ranch on Tuesday, April 17th - Not only was Clint there, he came up on stage and tried to play my flugelhorn! It was a great evening, and the highlight for me was when Dave Brubeck came up and played "Take the A Train" with us. It's always such a treat to play with Dave.

The new audio clip that plays when you get to the main page is a little clip from our most recent show - and I'll put up some more recent stuff in the listen section.

Later...

04.01.07 | Monk Institute Results
Today, I had the honor of auditioning for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz here in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I was not selected as a member of the ensemble. It was still a great experience to come out to the city where jazz was born and play with all of these incredible musicians. That being said, my calendar is wide open for the next two years...

03.12.07 | Off to the city
Well, my experience with Freddie Hubbard was more than a dream come true. He was a true gentleman, and had many stories and pieces of wisdom to share with us. Also, there seems to be a possibility of us collaborating on future projects, so I am VERY excited about that!

Less than two weeks later, we were very fortunate to be graced with the presence of another great Fred. Fred Hersch, that is. It was a privilege to play his music with him, and hear all the great things he had to say about our playing.

About 2 hours from now, we're off to New York to pay a special tribute to Dave and Iola Brubeck at an event being hosted by the LSO. Our guests in concert include John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, and Mr. Brubeck himself. I'm very much looking forward to my time in the city, as I always do when I travel there.

I'm sneaking back to Toronto for just a couple of days after the NY trip for some quiet time. The next few months are incredibly busy...

ONE last thing - on April 1st, I'll be heading to New Orleans to audition for a position at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. The program is much like the Brubeck Institute, but on a much larger scale. The audition panel consists of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Terence Blanchard. Needless to say, I'll be in the practice room quite a bit in the next two weeks. All I can do is hope for the best with this opportunity. It's something I've had my eye on for years, and I hope they see my true love for the music and everything that goes with it. *fingers crossed*

Maybe I can get a couple winks before the flight... I'll post some new media pretty soon, it's time for a good update.

Brian

02.19.07 | The Hub Man Cometh!
Tomorrow, Freddie Hubbard is coming in to teach us the ways... I'm quite excited, and am just trying to heal up from this little cold as fast as possible to be in top shape when he gets here. I posted a bunch of new dates on the itinerary section.

Busy times coming up! (More to come)

01.25.07 | Back To Brubeck
Wow, what a busy year this is shaping up to be. Lots of new stuff will be up on the itinerary soon - it's been just a couple of weeks back in Stockton and we're already busy through July! Our guest artists this semester are Freddie Hubbard, Fred Hersch, and Bob Hurst. That's a spectacular lineup, especially the Hub man... I'm really looking forward to hanging out with my biggest influence.

Now's the time for me to think about what I want to do after I'm done here at Brubeck, and I'm really focusing on the Thelonious Monk Institute. It is moving from USC in Los Angeles to a still to be determined location in the east, though I've heard rumors of everywhere from New York to New Orleans. Audition tapes are due Feb. 16th, and I'll be putting everything I can into mine with my fingers crossed tight!

The BIJQ is playing all over in the next few months. We just did a series of gigs in Los Angeles including the Vibrato Jazz Club, the NAMM show, and the Kawai Piano Convention. Chris was the hero that week, because he had what was diagnosed as "the worst possible case of strep throat", still played all the gigs and sounded great! What a cat. This weekend we're at the Folsom Jazz Festival, then we're doing a big band concert in a couple of weeks.

Through the rest of the semester, we'll have gigs in New York (with the LSO and Dave Brubeck), at the Reno Jazz Festival, the Brubeck Festival, the ASPARAGUS Festival, and many other places. I'll put up the details on my itinerary as I get them.

I'm off to class - we're taking a music management class this semester. I almost feel like a real college student!

12.31.06 | Another year...
Happiest of new years to you all! I'm ultra-busy preparing for this next half year - I don't even know when I'm going to be back in Toronto yet, and that's a great thing to be able to say. My brothers from the Brubeck Institute are coming to town this week, and we're playing at the Rex on January 6th and 7th (Saturday and Sunday). It's going to be a great weekend at The Rex, as we have two great Toronto talents sitting in with us playing our music.

First is a spectacular vocalist named Sophia Perlman - I first heard her during the Toronto Jazz Festival this summer and watched in amazement as she sang four bars and sent the horn players running for the practice rooms! I've never met a musician like her before, so it is an honor and a pleasure to have her working with us here.

Also we will have a young Toronto drummer, Adam Arruda, sitting in with us on the Saturday evening. I've been playing with Adam since he was about 13, and every time I hear him he's pushing the envelope of drumming in a different way - I can't believe the stuff that this guy is playing! If you have any doubts, swing by the Grammy awards in February, he'll be playing there in the coveted Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles. I was honored to be a member of that band for two years, and it's great to see a cat like Adam carrying the torch. And those are just our guests! See the itinerary page for more details about that gig, it's a can't miss event for sure.

But the fun doesn't stop there, as we are recording a CD the following Tuesday at Humber College (my old stomping ground), and hitting the road to New York the following morning! Also, we are 99% positive about a clinic at Earl Haig Secondary School on Monday the 8th - more details to come. Look at this, I'm babbling. Happy new year, and we'll see you at The Rex!

Best,

Brian

12.03.06 | Featured on AllAboutJazz!
One of my videos has been chosen as a daily video for the most popular jazz related site on the internet - what an honor!

As for recent events in my life, the BIJQ just recorded a couple of days ago at Bay Records in Berkeley, California - some good things should come of that. We have only two shows left before we return home for winter break: a concert with Eric Marienthal and our regular gig on campus. Not a particularly heavy schedule, but it'll be nice to wind down.

Once again, I'll be back in Toronto from Dec 20th - Jan 10th, and some members (and alumni) of the BIJQ are coming in to town to play with me at the Rex on January 6th and 7th.

I'll also be at IAJE (The 'jazz conference') with the Brubeck Institute.

Be well,

Brian

11.15.06 | Time is flying!
Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I wrote something here. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't keeping quite busy. The quintet is coming together better than we ever could have hoped - thanks mostly to the incredible fire from our drummer Cory Cox. Ladies and gentlemen, that is one to watch for... He will be heard from.

We enjoyed a great visit from ex-fellow Colin Stranahan this past weekend (They call it 'veterans day weekend' here in the USA). We let him sit in with the group at a show we played in Modesto that turned out to be one of the most magical nights of music any of us have made in a long time. You can download the entire show in the downloads section - everybody was on fire that night, and you can really hear it in the music.

I've found a great warmup for trumpet that I reccommend to anybody serious enough about the instrument to devote 45 minutes every morning to a warm up - it's the James Thompson "Buzzing Book" and doing those excercises helps me keep my chops feeling rock solid all day.

Lots of concerts coming up, lots more recordings to come... If you're interested in hearing any more recent recordings of me, drop me a line because I have many! (Or you could just buy my CD...)

Don't be a stranger

Brian

10.11.06 | Well Underway...
It's been a while since I've updated my site, but here's the latest in this funny thing called my life:

Joe Gilman has been officially named the Artistic Director for the Brubeck Institute. It is great to have such a creative mind as his on board, and we are certainly feeling the benefits of him working the hell out of us!

Check out http://www.joegilman.com for more

Speaking of artistic, the tentative list of guest artists for this year at the Institute is:

Miguel Zenon, alto sax
Freddie Hubbard, trumpet
Fred Hersch, piano
Christian McBride, bass
Jeff 'Tain' Watts, drums

Needless to say, I'm quite excited about that lineup (FREDDIE!!!) and I hope it works out with all of them. It is a great experience to work with guest artists out here at the institute - it's literally a 3 day hang and since the student body is only the five of us we really get a chance to get to know each artist.

Yes, that was Freddie Hubbard on trumpet... My hero.

I'm REALLY excited for November because ex-fellow Colin Stranahan is coming out to visit us here in Stockton, so that'll be a great hang. Also, we'll be doing the first of a few professional recording sessions with just the quintet on the first Friday in November, so we'll have some of our own material on wax...

We were fortunate enough to record at Fantasy Studios this past month in Berkeley, California with the Open World Jazz Septet in an interesting collaboration between our two groups. I'll post a couple of tracks from that for your listening pleasure.

Other than that, the year seems to be shaping up very nicely - the prospect of gigs through the year includes one with the London Symphony Orchestra, IAJE, Symphony Hall In Chicago, and Mars! (Okay, maybe we'll start with the first three...)

I'm going to try to get a lot more media up here soon - I'm glad I can say I'm too busy to update my site though...

Brian

08.25.06 | Back to Brass Tacks
As I type this, I'm sitting in the Toronto airport ready to head back to Stockton for another round with the Brubeck Institute. Colin Stranahan and Peter Spear have moved on, but to pick up the torch this year we have Cory Cox on drums and Chris Smith on bass. It promises to be a fun and active year. Many updates to come soon - just have to settle down in California again first.

Thanks for a great summer Toronto!

07.25.06 | Writer's Block
Well, I've returned to Toronto from my little road trip east. Fun time - went to St. John, Halifax, and Moncton and did some playing. I'm getting geared up for my gig at the REX on August 9th with Mike Murley and Glenn Zaleski - I think I'll be turning in a more funk-oriented direction this time but with lots of jazz still. See the front or itinerary page of the site for full details about the Rex gig.

Brian

07.12.06 | Back From Spain, heading east again tomorrow
What a great trip! We saw some beautiful sights and played some great music in New York, Barcelona, and Andorra. I have created a separate photo section dedicated to shots from this trip, and I'm sure I'll put up a video or two over time. I took a lot of pictures, so keep watching for updates. Also, we recorded some good live tracks and even filmed one of our performances, so that will be going up after I return from my next trip. I'm heading east via car to the Maritimes for the next 10 days mostly for relaxation, but there's some playing involved. Check the itinerary for my gig in Moncton, New Brunswick.

That's all for now - more to come as always.

Brian

06.28.06 | Joe Fiorito Writes...
This is a link to a great article Joe Fiorito of the Toronto Star wrote about the Rex players party, in which yours truly was a participant. Thanks for the kind words, Joe!

06.23.06 | Brian Chahley Quintet @ The Rex August 9th
Now that it's official, I should announce that my quintet featuring GLENN ZALESKI from the Brubeck Institute will be playing at The Rex on August 9th, 2006 at 9:30pm to celebrate my 19th birthday! Here is the personnel:

Brian Chahley, trumpet
Mike Murley, tenor sax
Glenn Zaleski, piano
Victor Bateman, bass
Ted Warren, drums

The Rex is located at 194 Queen St. W in Toronto (at University)

Hope to see you there!

06.10.06 | Toronto Life
Well, i've been back in Toronto for a couple of weeks now, and the ball is getting rolling again. Everything playing-wise here seems to have gone stale while I was gone, but I am making my connections again and will hopefully be out playing at a club near YOU. I am playing tomorrow (June 11th @5pm) at Holy Joe's with a band called Thin Ice - not jazz, but an interesting Alternative/Rock concept. I head to Barcelona, Spain on the 29th of June with the BIJQ for a couple of weeks. That is going to be a great time. I also have a 19th birthday celebration booked at the Rex in Toronto in early August, and Glenn Zaleski (from the BIJQ) will join us on piano for that week. Hopefully we'll have a nice full schedule with lots of playing by that time. There are other gigs in the works, and once I have an itinerary together I will form an itinerary section.

Till then...

05.20.06 | Tomorrow's the day...
Well, my bags are packed and I'm catching the shuttle to the Sacramento airport in just a few hours. I've had such a wonderful year out here, and can't wait to return. I played my final gig of the year with the BIJQ at the University of the Pacific commencement ceremonies, with Clint Eastwood and Dave Brubeck in attendance. We also did a live TV broadcast that I am going to try to get my hands on to post up here. It's going to be tough to say goodbye to the guys, but we are all meeting up in New York on the 29th of June then continuing on to tour in SPAIN, so we are quite excited about that. Check the pictures section for a cool picture of us with Dirty Harry himself!

I'll be back in Toronto tomorrow night... Very excited.

Brian

05.15.06 | The Download section is LIVE!
Alright - I've just got a couple of things up to test it out, and haven't put it all into categories yet but my downloads section is up and running. My eventual goal is to have some great unheard material from legendary players up for everybody to hear, considering I've obtained so much of it this year. Try out the download section, let me know how it looks.

Enjoy!

05.14.06 | 1 Week
Today is Mother's Day - I love my mother! I'll be back in Canada in just one week. We have pretty much wound down out here with our performances... Just lots of packing and such to do before I head home. It's hard to believe how fast the year blew by.

For the site, I am working on a downloads section so I can share with you some very cool jazz bootlegs and cool programs that I use regularly. It should be up in a couple of days.

05.10.06 | Coming back soon...
Hey all,

Now that I've figured out the whole website thing, I figured I'd use the news section as a bit of a 'blog'. I am coming back to Canada 11 days from today for the summer, and have been looking back on the great year I've had so far. I got to work with Dave Brubeck, Geoff Keezer, Joe Gilman, Bennie Maupin, Greg Tardy, Vince Herring, Christian McBride, Donald Brown, Matt Penman, Brian Lynch and Lewis Nash this year. To work with them alone was worth coming out here for the year, but we've done so much more.

I feel as though I've really grown as a player and composer over the year. It's so wonderful to be able to finish writing a tune at 1pm and have an incredible band play it with me at 1:30. I've learned so much from Luke, Glenn, Colin and Peter, it'll be very hard to say goodbye in a few days.

Summer is pretty relaxed for me - My major happening is a trip to New York and Spain happening June 29 - July 10. Other than that, I'll be in Toronto until mid August so give me a call!

Updates to the site today include more pictures and videos, including a video of us performing our assignment for "History of The Beatles" class - pretty silly.

Enjoy,

- Brian

05.09.06 | The New Website is LIVE!
Hey Everybody,

I have just signed up with DYNAMOD.com to bring you a much enchanced brianchahley.com - I am very excited for the future of this website and will now offer live schedules and news, plus constantly updated audio and video. Check back often, and don't forget to sign the guestbook!

Brian