Introduction
Brandon Seabrook (* um 1975) ist ein US-amerikanischer Jazzgitarrist und Banjospieler.
Leben und Wirken
Brandon Seabrook is a guitarist, banjoist, and composer living in New York City where he has established himself as one of the most unique and volatile guitarists of his generation. He has also made a name for himself as a powerful banjo innovator, described by Spin Magazine as “An apocalyptic, supersonic general of the banjo…” His work focuses on the juxtaposition of fragmented soundscapes, angular composition, and a massive dynamic range that can change in a nanosecond. He has released seven albums as a leader covering everything from pulverizing art-metal to chamber jazz. Rolling Stone Magazine noted, ”The fiercely dexterous musician has lunched a number of bands combining serious chops with manic intensity and a left- field compositional vision.”
Seabrook honed his guitar skills at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He has since performed extensively in North and South America, Mexico and Europe, as a solo artist, bandleader, and collaborator. He has been called upon by titans such as Anthony Braxton, Nels Cline, Cecile McLorant Salvant, and Joey Arias for his idiosyncratic blend of physicality and technical prowess. He has been profiled in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Premiere Guitar, Downbeat, Rolling Stone, NPR, and The Wire.
Brandon is an accomplished solo artist, named “Best Guitarist in New York City” by the Village Voice in 2012. In 2014, New Atlantis Records released his first solo album titled “Sylphid Vitalizers.” Noisey called the album a “dissonant guitar army…(with) mind-blowing prog-rock complexities – all at mind-numbing breakneck speed.” Brandon has presented his solo work at Pioneer Works, Sonic Transmissions Festival, Secret Project Robot, NK Berlin, The Smell, Lawrence University, The New School University, and the Ruidismos Festival in Lima, Peru.
“Seabrook Power Plant”, the punk-jazz trio donned “a manic clusterfuck of merciless banjo torture” by the Village Voice, is Brandon’s brainchild, blending the brutal energy of punk-rock with the intricate execution of through-composed avant jazz. The band has released two albums to much critical acclaim. Time Out New York praised the band’s eponymous debut as “not only one of the most baffling experimental releases of the year, it's also one of the best.”
Seabrook, der am New England Conservatory in Boston studierte, arbeitete seit den 2000er-Jahren mit Paul Brody (Beyond Babylon), Peter Evans, Ben Allison, Eivind Opsvik, in Gerald Cleavers Band Black Host und mit der Formation Mostly Other People Do the Killing.
Im Trio Seabrook Power Plant spielt er Tenorbanjo mit seinem Bruder Jared und dem Bassisten Tom Blancarte. 2014 veröffentlichte New Atlantis Records sein erstes Soloalbum mit dem Titel Sylphid Vitalizers. 2017 veröffentlichte er das Debütalbum seines Trios Needle Driver mit Allison Miller am Schlagzeug und Johnny DeBlase am Bass.
Weiterhin arbeitete er mit Anthony Braxton, Elliott Sharp, Tomas Fujiwara (Triple Double, 2016), Harris Eisenstadt (Recent Developments, 2017) sowie Joey Arias und war mit The Jazz Passengers auf Europatournee. 2013 gehört er Gerald Cleavers Quintett Black Host an. Im Bereich des Jazz war er zwischen 2003 und 2020 an 70 Aufnahmesessions beteiligt. Village Voice wählte ihn 2012 zu „New Yorks bestem Gitarristen“.
Diskografie (Auswahl)
- Seabrook Power Plant (Loyal Label, 2009)
- Seabrook Power Plant II (Loyal Label, 2011)
- Sylphid Vitalizers (New Atlantis, 2014)
- Die Trommel Fatale (New Atlantis, 2017, mit Eivind Opsvik, Chuck Bettis, Dave Treut, Sam Ospovat, Marika Hughes)
- Needle Driver (Nefarious Industries, 2017, mit Allison Miller, Johnny DeBlase)
- Brandon Seabrook Trio: Convulsionaries (Astral Spirits, 2018, mit Daniel Levin, Henry Fraser)
- Exultations (Astral Spirits, 2020, mit Gerald Cleaver, Cooper-Moore)