Biography
Born around 1953 in New York City, Brian Groder grew up in a household where both parents pursued music, prompting him to take up trumpet and flügelhorn while still young. His first professional engagements found him performing in Atlantic City hotel and casino ensembles that supported touring pop acts. After roughly ten years of teaching in Philadelphia, he returned to New York City in the early 1990s. There he built a strong standing among performers of avant-garde jazz and freely improvised music, an early marker being Abstract Truth’s 1991 release of Curiosity on Acoustical Concepts. Although celebrated for his boundary-pushing contributions to free jazz, Groder has also earned recognition as a composer. His groups encompass the Brian Groder Ensemble and Double Perceptions, the latter featuring guitarist Rez Abbasi, bassist Dominic Duval, and drummer Newman Taylor Baker. Additional collaborators have included trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum; saxophonists J.C. Feil, Michael Mee, J.D. Parran, and Blaise Siwula; pianists JoAnne Brackeen (with whom he has also studied), Burton Greene, Katsuyuki Itakura, Francesca Tanksley, and Ron Thomas; guitarists Kevin Kuhn and Dennis Sandole; bassists Vince Fay, Andy McKee, and Craig Thomas; and drummers Jackson Krall, John McLellan, and Tony Vigilante. A particularly valued partnership has been his work with veteran free-jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers alongside the saxophonist’s trio colleagues, bassist Doug Mathews and drummer Anthony Cole. In 2006 Groder recorded the well-received album Torque with the Rivers trio. He is noted for an inventive approach marked by flair and suppleness; he has characterized his output as modern progressive music that remains consistently stimulating and satisfying. Groder runs his own imprint, Latham Records, and has worked outside jazz circles with choreographer Cherylyn Lavergnino, composing “Music For Dance,” which received its premiere in New York City in 2006.
Albums
