Brian Lynch

Brian Lynch first rose to prominence as a member of Art Blakey’s last Jazz Messengers unit in the late 1980s, quickly establishing himself as a technically accomplished and intensely expressive trumpeter among the foremost jazz artists of his era. His incisive attack and buoyant approach to improvisation draw listeners in equally when he pursues hard-edged post-bop or refined Latin-inflected work, a dynamic blend that brought him Grammy recognition for Simpático in 2006 and for the large-ensemble recording The Omni-American Book Club in 2019. Outside the studio and the road, he maintains an active teaching career as associate professor of jazz and studio music at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami.

Urbana, Illinois, was his birthplace in 1956; he spent his formative years near Milwaukee and completed undergraduate studies at the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music. After a year in San Diego performing alongside saxophonist Charles McPherson, he moved to New York City in 1981. There he soon became a sought-after session player, appearing with pianists Horace Silver and Toshiko Akiyoshi and others. He also immersed himself in the city’s salsa community, working frequently with Angel Canales, Héctor Lavoe, and Eddie Palmieri—an experience that left a lasting imprint and led him to integrate Latin rhythms and colors into his own projects.

Lynch’s first album as leader, Peer Pressure, appeared in 1986, followed by Back Room Blues two years later. That same year he entered the final edition of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, remaining until the drummer’s death from lung cancer in 1990; the association yielded The Art of Jazz: Live in Leverkusen, Chippin’ In, and One for All. In 1992 he joined Phil Woods’s quintet, touring and recording with the group for most of the decade while issuing his own dates At the Main Event (1994), Keep Your Circle Small (1995), and Spheres of Influence (1997), the last of which first fully reflected his wide stylistic range.

Subsequent releases of the 2000s—Tribute to the Trumpet Masters (2000), Fuschia/Red (2003), 24/7 (2005), and the Grammy-winning Simpático with Eddie Palmieri (2006)—continued to display his openness to adventurous jazz, funk, and Latin idioms. Cross-cultural exchange and tribute recur throughout his discography, evident in Madera Latino: A Latin Jazz Interpretation on the Music of Woody Shaw (2012) and the three-volume Unsung Heroes series honoring under-recognized trumpeters such as Louis Smith, Tommy Turrentine, and Charles Tolliver. A 2014 collaboration with pianist Emmet Cohen produced Questioned Answer. After further work with Palmieri, Lynch earned his second Grammy for the 2019 orchestral project The Omni-American Book Club: My Journey Through Literature in Music, drawing textual inspiration from Ralph Ellison, Naomi Klein, and Amiri Baraka among others.