September/October ’09

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September has turned into an unexpectedly busy month for Bryan Davis. He is now making two trips to Austria in between September 9th and early October. Firstly, he will be performing and recording with Thomas Gansch and his band; Gansch and Roses. They play at Musikverein Ötscherland, in Frankenfels, Lower Austria on September 11th. Then Thomas is taking the band into the studio to record his new CD. More information on that when we have it. Finally, on September 15th, they perform at the wonderul Porgy & Bess Jazz Club in Vienna. During the recording and at Porgy, Thomas has invited a special guest to join the band. The trumpet section will be augmented by the great Adam Rapa! This promises to be a great gig and tickets are already selling fast.

On September 26th, Bryan Davis will be returning to Austria once again; this time to play the 1st leg of the LACJO Autumn Tour. It was previously expected that Bryan would have emigrated by this late in the year and consequently he arranged for his friend and colleague Roger Ingram to play the tour in his place. Unfortunately, Roger has been required to fulfil some promotional commitments with Harry Connick Jr, at short notice, and is unable to make it to Austria on this occasion. Luckily, due to the delays in his move, Bryan is able to play the concerts after all. The Austrian dates on the tour are as follows:

  • 27/9/2009 – Festspielhaus, Bregenz
  • 28/9/2009 – Ursulinensaal, Innsbruck
  • 29/9/2009 – Stockingers Festsaal, Ansfelden
  • 30/9/2009 – Stockwerkjazz, Graz
  • 4/10/2009 – Altes Theater, Weitra
  • 5.10.2009 – Porgy & Bess, Wien

All concerts are scheduled to start at 8pm. There is also a tour to Shanghai, China, later in October. Roger Ingram will be playing these dates, as previously planned.

During both of these tours, as well as when he’s back in the UK in between, Bryan is available to teach private trumpet lessons and workshops. In addition to the dates listed above, he will also be staying in Vienna on September 16th and October 1st-3rd. If you would like to organise a lesson, please email Bryan to set it up. If you are not in the same part of the world as Bryan, please be aware that Online Lessons via Webcam are also available!

In addition to his touring activities, Bryan’s emigration to New York is now continuing apace. He will (finally) be making the move immediately after the LACJO tour, probably on October 8th. Providing the authorities grant him permission(!) he hopes to be playing the Rat Pack Christmas dates in Dallas, TX and Hartford, CT in December. More information about that in due course.

A Quick Hello!

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Just wanted to stop in here, on a break from practising, to say hello! I realise it’s been some time since I took time to write anything here. My apologies for that.

Just heard some interesting news! It’s been mentioned elsewhere on the site that I’m heading to Austria next week, to perform and record with Thomas Gansch and his band. He just let me know today that for the last 2 days in the studio, and at the Porgy & Bess gig on September 15th, we’ll be joined by the great Adam Rapa on Trumpet.

This trip was already going to be fun – now it’ll be unbelieveable!! Adam’s one of my favourite players on the scene at the moment. I’m really looking forward to meeting and playing with him! Photos etc to follow once we’re there!!

Austrian Return

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Bryan will be returning to Austria in September, although not with the band he initially expected! He has had to put in a substitute for the Lower Austrian Concert Jazz Orchestra tour in late September and October because of his impending emigration to the USA. For the tours in Austria and China(!) this Autumn, the lead Trumpet chair will be filled by Roger Ingram! If you’re going to fix a sub, you might as well fix a good one!

Then, just as the LACJO tour was sorted out, Bryan ran into his dear friend Thomas Gansch on a Mnozil Brass date in Durham, UK. Thomas invited him to come back for a spell with his band Gansch & Roses for their concerts and recording dates in mid-September. So, Bryan will be back to visit his Austrian friends for a last hoorah, and a couple of weissbiers, before the big move.

The dates are in the Calendar; the concerts are on September 11th in Frankenfels and the 15th at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, with the Studio recording in between. Please come on out and see a concert and say hello!

Edit: Some lesson times will be available while Bryan is in Austria – certainly time will be available on September 15th before the concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna. If there is sufficient interest in lessons or a masterclass, it may be possible for Bryan to organise his travel plans to spend an extra day or two in Vienna. Please contact Bryan very soon so this can be arranged.

September ’08

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This month sees Bryan returning to The Rat Pack – Live From Las Vegas, following the tour’s summer break. They kick off in Belfast, at the marvellous Grand Opera House, on Monday the 8th. The previous weekend Bryan will be performing with Mark Gillbanks and his fine orchestra for a couple of events. September also sees Rat Pack dates in Sunderland and Southport.

Perhaps more importantly, this month also marks the inaugural concert with the Lower Austria Concert Jazz Orchestra, to which Bryan was recently appointed as Lead Trumpet. Bryan will be visiting Austria twice in September, first to rehearse with the Orchestra and then to perform in the concert at the St. Pölten Jazz Festival on the 27th. The program is challenging but looks like a lot of fun; it’s entitled “Murdering The Classics” and features, amongst other works, the Stan Kenton version of Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Looking ahead to October, Bryan expects to be returning to the USA with the Rat Pack US National Tour. Visa permitting, he will be visiting Salt Lake City, Utah and Tempe, Arizona.

In any of the locales he visits, Bryan is always available to teach Trumpet Lessons; something he’s been doing a lot of lately! If you’re interested in organising a lesson, please check the Calendar to see when he’s nearby and get in touch to set it up.

Bryan had a fantastic trip to Austria at the end of May, playing with Thomas Gansch and his band; Gansch & Roses. The first concert they played, at the Schagerl Brass Festival, was broadcast live online by TheMusicPage.com. We’re promised that, at some stage, highlights from that concert will be made available on their site. In the meantime, please enjoy this video of the band playing Thomas’ Bill Chase tribute – “Der Rock Des Trompeters” – from the gig at Porgy & Bess in Vienna.

LA Concert Jazz Orchestra!

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We are pleased to announce that Bryan Davis has been appointed as Lead Trumpet in the newly formed Lower Austria Concert Jazz Orchestra (no, not Los Angeles!) under the direction of Thomas Ramsl. They play their inaugural concert at the St. Pölten Jazz Festival, in Austria, on Saturday, 27th September 2008. They will be playing a programme entitled “Murdering The Classics” which, among other delights, features the Stan Kenton version of “West Side Story”!

There is a further tour planned for March 2009. More details about that will, of course, be passed on in due course.