Welcoming 2010!

Happy New Year to you, the faithful few who look in here from time to time. I wish you health and happiness for 2010.

2009 has been a momentous year for me – not least because I finally made the big move to New York from the UK. During 2010 I will face the challenge of breaking into the music scene over here. Wish me luck! I suspect I may need some – not least to have my next Work Authorisation arrive before the last one expires!

I have a few projects in mind for the early part of the year – not least a slight revamp of this website. Any requests for features? Please send me an email or post in the Guestbook. Also, I will finally be getting some more exercises into .pdf form and into the store. There are a few other irons in the fire. News items will follow about them in due course.

In the meantime, back to celebrating the turning of the year!

Cheers!
Bryan

New Gansch & Roses videos

I was surfing the internet this afternoon and came across some new videos of a concert we played with Gansch & Roses in Frankenfels, Austria, this past September (2009). I’ve put together a playlist on YouTube – you can view them by following this link: Gansch & Roses – Live in Frankenfels.

I’ll figure out if I can embed a playlist player on the Videos page here on the site. Will update about that when/if it proves possible!
Update: The Playlist player has been added to the Video page. Enjoy!

Quick Update

Just wanted to stop in with a quick update; a more thorough one to follow soon. I’ve been domiciled in New York for just over 3 weeks now! Had a great time catching up with my wife and having time to practice! Have a couple of projects in mind right now, including a new podcast episode – it’s recorded, just need to finish editing! Also working on some arrangements and a study book. More info about all of these things as they come to fruition….

That’s it for now. Just to say I’m alive and well. Bye for now…

November/December ’09

Bryan Davis has now, finally, moved to New York City! He finally made the move during October 2009. During November, he will be in New York, seeing gigs, meeting musicians and making connections. He was granted work permission upon entry to the USA so, if you need a trumpet player, he is available! Hopefully we will have more news about his upcoming performances in the New York area before too long.

In December, Bryan will be hitting the road once more for a brief excursion with the “Christmas with The Rat Pack – Live At The Sands” holiday show. He will be in Dallas, TX from December 1st – 12th and then in Hartford, CT from December 15th – 20th.

In addition to live performances, Bryan Davis is always available to teach trumpet lessons and clinics, whether at home or elsewhere. For prospective students outside of the USA, online lessons via webcam are also available. The online lessons, in particular, are proving quite popular. All you need is a computer, webcam setup and the free Skype software. Bryan was, himself, sceptical about the usefulness of this system in teaching but, we are pleased to report, that he’s very pleased with how it works out! In celebration of his recent emigration, Bryan is currently offering a discount price on lessons in both formats. See the Teaching pages for details.

During September and October, Bryan Davis paid a couple of visits to Austria. First, he played a couple of concerts, and spent 3 days in the studio with Thomas Gansch and his band. For the studio sessions and the concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, the trumpet section was augmented by Adam Rapa – a wonderful trumpet player and great guy. Thomas wrote a few tunes for this 3 trumpet line-up; dubbed the ‘Trumpet Porn Suite’. These included his tribute to Bill Chase – ‘Der Rock des Trompeters’. Fans of high note ‘big’ trumpet are not going to disappointed when they hear the resulting CD. We hope to have details of a release in Spring 2010 before long. In the meantime, you can enjoy a couple of videos from the Porgy & Bess concert including this one:-

Bryan returned to Austria at the end of September for the Autumn Tour with the LACJO – reprising their ‘Murdering The Classics’ programme. They played 6 concerts. Unfortunately the first couple were rather poorly attended but the band is really hitting it’s stride! The final concert at Porgy & Bess in Vienna was particularly special! There is a provisional plan for European Tour in September 2010 – more details as they become available. We also imminently expect details of an release for the live LACJO CD they recorded at the inaugural concert in 2008. It should be initially available from the ORF broadcast network in Austria – details of worldwide distribution will follow shortly after. We will make the requisite announcements as soon as the details are confirmed.