Brad Myers Quartet

Deeply rooted in Cincinnati’s communicative jazz tradition and accessible to jazz lovers of all kinds, master guitarist brings music from critically-acclaimed new album, “Prime Numbers,” to BLU! Featuring Brad Myers, Ben Walkenhauer, Peter Gemus, Tom Buckley.

Playing music since the age of 6, the remarkable composer/guitarist Brad Myers decided to pursue transcendence through jazz expression at the age of 13. And that purity of spirit and joy of creativity has been at the core of his artistry throughout his musical life. After more than 20 years as a much sought after sideman and co-directing a variety of acclaimed ensembles that crossed the boundaries of multiple musical genres, Brad has decided to emerge as a leader. The recent release of his album Prime Numbers is a powerful first step. Featuring his quintet, comprised of musicians with whom he has been performing in various contexts for the past five years, Prime Numbers clearly demonstrates his enormous talents as both composer and guitarist.

For the majority of musicians who possess Brad’s level of artistry, there is a tendency to move to a major city on either coast to develop their careers. But Brad went against the grain, leaving his home in the Washington D.C. area in 1994 and moving to Cincinnati to study Jazz Guitar with James E. Smith at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) on an Honors Scholarship. There he discovered not only a large number of outstanding musicians who shared his wide-ranging musical visions, but also a rich musical history. “This was the home of King Records and its classic James Brown albums. Louis Armstrong’s first recordings, Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines sides and Jelly Roll Morton’s piano rolls were all recorded at the legendary Gennett Records; and so many of Hank Williams great songs were recorded here at Herzog Studios. George Russell, Frank Foster and Cal Collins all came from Cincinnati. With so many great musicians living here, I want to make a contribution to that legacy.”

Embracing every opportunity that CCM offered him for his personal and artistic growth, Brad honed his skills in the diverse environments of musical theater pit orchestras, big bands, jazz combos and even as musical director of the short lived tribute to ‘80s country superstars, Alabama. He also studied Sound Design and Mixing for the Theater under Michael Hooker, designing the sound for black box productions of Hello Again & Blood Brothers. In 1996, Brad made his first of many recordings, as featured soloist with Pat Harbison’s 2:00 Combo on the SeeBreeze release Lady Bird.

In 1998, Brad made a sharp left turn from the conservatory to professional life by joining Ray’s Music Exchange, a popular Cincinnati based funk jazz outfit famed for long energetic improvisational grooves, contributing as guitarist, composer and producer. Drawing upon such diverse inspirations as Miles Davis’ electric bands, Frank Zappa, Medeski, Martin & Wood, The Meters and John Zorn, this groundbreaking ensemble toured from coast to coast for the next 8 years. The group reunited in 2012 and Brad produced their live DVD, A Live Rayunion.

In the years between, Brad continued to build his reputation and develop his skills with a wide array of ensembles in the Cincinnati/Dayton area. Among these were Aja, a 10-piece ensemble performing the music of Steely Dan; and Savoy Truffle focused upon the Beatles’ “Album Tracks” (with no Beatlemania-style paraphernalia). With the latter, Brad played bass, which also further informed and rounded out his solo guitar playing.

“Veteran guitarist [Myers] exhibits old-school soulfulness, a highly syncopated sense of comping and a relaxed sense of swing on his long-overdue debut as a leader…marries modernist ideas with a straight ahead sound…”
– DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE

Over all these years, Brad has shared the stage with a variety of top names including John Scofield, Stanley Jordan, Victor Wooten, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Matt Wilson, the Cincinnati Pops and so many more. He was a featured guest soloist playing the “part” of Cal Collins in Nancy James and Carmen DeLeone’s A Salute to Rosemary Clooney. He performed with Pernell Santurnini in a live broadcast from the renowned percussionist’s native Curaçao, and recently recorded with Fareed Haque in a big band recording of pieces from the guitar great’s Garaj Mahal, and then premiering the music live with him at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center in NYC.

Continuing to create on an eclectic canvas, Brad is heavily involved on the local scene – as a member of Steve Schmidt’s Organ Trio for the past five years; wielding a telecaster with the country/honky tonk group Jeremy Pinnell & the 55s; playing mandolin with Wild Carrot’s Roots Band; performing progressive original jazz with The David McDonnell Group; acoustic vocal jazz and roots music with Jacklyn Chitwood in The Fraid Knots; and funky jazz with the local core of Ray’s Music Exchange.

With true 24/7 dedication and commitment to music, education is another key component of Brad’s devotion. “My second great love is to share my knowledge with aspiring musicians.” At CCM Brad began teaching privately through the CCM Preparatory Department and at Cincinnati’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and for years he’s maintained a teaching studio that balances his performance schedule with his proclivity for passing on his knowledge. In 2013, Brad returned to CCM to pursue his formal studies and in 2015 received his Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies. “Reflecting upon my personal epiphanies as a teenager – hearing Pat Metheny Group at Wolf Trap and John Scofield Trio at Blues Alley; a summer Jazz intensive with Dan ‘Smitty’ Smith at 16 – I know how receptive and open the mind is in young hopeful musicians. I want to contribute positively to that development through everything I’ve learned on and off the bandstand.”

For all musicians who strive for the profound, Brad knows that education is a never-ending process. Combining his earliest studies on piano and switching to guitar at 10 under the early influence of The Beatles, Hendrix, Yes, Rush and the Allman Brothers; maturing under the later inspiration of Jim Hall, the Bill Evans Trio, Keith Jarrett, Metheny and Scofield; and catalyzing all of that with his own vast set of personal musical experience, Brad Myers is set to make his own powerful mark on the glorious legacy of jazz.

He already has planned his two follow-up projects after Prime Numbers. His next album will be a duo recording with friend, colleague and virtuoso bassist Mike Sharfe; and after that a classic organ trio album with Steve Schmidt. All of Brad’s focus speaks to his commitment to the highest principles and goals to which an artist can hope to aspire.

Join us as we present one of Ohio’s most treasured jazz guitarists as he brings the music from his critically-acclaimed “4 star” new album (Downbeat Magazine), “Prime Numbers,” to Akron – get your tickets today!