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  • 3

    9358

    Artist: Lafayette Gilchrist

    Label: Hyena Records

    "Imagine pianist Billy Preston in the FBI witness protection program; he hides out in the Washington, D.C., go-go scene and then the jazz underground; he invents an unlikely pseudonym to go with his new style: a sort of twisted, funky, neo-juke-joint avant-gut-bucket." - Detroit Metro Times

    There’s good reason why jazz fans and critics alike are so excited about Lafayette Gilchrist. The young Baltimore-based pianist and composer hit the scene hard with his 2004 debut, The Music According To Lafayette Gilchrist, and went straight to earning raves for his sophomore release, Towards The Shining Path, in 2005. Emerging from jazz legend David Murray’s Big Band and Quartet, a group in which he still plays to this day, Gilchrist has an approach and presence that’s drawn comparisons to royalty such as Andrew Hill and Thelonious Monk. On Gilchrist’s first two releases, however, he was backed by an eight-piece band with a raging funk horn section. On the aptly-titled third album, Three, he’s captured alone front and center with his trio. In this context, the weight is firmly on Gilchrist to carry the day. He responds with dazzling results that showcase an entirely new side of his musical persona. The compositions swing and groove, the improvisations run from introspective to extroverted with confidence and finesse. On Three, it’s clear that a major new figure is staking his claim to the jazz vanguard.

  • Towards The Shining Path

    9341

    Artist: Lafayette Gilchrist

    Label: Hyena Records

    "Imagine pianist Billy Preston in the FBI witness protection program; he hides out in the Washington, D.C. go-go scene and then the jazz underground; he invents an unlikely pseudonym to go with his new style: a sort of twisted, funky, neo-juke-joint avant-gut-bucket. Please meet Lafayette Gilchrist." -- W. Kim Heron, Detroit Metro Times

    "This Baltimore jazz pianist is young enough to root his improvisations in funk rhythms rather than swing, but he's smart enough to give those muscular grooves real melodies and sophisticated harmonies. The result is a breakout project that should transform Gilchrist from local hero into a major jazz figure." - Geoff Himes, Washington Post

    "Rhythms slide from slow strutting blues to staccato hip-hop breaks. Horn sections burst like big-band blossoms only to splinter into wide-screen free-fall soloing. The bass and drums kick up a funky mettle behind Gilchrist's wiggly lines, which hopscotch from stride to vamp to spacey tangents to tight motifs all before you know what's going on. It's a beyond-genre force that runs you over and leaves you flattened with a smile." - Brett, McCabe, Baltimore City Paper

    Baltimore-based pianist Lafayette Gilchrist first burst on to the national jazz scene as a leader in 2004 with the release of his debut album, The Music According To Lafayette Gilchrist. He’d been signed to the eclectic NYC-based independent, HYENA Records, at the suggestion of Living Colour guitarist, Vernon Reid. Gilchrist, wh...