Photo credit: Nick Ruechel We're slowly approaching the end of the Duke Jazz Series performances, and we would love to have you join us on Wednesday, September 23, 2009, to welcome Brian Lynch and Spheres of Influence. The performance will take place in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 111 Amsterdam Avenue @ 65th Street. The program is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. For more information, please call 212.870.1793 or visit nypl.org/lpaprograms.

Brian Lynch is a respected insider within both the hardcore bebop and Latin communities. He has developed his career as a trumpeter/composer and is comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. He's worked in recent years with Buena Vista Social Club alumnus Barbarito Torres, dance remixer Joe Clausell, and the members of the influential Latin alternative group Yerba Buena. He arranges for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell, Prince, and Sheila E. A 1997 recording called Spheres of Influence [Sharp Nine], which earned a 4-1/2 star Downbeat review, was Lynch's first project to reflect the panoramic range of interests that influence his working life as a musician. Lynch has continued to advance the Spheres of Influence concept, gathering around him a repertory company of top-shelf Pan-American oriented musicians.

Brian will be performing with the Spheres of Influence ensemble: Justin Brown, Zaccai Curtis, Boris Kozlov, and Pedro Martinez and Brian has recently invited tenor saxophone player, Alex Hoffman.

Since Alex Hoffman was recently added to the ensemble, I would like to take the moment to mention here. He is a native of Washington, D.C., who now lives in New York City. Since moving to New York in 2005, Alex has performed with such artists as the Jimmy Heath Big Band, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Brian Lynch, at venues ranging from Lincoln Center to Smalls Jazz Club to the Blue Note to Birdland.

Our next program will be on November 12, with Peter Apfelbaum and New York Hieroglyphics.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 23, 2009, it will be a fun evening with enjoyable jazz music!

The Duke Jazz Series is part of the two-year Library for the Performing Arts’ project funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to present, document, and preserve jazz, contemporary dance, and theater performances and related oral histories.

Hope to see you there!