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Chad Lefkowitz-Brown

At 27-years-old, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown is already a renowned jazz saxophonist and international recording artist. He is currently a member of the multi Grammy award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and he has made internationally televised appearances with pop icons like Taylor Swift, Don Henley and Phillip Phillips. Chad has toured across the globe as a soloist and with many esteemed jazz artists, including Arturo O’Farrill and Clarence Penn. A native of Elmira, New York, Chad established himself as a jazz prodigy at age 11, performing throughout New York State under the mentorship of local jazz hero, George Reed, who was known for backing legends like Teddy Wilson, Buddy Tate, and Marian McPartland. Chad went on to pursue a formal education in the arts at the Brubeck Institute, a prestigious fellowship program created by jazz legend Dave Brubeck. While studying at the institute, he performed regularly with Brubeck and was a member of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet. ​ Chad received many accolades during his scholastic career, including 15 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards for categories such as "Best Jazz Soloist" and "Best Original Song." Since graduating from the Brubeck Institute, Chad has performed throughout four continents, and has appeared at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Super Bowl, and Madison Square Garden. His debut album, Imagery Manifesto, was named “Debut Album of the Year” by jazz critic and author, Doug Ramsey, and his forthcoming album, “Onward,” features jazz legend, Randy Brecker. In fall 2017, Chad will join the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a visiting artist for their new Roots, Jazz and American Music program.

Awards

15 DownBeat Student Music Awards (2002-2010) Best Jazz Soloist Best Original Composition Best Jazz Group


Tags

23
Album Review

Benny Benack III: Third Time's The Charm

Read "Third Time's The Charm" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While it remains to be seen whether rising star Benny Benack III's third album as leader is a charm (that is up to the listener), it is definitely a charmer, with delightful turns by trumpeter (and vocalist) Benack and pianist Emmet Cohen complementing stellar performances by a number of well-known and talented guest artists. This is basically a quintet date (Benack, Cohen, tenor saxophonist Ruben Fox, bassist Russell Hall, drummer Kyle Poole) enriched by star turns along ...

3
Album Review

Benny Benack III: Third Time's The Charm

Read "Third Time's The Charm" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Though the title of this third album from multihyphenate Benny Benack III might imply misfires with his first two go-rounds, the truth really runs contrary to that line of reasoning. One of a Kind (BB3, 2017), while flying under the radar, introduced some listeners to a talent far too large to be contained; and A Lot of Livin' To Do (La Reserve, 2020) proved to be a strong follow-up statement, earning greater attention and acclaim for a dashing leading man ...

20
Album Review

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and the Global Big Band: Open World

Read "Open World" reviewed by Jack Bowers


There are times, thanks to the indestructible human spirit, when even the most horrendous scourge--say, a global pandemic that has claimed millions of lives in countries around the world--can lead to the occasional silver lining, a small yet persistent light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Case in point: Open World, a superlative new album by saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (commonly known as Chad LB) and the Global Big Band, whose name describes exactly what it is: an ensemble ...

12
Album Review

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown: Quartet Sessions

Read "Quartet Sessions" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Quartet Sessions (there are two of them) mark the eighth recording as leader by New York-based tenor saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, an heir-apparent to an acclaimed dynasty of hard-boppers whose monarchs include Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons, Charlie Rouse, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins and their peers, and embraces such contemporaries as Eric Alexander, Don Menza and Josh Redman, among others. In fact, it's hard to listen to Lefkowitz-Brown (or Chad LB, as he is often called), especially on the ...

1
Album Review

Teymur Phell: Master Volume

Read "Master Volume" reviewed by Geno Thackara


This crackling debut from Teymur Phell is a hearty, eclectic and loud funk-fusion party. He sets the tone right away with “Zero to Sixty"--a title that's actually a bit misleading since it kicks off already at sixty mph—and shows that he knows his way around a bass, and also has plenty of use for one with six strings, thank you very much. This jaunt as leader follows years of live and session work; he has clearly taken a lot away ...

11
Album Review

Makar Kashitsyn: Jazz Animals

Read "Jazz Animals" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Straight outta St. Petersburg, Rainy Days Records has done a splendid job of documenting some of the strongest emerging voices in Russian jazz, starting with drummer Sasha Mashin's superb Outsidethebox in 2018. Mashin's debut release belied his youth with an assured poise and dynamic vision, and here we have yet another wonderful first outing: alto saxophonist Makar Kashitsyn's Jazz Animals. In keeping with the spirit of this no-longer-fledgling label, Kashitsyn showcases the kinetic energy and breadth of concept Rainy Days ...

4
Album Review

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown: Onward

Read "Onward" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Hot jazz saxophonists sharing the stage and/or recording booth with pop artists: Wayne Shorter collaborating with Joni Mitchell; Donny McCaslin breathing fire with David Bowie; and now, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown touring the world with Taylor Swift. Onward, Lefkowitz-Brown's sophomore CD release as a leader, touches on pop music with a robust reading of Stevie Wonder's “Isn't She Lovely," showing that he, like McCaslin, can torch a pop song melody. But about half of the music of comes from the gold mine ...

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"Lefkowitz-Brown plays with sturdy melodicism and bite, harnessing technical abilities that mask the difficulty of his wondrously intricate lines." -DownBeat Magazine

"Sax Phenom" -The New York Daily News

"Tenor sax whiz" -Time Out New York

Richard Pavlidis
saxophone, tenor

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Third Time's The Charm

La Reserve/Bandstand Presents
2023

buy

Quartet Sessions

Self Produced
2021

buy

Open World

Self Produced
2021

buy

Master Volume

Self Produced
2020

buy

Jazz Animals

Rainy Days Records
2019

buy

Onward

From: Onward
By Chad Lefkowitz-Brown

Videos

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