By David Menconi
Brian Lynch has already had an extraordinary career as a two-time GRAMMY winner – a respected composer, trumpet player and professor at the Frost School of Music.
Now, he is taking an impressive leap into new high-concept realms with his latest project, “7x7by7,” which premieres with a Frost Live performance at Gusman Concert Hall on Oct. 24.
You could think of this project as “7’s Are Wild.” Lynch will lead his septet through seven new compositions, each seven minutes in length, with pre-recorded as well as live music and visuals. The day after the premiere, the music will be released on the time-honored compact disc and vinyl LP formats.
“Attached to the significance of each tune is that they’re all based on seven-year periods of my own life, starting at age 21,” says the 68-year-old Lynch. “The first song is a reminiscence of my experience attending one of my first big performances at a college jazz festival when I was 21. So there will be some photos, clips of B-roll having to do with some of the themes, plus both live and pre-recorded music.”
Years in the making, “7x7by7” started as a pandemic project in the fall of 2020. Recording happened late the following year, with financial support from a $7,500 University of Miami Arts & Humanities Fellowship and a $40,000 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation New Work grant. Lynch involved his students in various phases of the project, from playing on the initial demo recordings to participating in the Oct. 25 premiere.
Lynch’s septet will play two sets at the show, opening with an essentially straightforward performance of the seven compositions, accompanied by photos and videos related to each song and the period it covers. The second set will be more free-flowing, what Lynch calls a “remix version” of the music by a hybrid ensemble with interactions between the live musicians and recorded audio. He composed the music in a modular fashion with just this presentation format in mind.
“All the music has been composed in a way that facilitates moving material around from tune to tune in a remix sort of situation,” Lynch says. “It’s very easy to go from one section of one song to another section in a different song. It’s all composed and recorded to fit perfectly, even with different tempos and time signatures.”
Lynch is continuing more traditional projects with multi-GRAMMY-winning jazz singer Samara Joy, whose band includes three Frost School alumni. He co-produced Joy’s just-released third album, “Portrait,” and is producing as well as playing on another album with Joy, alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, and drummer Kyle Swan (also a Frost alumnus), which will be released on Lynch’s label Hollistic MusicWorks.
However, “7x7by7” will still be ongoing, as Lynch plans to release a steady stream of remix versions of the music in support of the album.
“I definitely see myself doing more of this kind of thing,” he says. “I’m very interested in working toward different ways of presenting music and improvisation, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of its potential. Since the kind of music I play is identified with legacy modes of production, it’s good to try and keep one foot in the way media is being transformed. I’m excited to see what happens with this concert. Beyond the technical and experimental aspects, the music itself isn’t inaccessible or esoteric. I’m very proud of it.”
Brian Lynch and his septet will premiere “7x7by7” at 7:30pm on Thursday, Oct. 24 at Gusman Concert Hall in Coral Gables.
