Dubbed “One of New Orleans’ best jazz guitarists,” by Gambit Weekly, Brian Seeger is on the forefront of the New Orleans music scene. His performance and recording credits include Aaron Neville, Charlie Hunter, Big John Patton, Chris Wood, Jason Marsalis, Davell Crawford, Stanton Moore, Johnny Vidacovich, Theresa Andersson, Delmark Records tenorman Ed Petersen, Zachary Richard, Randy Brecker, Rebecca Paris, and many others (click here for the big picture). His 1999 selection by New Orleans Magazine as one of their “Jazz All-Stars” (other honorees that year: Irving Mayfield, Davell Crawford and Ricky Sebastian) is a fitting summation of his stature in the local music community.

     Brian has been involved intimately with many of the city’s most creative jazz and funky projects, among them the Gentilly Groovemasters, the Hangtet, Quintology, Moore and More, SP+M, and lots more. One of which he was very fond of was Passage, which featured a good slice of Brian’s writing output, as well as that of the young talented altoist Scott Bourgeois, and gave Brian an avenue to explore his more introspective approach to improvisation. Brian is featured on the Lakefront Digital recording “Finger To The Universe,” which is the free jazz collaboration between Jason Marsalis, Ed Petersen, and himself (Brian has been working with Ed for about 10 years and is the only Ed Petersen and the Test member to be fired twice). The CD consists of material from two recording sessions which were, for the most part, spontaneously improvised (Check out Interior View). He was a founding member of the New World Funk Ensemble, and appears extensively on their first disc. He was an integral part of Neslort, the almost legendary jazz/fusion brainchild of gifted trombonist Rick Trolsen, and appears on both of that group’s discs. He also was one of the guiding forces behind the aggressive New York jazz sounds of D-Bassed, a group that may or may not still exist.

     Brian is comfortable off of the stage as well, garnering critical acclaim for his work as a record producer and composer. His production credits include The Paislies debut disc on Fresh Sound, Quintology’s eponymous debut, The Hot Club of New Orleans’ More, Chévere’s Baila Mi Ritmo, Olivier Bou’s Bou-Shah-O-Ray (listen to Kate’s Tipsy Tango, Adieu & Janine), a disc that features Nicholas Payton, Steve Masakowski, and Stanton Moore, and The Jesse Lewis Union, as well as demo CDs for a number of his friends and peers. His compositions appear on Theresa Andersson’s Vibes, both of Stanton Moore’s solo efforts, Quintology’s Blues by 5, Joe Krown’s Funk Yard, and on other recordings. He holds a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and also holds a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from the University of New Orleans.

     In the last few years, Brian has found some time to share his experience and insights with the next generation of creative musicians. He currently teaches at the University of New Orleans, Loyola University, and the National Guitar Workshop. He also has been a guest clinician and teacher at many other jazz camps, colleges and schools.

     Besides his life as a musician, Brian has spent a lot of time traveling, in front of computers, and behind the stove. He spent a couple of years exploring India, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Greece (the hippy years), hitchhiking, and sleeping in caves, ashrams, and olive groves, and financing his exploits by playing music on the streets. He has visited and performed in Europe at almost twenty times. He was a youthful hacker, and now does graphic design, web site creation and Perl scripting, and artwork for many musicians (Astral Project, 3 Now 4, Quintology, etc). He also has owned a vegetarian restaurant, where he was cook, waiter, accountant, and the entertainment, and can still whip up some mean pancakes when called upon. When he has to, he can be good with electricity and plumbing, too.

     If you would like to contact Brian directly, you can click here.

     Check back soon (maybe not so soon for a couple of these things!) for a gear list, some guitar lesson pages, and maybe an online journal. Peace.