Album Notes

Violinist ZACH BROCK & Band Perform at the
2006 Tudo é Jazz Festival in Brazil
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BROCK Performs in Alice Coltrane’s “Translinear Light” Concert
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BROCK Featured on Sundance-Sponsored Black Gold Soundtrack
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BROCK Awarded ’05 Carnegie Hall Residency

Zach Brock has been described by critically acclaimed trumpeter, educator, and composer Orbert Davis as "not just a violinist who plays jazz, but a jazz musician who happens to play the violin". Zach's artistry, both as a performer and composer, places him in the company of today's leading young jazz innovators.

On September 23, 2006, Brock and his long-time band, The Coffee Achievers, performed at the 2006 Tudo é Jazz Festival in Ouro Preto, Brazil, as part of an impressive roster of international jazz artists that included Dave Holland, Kurt Elling, Jason Moran, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Toninho Horta. Playing all-original material from their 2005 release Chemistry, as well as material from their debut release, Zach Brock & The Coffee Achievers, the bi-coastal band was received with an enthusiastic ovation. Brock formed The Coffee Achievers in 2002 after meeting keyboardist Sam Barsh and bassist Matt Wigton at Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead residency at the Kennedy Center. Their debut CD attracted major attention both in the jazz world and on the college scene. In April 2005, they were invited by Dave Douglas to perform as part of his small group residency at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall.

In January 2006, Brock recorded for the exciting new independent documentary "Black Gold". Written and directed by brothers Nick and Marc Francis, with a musical score composed by Andreas Kapsalis, the film premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and will be released nationally in the fall. Zach and his group performed for the film’s closing night celebration after it’s inclusion in the New York International Human Rights Film Festival at Lincoln Center in June 2006.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: As a child, Brock performed music with his classically trained parents and later left his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky to attend college in Chicago. After performing at the 1997 IAJE conference held in Chicago, Brock began appearing regularly with an exciting young group, Spazztet. In 2000, the NEA and Smithsonian Institution honored Brock with a grant to create a concert/lecture showcase to illuminate contributions of early American jazz violin pioneers. A pioneer himself, Brock was a featured guest soloist with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble in 2001, and performed with Mose Allison, Patricia Barber, Kurt Elling, Brad Turner and Chris Potter soon thereafter. Since his move to Brooklyn, NY in the spring of 2006, Brock continues to lead his own projects and to collaborate with artists such as Alice and Ravi Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Reggie Workman, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette.