BrandonLee Cierley

I love jazz because it’s a way of expression through nonverbal communication with other like minded individuals on the band stand. Jazz is an ever changing art form and the progression of this music is endless. I was first exposed to jazz during the 7th grade when I joined the jazz band. My band teacher had a jazz band from the local high school come and performed and it was so intriguing to me and I knew after hearing how the band sounded I wanted to dive into this style of playing. One of my heroes in jazz was Roy Hargrove. When I first heard him play live at Jazz Alley in high school, I was in awe of how he had total mastery of his instrument and how he communicated with his band. After the show was over, I was able to meet him and he was the nicest guy and sat and talked about music with me. It was something that I will always remember and cherish. When I play, I try to fully embrace the moment and play what I’m feeling. To lose yourself in the music is an out of body experience and one of the reasons why I chose this career path. I want people to hear my music and feel that there is pure emotion each song and get a snapshot of my life. While taking lessons back in high school with Tacoma’s own Tracy Knoop, he opened my palate of what I was listening to there was one record in particular that always stood out and we took a deeper dive into studying which was “Relaxin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet”. When I had my own record player after saving up to get one, this was the first record I ever bought and to this day will still spin it. My advice to new listeners is to have an open mind when listening to my music or any music in general. An open mind allows you to fully immerse in what you are listening to find your own interpretation of the music. That’s the beauty of music, there isn’t a “concrete” meaning, we are all different and have different views.