Brian Patneaude

Repeatedly cited as “Best Jazz” by Metroland magazine, Brian Patneaude is one of the busiest musicians in New York's Capital District. In addition to leading his own quartet, the saxophonist maintains an active performance schedule with the award winning Empire Jazz Orchestra, the seventeen piece juggernaut Big Soul Ensemble and drummer Michael Benedict's hard-bop quintet Bopitude. He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Kingston International Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival Saratoga, the Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival and countless clubs and concert halls throughout the Northeast including an eight and a half year weekly residency at Albany's premiere jazz club - Justin's. Over the years he has performed with saxophonists Jimmy Heath, Lee Konitz & David "Fathead Newman", trombonists Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton & Wycliffe Gordon, trumpeters Randy Brecker, Lew Soloff & Byron Stripling, guitarist Mike Moreno, pianists Bruce Barth & Armen Donelian, bassist Rufus Reid, and vocal sensations The Four Freshmen. Patneaude's latest release "Riverview" (WEPA Records) features guitarist Mike Moreno, organist Jesse Chandler and drummer Danny Whelchel performing a collection of six original compositions and songs by Don Grolnick and Billy Strayhorn.

Brian Patneaude was born on August 8, 1974 in Schenectady, New York. Although his parents encouraged his musical interests at a young age, it wasn't until he heard the music of saxophonists Michael Brecker and David Sanborn that he decided to pursue a career in music. In the fall of 1992 Brian entered The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York to study saxophone with Paul Evoskevich and went on to earn a degree in music education. While at the college he participated in numerous performing ensembles and took part in a two-week tour of Russia. During this time Brian was profiled in the "Auditions" section of Downbeat Magazine (August 1994).

Upon graduation Brian received a full-tuition scholarship to the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati to pursue a master's degree in saxophone performance. While at the Conservatory he studied saxophone with Rick Van Matre and Tom Walsh and jazz improvisation with Pat Harbison. After an intense period of study he returned to the Capital District of New York and performed with some of the region's most popular groups including Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra, the Empire Jazz Orchestra, the Refrigerators, the Adrian Cohen Quartet, Doc Scanlon, the Tom Healy Band, and many more.

The Brian Patneaude Quartet was formed in 2002 and currently features pianist David Caldwell-Mason, bassist Mike DelPrete, and drummer Danny Whelchel. Their music is an organic blend of modern jazz styles, featuring accessible melodies and harmonic textures that appeal to the casual listener and jazz aficionado alike. The group’s close-knit musical relationship and seamless interplay is a result of performances at numerous venues throughout the Northeast. The quartet has been repeatedly cited as “Best Jazz Group” by the writers and readers of Metroland magazine and has gained increasing attention, both nationally and abroad. Tracks from the group’s CDs on WEPA Records - "Riverview" (2009), "As We Know It" (2007), "Distance" (2005) and "Variations" (2002) - have been played on over 50 radio stations worldwide, including the nationally syndicated “Jazz After Hours” with Jim Wilke and “Listen Here!” hosted by Neil Tesser & Mark Ruffin.

Tags

Brian Patneaude saxophone, tenor

The Jazz Session

Brian Patneaude: Taking A Stand

Album Review

As We Know It by Budd Kopman

Live Review

Brian Patneaude at the Massry Center for the Arts in Albany, NY

Album Review

Riverview by Mark F. Turner
Riverview by John Dworkin
Riverview by Nicholas F. Mondello
All Around Us by Nicholas F. Mondello
All Around Us by Andrew J. Sammut
All Around Us by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
All Around Us by David A. Orthmann

"Thoughtful, harmonically intriguing tunes executed by a fine quartet ... Flaunting a burly tone and a depth of feeling in his lines, Patneaude reflects the influence of Michael Brecker in both his playing and composing."
- Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes Magazine

"‘Riverview’ is a truly fine collection of original compositions and tunes by Don Grolnick and Billy Strayhorn that have been given a modern shine."
- CD Baby "Editor's Pick"

"The quartet seemingly plays all the right notes during this irrefutably compelling album that should find itself on a legion of 2009 top-ten lists. (Don't miss out...)"
- Glenn Astarita, JazzReview.com

"‘Riverview’ is a truly fine collection of original compositions and tunes by Don Grolnick and Billy Strayhorn that have been given a modern shine."
- CD Baby "Editor's Pick"

"Honest, direct, and highly enjoyable music from a fine tenorist/composer and his cohorts in art."
- Nicholas F. Mondello, AllAboutJazz.com

"The vibe tends toward the pensive, dark, and subdued with a priority of mood and groove over harmonic gymnastics or chops flexing. Inspired improvising brightens the landscape adding new colors to the composed material and shaping a balance between potential and kinetic energies."
- John Dworkin, AllAboutJazz.com

"Patneaude always brings a questing and highly organized intelligence to his projects, but there’s something special, a real advance, in the melodic flow and force of this music. The saxophonist, composer, arranger and bandleader has hit a new plateau of inspiration and performance in this eight-song album: six originals plus Billy Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge” and Don Grolnick’s “The Cost of Living.” He takes more risks than on previous efforts, confident in the expert support of his bandmates, and the risks pay off every time."
- Michael Hochanadel, The Daily Gazette

"Music need not be overly cerebral, deep, or out there, to evoke meaningful contemplation. Sometimes a strong melody, solid musicianship, and intelligent composition are all that is needed, and Riverview proves that point."
- Mark F. Turner, AllAboutJazz.com

"With any justice, Riverview will reward Patneaude's initiative, pushing his horn and his hometown band up to the next level."
- Michael Eck, Times Union

"The poll-winning young saxophonist has become one of the most prominent jazz voices in New York's Capital Region. This performance gave proof, if proof were needed, that youthful, vibrant jazz still exists outside of New York City." - Alexander Stern, AllAboutJazz.com

"Patneaude and crew explore a post-Michael Brecker world of accessible, melodically astute and harmonically textured music"
- Jazzwise, UK

"... high-caliber jazz performed with gusto, determination and a persuasive vibe."
- Glenn Astirita

"This is smart music that doesn't brag about its IQ, or its hipness quotient. It's music that embraces melody and adventure in equal parts without a trace of irony. It's music that's fearlessly spiritual without ever preaching. It's music with heart."
- Greg Haymes, Times Union, Albany, NY

"As We Know It is another collection of well-written, well- performed originals ... Patneaude's lines and fills here have the clarity and conciseness that were hallmarks of Michael Brecker; however, the beauty and maturity Patneaude brings to As We Know It is all his own. Like the Albany jazz scene, the Brian Patneaude Quartet keeps moving towards the future."
- J Hunter, albanyjazz.com

"This band is a very adept working unit, performing memorable original compositions and comfortable at any tempo that they choose to perform, making this a consistently good album of modern jazz."
- Tim Niland, Jazz & Blues Music Reviews

“ … lyrical, melodic, musical, & tasteful. Every note has its meaning. Distance makes a statement - a beautiful one.”
- Jeff Waggoner - contributing writer, Jazz Times

"Distance continues on in the pattern established by Patneaude’s debut, seamlessly incorporating world rhythms and textures, tasteful shadings of free-jazz inspired oddity, and smoky slow groove, all of which are threaded together by Patneaude’s unfailingly lyrical and melodic tenor."
- Metroland

"Distance is a solid winner from start to finish."
- Greg Haymes, Times Union, Albany, NY

"Distance has muscular, straight-ahead blowing, some lyrical ballads and some change of pace surprises."
- Michael Hochanadel, The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY

"The group is extremely tight and its music is like nothing else. Sounding at various turns exuberant, soaring, grooving, or longing, it leaves you in suspense from one track to the next about what is going to happen. Even within a track, the music is never predictable, and many times the band's total sound can sweep you away."
- AllAboutJazz.com

"... deceptively accessible, flavored with rhythm and melody that’s fun and funky and sure to lift your spirits. Distance stays with you."
- B.A. Nilsson, Metroland

"[Distance is] an outstanding CD, absolutely no question, one of the 5 best I've heard this year."
- Albert Khalis Pride, Jazz Exodus (5/5 stars)

" ... teaches listeners a thing or two about pace ... The disc is filled with winding build-ups and fresh timing."
- Mark Bialczak, Syracuse Post Standard

"The musicians are in total control of their instruments on brilliantly composed, eclectic music - a blend which gives the listener further reason to celebrate the music of Distance. Patneaude, as a composer and tenor player, glistens with great potential and the group's strong presence compliments his efforts 100%.
- Rob Young, Abstract Grooves

"A highly accomplished debut recording that truly is the sum of some excellent parts"
- The All Music Guide (****)

" ... a super-hip sound ... perfectly balances inventive improvisation with slippery-smooth melodies for a sound as refreshing as it is classic."
- Seven Days, Burlington, VT

"Variations is the work of young professionals who have developed their own ideas about the direction of their music and customize their compositions to fit their musical personalities ... the tightness of the quartet establishes a distinctive style that constantly catches the listener off guard with it's unpredictability ... you'll be hearing more of Patneaude's quartet in the future"
- Cadence

" ... a fabulous recording ... amazingly fresh in both concept and execution"
- Mike Schwartz KSJS 90.5 FM, San Jose, CA

"We'll be hearing a great deal from this group in years to come."
- AllAboutJazz.com

"... a wonderful, tightly supportive combination of a wide variety of elements ... performed at the highest level of musicianship"
- "A Place For Jazz"

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