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Bria Skonberg
Born in British Columbia, Canada and now residing in New York City, Bria has been a featured artist at hundreds of festivals and stages the world over, including New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Kobe, Monterey, Breda, Newport and Montreal Jazz Festivals. Described as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (Wall Street Journal), she has performed with Jon Batiste, Wycliffe Gordon, Stephane Wrembel, Steven Bernstein, U2 & Sun Ra Arkestra, The American Pops and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Blacksmiths “We Insist” Band, and once sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at Madison Square Garden for a NY Rangers game. The “shining hope of hot jazz” (NY Times) has been at the forefront of a revival of classic American music as both a performer and educator, programming concerts and workshops for students of all ages. A 3x Juno Award Nominee, Bria's debut LP on Sony Masterworks won for Best Jazz Vocal Album and made the Top 5 on Billboard jazz charts. Bria has recorded on over 25 albums and recently released her sixth studio solo album “Nothing Never Happens” consisting of mostly original compositions; Her music has garnered over 13 million streams online and over 85000 social media followers. A 6x Downbeat Rising Star, further accolades include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing Award, Best Vocal and Best Trumpet from Hot House Jazz Magazine and Outstanding Jazz Artist at the Bistro Awards. She tours constantly bringing her own signature sounds of fiery trumpet playing, smoky vocals and story-telling together with adventurous concoctions of classic and new.
The daughter of teachers, Bria is passionate about education and the learning experience. She was introduced to jazz by a spirited public school band program and local festival in her hometown of Chilliwack. She earned her degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance from Capilano University in Vancouver where she studied with Kevin Elaschuk, Alan Matheson, and independently with Australian cornetist Simon Stribling, all while balancing a full road schedule and managing two bands. Following graduation she performed for four years with Canada’s King of Swing Dal Richards, and was taken under the wing of music producer Paul Airey who cultivated her love of song writing.
She traveled extensively, performing in China, Japan and throughout Europe as a featured artist in traditional jazz circles. Seeking new challenges, Bria moved to New York in 2010 and studied privately with renowned trumpeter Warren Vache for two years. She now appears often as a guest faculty member and clinician, giving masterclasses and private instruction as well as directing and performing with student ensembles at all levels.
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Bria Skonberg, Tomeka Reid, and Dafnis Prieto
by Jerome Wilson
This show features recent releases by Bria Skonberg, Tomeka Reid, and Dafnis Prieto plus older music by Rob Mazurek, Jeff Hamilton, and Frank Kimbrough. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Danny Jonokuchi Big Band “South Philly" from A Decade (Bandstand) 00:58 Steve Heckman Quintet “Hi-Fly" from Search for Peace (Jazzed Media) 7:07 Host Speaks 14:32 Chris Pasin “Tomorrow is ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg: What It Means
by Jerome Wilson
On her first album in five years, trumpeter Bria Skonberg returns with a new sense of maturity and purpose in her music. She continues her usual style of mixing traditional jazz and soulful vocals with classic jazz and rock motifs, but this outing feels more confident than previous albums. Two changes in her life probably contributed to this. She moved to New Orleans, becoming part of that city's vast music scene, and she became a parent for the first time. ...
Continue ReadingZachary Bartholomew, Antonio Faro, Bria Skonberg, Anthony Stanco and more
by Benjamin Boddie
Today's Music--Right Now!... Fantastic music by Zachary Bartholomew, Antonio Farao, Bria Skonberg, Luther Allison, Anthony Stanco, Something Else, Josh Lawrence, Eliane Elias, Jeff Coffin, Etienne Charles, Louis Hayes, Judith Owen, Conrad Herwig, Cornelia Nilsson, Alexis Cole, Alvin Queen, Bobby Broom, Steve Turre, Eric Alexander, Bruno Hubert, and more. Playlist Zachary Bartholomew “Hobo's Lullaby" from Balancing Act (Bemuse Records) 00:00 Antonio Farao “Tributes" from Tributes (Criss Cross) 5:55 Raymond Harry Brown “Blues For The Two Ks" from I Could ...
Continue ReadingNew Releases By Monika Herzig's Sheroes, Bria Skonberg Plus A Celebration of Lyricist Dorothy Fields
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast includes new releases from Monika Herzig, Bria Skonberg, Tianna Hall, Amanda Martinez and Charles Lloyd with birthday shoutouts to lyricist Dorothy Fields, guitarist Mary Osborne, Carmen Bradford, Cynthia Scott, Jeryl Johnston, Lisa Maxwell, Antoinette Montague, Betty Davis, Nicole Glover, Lauren Lee and Phoebe Snow, among others. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire. Playlist Dizzy ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg Quartet Plays The Perry Pavilion
by Mark Robbins
When the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia comes up in a conversation ( if it ever does), one's first thought does not turn to jazz. Now it should because jazz vocalist/trumpet player Bria Skonberg comes from that small Canadian city. Called the “shining hope of hot jazz," Skonberg has appeared on over 25 albums either as a leader or band member. She has won the Jazz At Lincoln Center Swing Award, awarded the Best Vocal and Best Trumpet from Hot ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg: Nothing Never Happens
by Jerome Wilson
Canadian trumpeter Bria Skonberg has made a name for herself as a player who is adept in traditional jazz styles but can also dabble in modern forms of rock and pop music. Her previous CD, With A Twist (Okeh, 2017), was a fun mixture of hot jazz and bubbly 1950s and 1960s pop tunes sparked with her own bright energy. Since then the grind of a musician's life, the state of the world and general media overload seem to have ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg: Nothing Never Happens
by Mike Jurkovic
In what can only be considered a wide, darker turn from her five previous recordings which swayed and swung in more traditional, pre-bop, jazz settings, award-winning trumpeter-vocalist-composer Bria Skonberg takes us through the dark night of her heart and the national soul on the fraught, yet impossible-not-to-listen-to Nothing Never Happens. Swamped as we all are by the twenty-four-hour news cycle which brings the apocalypse to our very doorsteps, and the myriad emotions that all too often empower us ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg: Rising Star On Hot Jazz Scene
Source:
Bill Johnson
"If Louis Armstrong and Doris Day could somehow be the same person, they'd be Bria Skonberg." —Wall Street Journal Jazz lovers in Oakland and Mill Valley, Calif. Are in for a real treat in late March as Bria Skonberg brings her unique talents to the San Francisco Bay area. She calls her music Hot Jazz and there is certainly no one hotter than 31-year-old Bria Skonberg on the trumpet. She moved to New York City from Canada just four years ...
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Hot jazz in every sense
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
Trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg, a British Columbia native now making her mark on the New York jazz scene, brought her talents and charm to Southwest Florida on Sunday, March 8. She performed at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota in a South County Jazz Club concert. Skonberg, whose music is rooted in traditional jazz but isn't limited to it, displayed a wide range of stylistic material - and strong vocals to boot. She was backed by pianist Dalton ...
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Bria Skonberg Quartet On SF Bay Area Stages
Source:
Bill Johnson
Bria Skonberg Hot NYC Jazz Trumpeter on SF Bay Area Stages OAKLAND/MILL VALLEY, CA: Chanteuse Bria Skonberg has been called the beautiful jazz singer with a golden horn and that’s certainly apropos. “If Louis Armstrong and Doris Day could somehow be the same person, they'd be Bria Skonberg. With her outstandingly ‘Satchelmouthed’ trumpet solos, charismatic singing and sunshine personality, the 30-year-old continues to shine a light on the New Hot Jazz movement, in her own bands, in the Armstrong Eternity ...
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Bria Skonberg, Dave Bennett In Riverwalk Jazz Jam Session This Week
Source:
Don Mopsick
This week on Riverwalk Jazz, three remarkable “20-something” musicians join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band on stage at The Landing in San Antonio. All share a passion for classic pre-WWII jazz and make an important contribution to the legacy of the music through their playing. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of shows at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound. Firmly rooted in the language of ...
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Trumpeter Bria Skonberg This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
Source:
Don Mopsick
In his book Preservation Hall, author William Carter asks whether traditional jazz will die out with the current generation, or “re-seed itself?” This week on Riverwalk Jazz, trumpeter Bria Skonberg, one of a new generation of gifted 20-something players, visits the stage of The Landing to perform classic jazz with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. ...
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Multi-Talented Emerging Artist Bria Skonberg To Make U.S. Debut With "So Is The Day" Available April 10 On Random Act Records
Source:
Michael Ricci
Less than two years ago, trumpeter-vocalist-composer-bandleader Bria Skonberg uprooted from Western Canada and arrived in New York City. Lured by the music and those who play it so well, the already-seasoned musician hoped to thrive and to learn in the jazz mecca. The city landscape and abundance of clubs proved to be a stark contrast to the hobby farm Skonberg was raised on in Chilliwack, British Columbia, but the young musician dove in head-first, ready to make an impact with ...
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In the Footsteps of Giants: Introducing Trumpet Dynamo Bria Skonberg
Source:
Michael Ricci
Jazz first attracted a mass audience in the years following the First World War, almost 90 years ago. Frequent revivals notwithstanding, the question is often posed, “who will carry the torch in the next generation?" In his book Preservation Hall, author William Carter asks whether traditional jazz will die out with the current generation, or “or re-seed itself?"
With her dazzling smile and sun-streaked hair, you might expect Bria Skonberg to be toting a surfboard down a California beach, instead ...
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"If the Nu Hot Jazz movement has produced one indisputable star, it is the dynamic trumpet diva Bria Skonberg, who hasn't only galvanized the neo-traditional scene, but, lately, moved beyond it." Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal Re: The Hot Jazz Festival "Among the scene’s newer catalysts is Ms. Skonberg, 30, who has earned accolades not only for her trumpet playing, in the lineage of Louis Armstrong, but also for her singing, in a softer, slinkier mode." Nate Chinen, The NY Times
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Bria Skonberg
Instrument: Trumpet
Management: International Music Network
