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Corey Fonville

orey Fonville, an influential drummer in today's music scene, has dedicated his life to learning the craft and its history in order to be one of the best drummers of his time. As an artist and music-enthusiast, he studied a variety of genres, mostly through his father’s music collection, which generally consisted of jazz, R&B, alternative, and funk. His skills are rooted in an eclectic background and call attention to the fact that music is hard to typify.

Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Corey has played with recognized musicians whom have not only helped him develop as a drummer, but also introduced him to the life of a touring artist. Since the age of 2, Corey hasn’t been able to put the sticks down — music was always his passion. He first started creating a buzz after high school when he attended New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. While he lived in New York City, he played almost every night with prominent artists from the city and quickly made close connections with influential musicians. He eventually left New School to study at the Dave Brubeck Institute in Stockton, CA where he received a full scholarship to play drums. The Brubeck Institute gave Corey the opportunity to network with many artists whom he aspired to be and to whom he listened when he was a child.

Almost immediately after completing his studies at The Brubeck Institute, he began traveling the world with notable artists such as Nicholas Payton, Jacky Terrasson, and Christian Scott. Corey is currently working with Christian Scott Additionally, Corey has his own band Butcher Brown which he plans to continue recording with them and hopes to keep building a international fan base.

Corey has proved that his skills make him one of the most recognizable and accomplished contemporary drummers.

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10

Album Review

Nicholas Payton / Butcher Brown: A Supreme Blue

Read "A Supreme Blue" reviewed by Jack Kenny


Is it an act of bravery or simple foolhardiness to revisit two of the most revered albums in jazz history--records that transcend popularity and occupy a near-mythic place in the music's collective psyche? In this centennial moment for both Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the question carries not only artistic weight but commercial implications as well. Nicholas Payton joins forces with the Richmond-based collective Butcher Brown on A Supreme Blue, a thoughtful and stylistically hybrid reimagining of Kind ...

5

Album Review

Seamus Blake: The Electrifying Seamus Blake Plays The Music Of Eddie Harris EH!

Read "The Electrifying Seamus Blake Plays The Music Of Eddie Harris EH!" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Some musicians seem incapable of standing still, their curiosity drawing them towards unexplored corners of the music world. Seamus Blake may well be one of them. A formidable tenor saxophonist rooted in the post-bop tradition, Blake has spent much of his career quietly erasing stylistic borders. On The Electrifying Seamus Blake Plays The Music Of Eddie Harris EH!, he finds the perfect muse in Harris, another restless spirit who refused to recognize the fences others built around jazz.

2

In Pictures

Corey Fonville R&B Organ Trio at The Annex in Norfolk, VA

Read "Corey Fonville R&B Organ Trio at The Annex in Norfolk, VA" reviewed by Mark Robbins


The first time I heard Corey Fonville was in March 2013 at the now defunct Havana Nights Jazz Club in Virginia Beach, Va. He was playing with John Toomey on piano, Jimmy Masters on bass and Joe Locke on vibes. Since then Fonville has been a member of the Nicholas Payton Trio, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah's Quintet and his own band Butcher Brown. Add to his credits his association with Kurt Elling, guitarist Charlie Hunter and fellow Butcher Brown member DJ ...

11

Album Review

Lawrence Fields: To the Surface

Read "To the Surface" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


As if chomping at the bit, pianist Lawrence Fields launches into his proper debut as a leader with “Parachute," a tune of his own making that strikes that perfect chord between piano trios past and present. And right away the listener is immersed in To The Surface. A fixture on Rising Star category since 2019, Fields, who has made his name in the piano chair for such determined and willful creators as Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Terri Lyne ...

12

Album Review

Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter: SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree

Read "SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree" reviewed by Chris May


As Shakespeare said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter follow up their Grammy-nominated 2021 album, SuperBlue (Edition), with another sublime blend of jazz and groove. As on the first disc, jazz is represented by Elling, groove by Butcher Brown keyboardist DJ Harrison and drummer Corey Fonville. Hunter, who has had a foot in both camps for over two decades, acts as marriage broker. Some jazz fans have an aversion to singers, ...

1

Album Review

Kurt Elling: SuperBlue

Read "SuperBlue" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Nel pieno delle restrizioni Covid, la condizione artisticamente più difficile dopo la seconda guerra mondiale, Kurt Elling ha realizzato uno dei suoi album migliori, quello dal groove più intenso e coinvolgente.Il merito va condiviso col chitarrista Charlie Hunter e con gli altri due partner, il tastierista DJ Harrison e il batterista Corey Fonville. Chi segue la scena della black popular music attuale sa che i due sono membri del collettivo Butcher Brown, la band jazz/funk/hip-hop di Richmond che ...

12

Album Review

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown: Quartet Sessions

Read "Quartet Sessions" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Quartet Sessions (there are two of them) mark the eighth recording as leader by New York-based tenor saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, an heir-apparent to an acclaimed dynasty of hard-boppers whose monarchs include Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons, Charlie Rouse, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins and their peers, and embraces such contemporaries as Eric Alexander, Don Menza and Josh Redman, among others. In fact, it's hard to listen to Lefkowitz-Brown (or Chad LB, as he is often called), especially on the ...

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Electrifying...

Cellar Music Group
2026

buy

A Supreme Blue

Concord Jazz
2026

buy

To the Surface

Rhythm 'n' Flow Records
2024

buy

SuperBlue: The...

Edition Records
2023

buy

AfroFuturism

WAX Industry / Whirlwind Recordings
2021

buy

Quartet Sessions

Self Produced
2021

buy

Parachute

From: To the Surface
By Corey Fonville

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