Latest Release: 'The Dockside Sessions'

The Dockside Sessions (2020)

Brad Walker

This record is my love letter to Louisiana. I could never have imagined how special this place would become to me when I first set foot here in 2002. I’ve had experiences I never could have imagined thanks to being here, from Saturday Night Live all the way back to Snug Harbor and the Maple Leaf. The musical relationships I have been fortunate
This record is my love letter to Louisiana. I could never have imagined how special this place would become to me when I first set foot here in 2002. I’ve had experiences I never could have imagined thanks to being here, from Saturday Night Live all the way back to Snug Harbor and the Maple Leaf. The musical relationships I have been fortunate enough to develop and maintain here are a lifetime’s worth. The friendships and love I’ve discovered have sustained me through the ups and downs of the past twenty years, and I hope they will stay with me for decades to come.

Brian Seeger is the brilliant mind behind so many compelling creative projects in New Orleans and beyond. Sometimes I have to shake my head in wonder that he’s chosen to be a mentor for me as often and for as long as he has. Steve Reynolds, who drove all the way in from beautiful Creede, CO for this session (his only additional request being two stuffed chickens from Hebert’s), is one of the most brilliant minds I have ever encountered. I hope my collaborations with these two continue for a lifetime, and the same goes for Jeff Albert, whose patience is infinite and whose generosity and expertise is without parallel. Oscar, Nathan, and AJ are truly the best bandmates I could ever have asked for, and while what you hear on this record may be my vision, it was brought to life with their incredible creativity, passion, and virtuosity. The same goes for the striking contributions from Matt, Andriu, Raja, Michael, Brian, Cyrus, and Moose Jackson.

Dockside Studios is a place where visions and dreams come true. We lived and breathed the music of this project together for two days and nights, playing, talking, eating, and drinking together, listening to playback and watching the river slowly roll by. I am so grateful for Steve and Wish for all they do, and I’m thankful to add my name to the incredible list of musicians that have shared this same experience. What a gift to be able to immerse ourselves for that time, to leave our cares and concerns and troubles at home and just live in this ideal space they have created.

I don't know if this music 'sounds like' Louisiana. I do know that it is the deepest and most honest musical expression I've found yet. For that I have this place and these people to thank. I hope you enjoy this music as much as we enjoyed making it.
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If you are a MEDIA MEMBER or otherwise have professional interest in the record, please contact me at bradwalkermusic@gmail.com. 

BRAD WALKER QUINTET

Live at Snug Harbor (2019)

Brad Walker

This was recorded LIVE in front of a packed house at one of the great jazz clubs in the world: Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, right in here in New Orleans, LA, the birthplace of American music. We were not planning to release this, and only recorded the show for reference. During the very first song I realized that something special was happening this
This was recorded LIVE in front of a packed house at one of the great jazz clubs in the world: Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, right in here in New Orleans, LA, the birthplace of American music. We were not planning to release this, and only recorded the show for reference. During the very first song I realized that something special was happening this night, and kept my fingers firmly crossed that the audio would be high-enough quality to do an official release. We are eternally grateful to engineer David Farrell for his incredible work restoring these tracks and making them sound so pristine.

There are no overdubs, and little or no post-production other than simple mixing and reverb. Any edits made were for time considerations. Our goal was to present the absolute best of a wonderful night of music in as close a form as possible to how it was originally experienced by the audience.

‘Samurai’, ‘Pilgrim’, and ‘Horizon’ are original compositions of mine, and can be heard on various studio records I’ve released over the past five years, as can Bon Iver’s ‘Towers’ and Collin Walcott’s ‘Lullaby’ (I believe that all of my studio records are represented here somewhere). ‘Sept’, also known as ‘But When Do We Eat?’, is a composition written by my good friend Jean-Yves Jung, the stellar French organist who I know through Brian Seeger’s ‘Organic Trio’, who I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with on numerous occasions. ‘Never Odd Or Even’ was penned by our pianist Oscar Rossignoli, a dear friend for almost a decade now. I knew as soon as I heard the Extended trio perform it that it was something I wanted to tackle with my group, and we added the twist of variable groupings for the freely improvised solo sections. And ‘Oliloquy Valley’, borrowed from the great master Herbie Hancock, fills out the record. Standard rep doesn’t play a huge part in the life of this group, but we chose to include this one as a nod to the lineage of Black American Music from which we have found so much inspiration. We certainly felt inspired on this particular evening.
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