A new jazz album from Brian Kelly: “afterplay”
While Kelly’s first love is composing, the media also has complimented him on his piano performance and richly-textured arrangements that combine sampled acoustic sounds alongside performances by special guests. On Afterplay ther are seven musicians joining Kelly and adding occasional sax, flute, trumpet, trombone, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion.

According to Brian Kelly, “The new album is brighter, more energetic and vibrant. I’m giving fuller expression to the jazz elements present on my first album, while still offering space for beauty and quiet eloquence. There is a wider array of instruments and the music is more ensemble-oriented. Yet, piano and melody are still at the heart of the music”

On Afterplay, Kelly plays piano, keyboards, percussion and pennywhistle. He is joined by saxophonist Eric Crystal (Boz Scaggs, Omar Sosa), drummer David Rokeach (Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles), trumpet player and trombonist Ross Wilson (Tito Puente, Sammy Hagar), flutist Viviana Guzman (soloist with numereous orchestras in the US and abroad), flutist Carol Alban, percussion Tim Bolling (Ancient Future, Kanye West), and guitarist James Robinson.

On the Afterplay CD, there are plenty of fast-paced jazzy numbers - “River Rush” (captures the sparkling momentum of a river flowing over rocks), “Smiling South” (the percussive piano style is echoed by the percussion sounds from Africa and South America), and the funky “Flavor Seven” (playful, with a strong groove and a touch of mystery). But demonstrating his diversity, Kelly includes several quieter, gentler tunes - the uplifting momentum of “Snowflakes Rising”, the flowing spirituality of “Heaven on Earth” and the galactic exploration of “Reach For The Stars”.

About Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly was born in New York city and grew up in Palo Alto, California. He heard music from a young age since his mother played classical piano at home and violin for a community opera company. Brian began taking piano lessons at eight, but from the beginning was most interested in creating his own music. While very young he listened intensively to both Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas and The Beatles ‘ Abbey Road. Kelly also had been a piano accompanist for many dance classes “which challenged me to discover ways to create curves, arcs and circles with music and to develop a fluid playing style that could mirror the dancers ‘ movements. Now when I create music I think spatially and envision music as a movement”, Kelly explains.