
modern jazz instrumentals
( 8 Reviews )
Bruce H. McCosar is a middle and high school science teacher residing in Gainesville, Florida, USA. He switched to teaching after a career in medicinal chemistry. He is a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation, a Native American tribe originally indigenous to the Southeastern United States.
As a musician, he plays bass, guitar, Hammond organ, keys, and various drums. Many of these appear on his first album, evolution (Nov. 2006). His second album, handmade (Feb 2007), featured jazz compositions backed by hand percussion instruments only (mainly conga drums).
Then came La vie sous la mer (Oct 2007). After a long and difficult summer, this album developed as a labor of love. Jazzier, cooler, and stranger than any work he's released before, this album tells eight interconnected stories, and even features a freely-available PDF companion book (for more details, see this page).
Points of Departure (April 2008), his fourth Jamendo album, is focused more on progressive rock, although with a heavy jazz influence.
Originally, Bruce was a jazz guitarist, and started a Gainesville band known as Rhythm Method. His favorite, and most influential, "mainstream" jazz artists are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Dave Brubeck, and Chet Baker. However, Bruce also loves soul jazz --- Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff --- and jazz influenced rock, for example, Joni Mitchell's Hejira album.
And today, he has completely abandoned commercial music: he focuses exclusively on Creative Commons licensed works, such as those found on Jamendo (see the list of recommended artists above).
Bruce has been recording solo work since 2005. This led him to learn many more instruments: bass, keyboards, conga drums, and traditional drumset. In 2008, he began learning the art of electronic composition, mostly with Csound and Renoise.
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| | Abandon in Place ( 1218 Listens ) | |
| | Tattered and Torn ( 1156 Listens ) | |