*Discography		*Reviews
	Brian Horton is a composer, saxophonist, producer and studio engineer from Kinston, North Carolina. He graduated from North Carolina Central University with a BA in jazz performance in the spring of 1997 under the direction of Dr. Ira Wiggins. Horton spent his tenure at NCCU honing his skills as a professional musician, bandleader, and composer. He played lead alto in the award winning NCCU Jazz Ensemble and worked with the finest acts to come to town, including Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and Steve Wilson. Horton shaped his sound out of the gospel and the blues, and during this time he performed regularly with the Orange Grove Youth Ensemble and at local churches. He recalls, ‘This was one of my favorite experiences. I had been playing in Baptist churches since I was fifteen, traveling to neighboring towns like LaGrange and Snow Hill and even Johnston County. It was always an honor and a privilege to be able to be involved and engulfed with the spirit of the congregation. I knew then that I enjoyed playing for people and watching the excitement on their faces pushed me to keep doing what I was doing.’ Later switching to the tenor saxophone, Horton’s experiences extended to the Raleigh-Durham jazz clubs where he performed with Carolina greats Eve Cornelius, Chip Crawford, Brother Yusef Salem, Freeman Ledbetter, and the legendary pianist Freddy Redd while leading his own trios and quartets around the triangle area. Toward the end of this period of growth and experimentation, he determined to make the biggest transition of his life–to New York City. With horn in hand and with the desire to succeed he headed to where he would find his calling. Horton pursued studies at Queens College under the direction of Jimmy Heath and the late Sir Roland Hanna. It was here that his skill in the profession and his love for the craft would be nurtured into his ultimate success not only as a rapidly evolving musician but also as a thoughtful composer and arranger. ‘I had always enjoyed writing music and watching the dots and scribbles on a piece of manuscript manifest into these wonderful sounds. Creatively it was Hanna that pushed me to break the rules I had been so insistent on learning and open up my work more to what I was actually hearing than to what was necessarily theoretically correct. I decided to concentrate on what I did best. Melody. From that first step I would use the theory and schooling to not only justify my ideas but to enhance the overall conception of what I wanted to say musically.’ It was also at Queens College that Horton met famed drummer extrodinaire Winard Harper of the Harper Brothers. ‘The night I auditioned for Heath and Hanna, Winard was the guest drummer. I remember we were in a small practice room and they asked if I would play a few tunes of my choosing. Harper accompanied me and I felt his strong rhythmic presence immediately. I had always been intrigued by drummers and maybe thought I was one in my past life or something.’ It was obvious that Harper felt this connection also, as he would give Horton his first gig on the road at Blues Alley in Washington, DC, sharing the stage with trumpeter Patrick ‘Face’ Rickman, bassist Eric Revis, and Senegalese drummer Abdoup Mpoup. A year and a half later Harper invited Horton to join his band. Since that time Horton has recorded three records for the drummer and traveled extensively around the world as sideman, composer, and arranger for the sextet. Two years after his departure from his home state with hard work and a lot of late nights playing and touring abroad, Horton completed his Master of Arts degree in performance and composition. Since that time Horton has kept a steady balance of work as a bandleader, sideman, composer, arranger, and workshop facilitator for such renowned musicians as Hanna, Harper, Louie Bellson, and Clark Terry. His teaching engagements have included the Harlem School of the Arts and the Jazz Project Program founded by the graduating alumni of the Aaron Copeland School of Music. And he has even returned to his hometown for several concerts as a visiting artist at Kinston High School. Experience in hand, he recently designed and directed a weeklong master class at North Carolina Central University on performance, composition, and music integrity. Horton’s playing is known for its attention to detail and melody, especially in his ballads. His sound is lush and soulful yet filled with a quiet fire when needed. Though a technically competent player, Horton prefers to demonstrate more than just his vast vocabulary on his instrument. Instead, he tells the story. No matter what tempo, setting, or tune he finds room to speak the blues, a characteristic often overlooked by many young horn players today. An extremely versatile player, Horton has opened up his ears to many genres of music including astonishing Latin work with renowned percussion virtuoso Kevin Jones with his afrobeat Latin jazzband 10th World and upcoming neo-soul sensation Sun Singleton. With his newfound love for the flute, Horton’s latest collaborations have been with the likes of producer Just Blaze for hiphop luminaries Snoop Dogg and Memphis Bleek and abroad with techno DJ icon Carl Craig. Still, this young lion is as entertaining to watch as he is to hear on record. His trios and quartets rock the music scene with gritty originals and spontaneous live shows for changing times. Adding to Horton’s credits is the steady expansion of his production and publication recording/rehearsal studio DOC8MUSIC. Founded in 2000, DOC8MUSIC is located on the historical 125th Street in Harlem, New York, across from the Apollo Theatre. This multi-genre musical think tank has serviced many of New York’s finest musicians and producers including among others saxophonist Teodros Avery, pianist Kelvin Sholar, Detroit-based producer DJ Carl Craig, percussionist Kevin Jones & 10th World, hiphop rock band Miscellaneous Flux, vocalists Sun Singleton and Pyeng Threadgill as well as authors and performers of literature such as Scott Heath (Georgetown University, sadie’s redbone) and Adam Mansback (Double Day Books). Horton’s work as producer and engineer consistently keeps artists fresh and open to new ideas in the enhancement of their creativity. DOC8MUSIC also has produced scores and soundtracks for Columbia University and Stanford University film directors and has been a featured musical composer for television advertisement agencies Weiden & Kennedy (ESPN, Footlocker, Spike Lee) and the Martin Agency (Olympus Cameras, Hanes). Quality recordings and consistent big ideas have been Horton’s secret to the success of his company and his musicianship on and off stage.