MIKE LEBRUN
Albums
Shades is a reflection of Los Angeles. Its block-to-block unpredictability reveals a striking contrast of immense beauty, stark degradation, and fun in the sun. Mike Lebrun’s debut solo album celebrates novel sonic applications of woodwinds, painting a picture of LA through strokes of composition and improvisation.
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lineup
Mike Lebrun - tenor saxophone, flute, alto saxophone (tracks 6, 14), soprano saxophone, clarinet, composition, programming, glockenspiel
Josh Johnson - alto saxophone
Daniel Szabo - piano
Nick Mancini - vibraphone
Anna Butterss - upright bass
Kevin Van Den Elzen - drums
Amber Navran - vocals (5)
Aaron Serfaty - percussion (9)
All songs composed and arranged by Mike Lebrun, except Surfer Girl, by Brian Wilson, and lyrics and vocal arrangement on Going Through the Emotions by Amber Navran.credits
Miles Jensen – engineer
Brian Bullard – mixing
Justin Perkins – mastering
Ars Orum – graphic design
Additional percussion recorded at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
All other material recorded at Beakerbox Labs in Los Angeles, CA.
Bands
Linosphere is a Los Angeles progressive collective with Mike alongside Zephyr Avalon, Colin Cook, Jacob Richards, and Chris Lawrence.
Joy Not Jaded, released in 2009, featured Mike and Josh alongside Robert Meier (bass), Max Krucoff (drums), and guest John Moulder on guitar
About
Saxophone, woodwinds, composition, production
Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Lebrun is a fresh voice in genre-bending, jazz-rooted music. With the 2016 release of his debut solo album Shades, Mike cemented his voice as a composer, improviser, and producer. Previously releasing 2 studio albums of original compositions with co-leader Josh Moshier, Mike’s groups have been featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated program Jazz Set. The group has toured throughout the U.S. and South America showcasing their talents. Mike’s composition Jambo won the 2008 International Jazz Composers Symposium’s Best Small Group Composition award. He has been a featured artist with pop & Motown icons including The Temptations and Guster.
Mike received his B.M. in Jazz Studies and Economics from Northwestern University in 2007, where he studied with saxophone under Frederick L. Hemke and John Wojciechowski, and his M.B.A. from the JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2014. Mike also spent a year studying in the Master's of music program with Bob Mintzer at USC.
In addition to his pursuit of music creation and performance, Mike also has 10 years of experience working in the software and investment services industries and is the founder of Beakerbox Records.
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press
Reviews of Mobrun's Joy Not Jaded
All About Jazz.com| Dan McClenaghan
The Millennials are here.
"Keyboardist Josh Moshier and saxophonist Michael Lebrun, a pair of Chicago-based jazz artists born in the 1980s, delve deeply into the jazz world with Joy Not Jaded. On this fine, high-energy set, the pair and their band craft a modern-leaning sound that remains true to the post-bop tradition…"
All Music Guide| Adam Greenberg
Lebrun and Moshier craft straightforward but clever pieces of melody, then use the band as a whole to ornament heavily around the themes. The result is a surprisingly coherent sound, with clear and intermingling parts, strong solos, and repeating motifs that let the full ensemble shine together.
Chicago Jazz Magazine| Philip Davia
…new and complex compositions, very melodic soloing, infectious grooves and a sense style which illustrates that the future of jazz is in good hands. read full review
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