Zach Brock has been heralded by Blue Note recording artist and MacArthur Grant recipient Patricia Barber as "the one on whom to place your bets in jazz." His artistry, both as a violinist and as a composer, places him in the company of today's leading young "Indie Jazz" innovators. Performing and recording at an accelerating pace since the late 1990's, Brock has worked primarily with his own band, The Coffee Achievers, which features Sam Barsh on keyboards, Matt Wigton on bass, and Jon Deitemyer on drums. In 2003, Brock started Secret Fort Records and has since produced three CDs and one live DVD. Brock's growing resume as a sideman includes work with such celebrated artists as Alice and Ravi Coltrane, Patricia Barber, John McLean, Grazyna Auguscik, Orbert Davis, Alan Ferber, Frank Locrasto, The Mahavishnu Project, Eastern Blok, and most recently, Stanley Clarke. An upcoming 2008 Secret Fort release, inspired by Brock's role in a new documentary film entitled "Passion", will be the premier of his new, as of yet unnamed, sextet.
Brock possesses a distinctive voice that stands apart from the mainstream, due in no small part to his musically diverse upbringing. While his father's different bands introduced him to a love for improvisation, his mother's career in classical music led him to continue his formal training in Chicago at Northwestern University. Including the influence of a childhood apprenticeship in choral music, a deep affection for the music of Jimi Hendrix, and the visceral contributions of American punk, alternative rock, funk, and soul, one begins to grasp the scope of his collective inspirations. In the beginning, Brock's love for jazz was primarily inspired by the ubiquitous influence of the great violinist Stephane Grappelli. Over time, as his involvement with jazz grew deeper, he was encouraged by veteran jazz musicians to study the music of the canonic greats such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans. By the time he began performing professionally in Chicago, Brock's musical development was best described by a quote from Chicago jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis, who said at the time, "Zach is not just a violinist who plays jazz, but a jazz musician who happens to play the violin."
Brock's emerging professional career has started to attract notable attention in the jazz world. Since 1997 he has given Smithsonian-sponsored lectures on early American jazz violin pioneers, appeared as a soloist with William Russo and The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, performed at the Kennedy Center with Betty Carter's "Jazz Ahead", produced and recorded four CDs on Secret Fort and Delmark Records, and has performed at Carnegie Hall by the invitation of renown trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas. When asked by Downbeat Magazine about his impression of Brock, Douglas was quoted as saying, "It's rare that we get somebody who is such a complete musician already, but it's even more rare that we get someone who has an attitude of gratitude, humility, openness, and curiosity."
In conjunction with his performances and recordings, Brock's reputation has been spreading in print through articles in Downbeat Magazine (including his inclusion as a "Rising Star" in the magazine's reader's poll), as well as articles in Strings Magazine and several major national papers such as the Chicago Tribune and the L.A. Times. Brock began touring internationally in 2006 when the Coffee Achievers performed at the Tudo e Jazz Festival in Brazil where they were received with a standing ovation. In October 2006, Brock performed with Alice and Ravi Coltrane, Reggie Workman, and Jack DeJohnette as part of Alice Coltrane's "Translinear Light" concert and it's subsequent recording. Brock's film credits have expanded to include performances for the acclaimed documentary "Black Gold" (Sundance Festival 2006), the dramatic cultural critique "Arranged" (SXSW Festival 2007), and the upcoming international music documentary about jazz violinist Zbigniew Seifert, "Passion." Now residing in Brooklyn, NY, Zach will be performing with bass legend Stanley Clarke in 2008 as well as touring with his own projects and recording a new CD for Secret Fort Records.
