Jim Fryer, Trombone, Euphonium Cornet

JIM FRYER began his career as age 16 in the Boston area.  In the more than 3 decades since, he has toured internationally; recorded as a bandleader and sideman; and played television, radio, theaters, jazz clubs, and concert halls in a variety of musical settings.  First and foremost an exceptional jazz trombonist at ease in any style, he has become especially noted as one of the foremost traditional jazz exponents on the scene today.  He often includes other brass instruments such as euphonium in his performances, and is increasingly hailed as a vocalist.

FRYER keeps a busy performing schedule throughout the United States and abroad.  He performs frequently in the New York area at clubs such as Iridium with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, and with many prominent artists in the classic jazz genre, such as Dan Levinson, Andy Stein, Cynthia Sayer, Jon-Erik Kellso, and Randy Sandke.  He has recorded on film scores such as Robert De Niro’s “The Good Shepherd” and has appeared on PBS radio’s “Prairie Home Companion.”  He has played in pit orchestras on and off Broadway, and has been called upon to perform salsa, modern jazz, classical, blues, and rock.  He has played with the Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra in New Jersey and Mike Longo’s New York State of the Art Enselble, and was for many years lead trombonist and featured soloist with the Hartford (CT) Jazz Orchestra (1992 – 2005).  He has backed such luminaries as Slide Hampton, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra Jr., The Four Tops, Rosemary Clooney, and Aretha Franklin.  He has appeared in small group settings alongside such jazz greats as Doc Cheatham, Kenny Davern, and Randy Reinhardt.

SINCE 2003 HE HAS TOURED with the TITAN HOT 7, a Nashville-based band that enjoys great popularity on the American traditional jazz circuit.  Appearing at festivals from coast to coast and aboard cruise ships the world over, the TH7 have released 4 CD’s with Fryer as member.

SINCE HIS FIRST TRIP in 1988, Fryer has returned more than 30 times to the United Kingdom.  He has performed at many of the most prominent festivals and clubs in the UK, including Edinburgh, Bude, and Keswick; and at The Pizza Express on Dean Street in London.  He has shared billing with such notables as Humphrey Littleton, Keith Nichols, Roy Williams, Alan Barnes, Digby Fairweather, and “Spats” Langham.  He has been featured with many of England’s best trad, mainstream, and modern bands, including Liverpool’s Merseysippi Jazz Band. 

THE FRYER-BARNHART INTERNATIONAL ALL STARS, a band he co-leads with pianist Jeff Barnhart, has played throughout the UK and at festivals in Florida and California.  The FBIAS have 4 recordings available on Lake Records.  Their next UK toured is booked for May 2008.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL APPEARANCES include the Franc Pinot Jazz Club in Paris, the Marciac Jazz Festival (France), the Cork (Ireland) Jazz Festival, the Victoria (Canada) Jazz Party, and the Melbourne (Australia) setting of the Spoleto Festival.

FRYER’S WORK AS AN EDUCATOR currently includes teaching at the Rye (NY) Arts Center, and narrating performances and conducting workshops with the Cool Cat Jazz Band via Young Audiences of Connecticut.  He has been leading children’s performances since 1984.  He was formerly Coordinator of Jazz Programs at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven (CT), where he served on the faculty from 1992 – 2005.  He also taught private lessons and jazz improv and history classes, in addition to coaching brass and jazz ensembles.  He served as adjunct faculty at Choate Rosemary Hall and Wesleyan University for many years.  He has conducted workshops and master classes on 3 continents, and has annually provided arrangements to the Creative Music Orchestra at Southern Connecticut State University for a decade.  He was the Musical Director for the Langston Hughes Centennial Celebration at Yale University in 2002.

HIS MOST RECENT RELEASES AS A LEADER include “FRIENDS AND HEROES,” featuring the band JIM FRYER AND THE USUAL SUSPECTS,  with pianist Tom McClung, drummer Jesse Hameen II, and bassist Genevieve Rose; and “OVER EASY” (OKOM Records) with the young Canadian star trumpeter Bria Skonberg, featuring the band JIM AND BRIA’S BORDERLINE JAZZ BAND (BJBJB).  He is featured on a new CD, recorded live at the Arizona Classic Jazz Festival, with an all-star band led by Australian bassist & vocalist Nicki Parrott, which also features jazz legends Allan Vache and John Cocuzzi.

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