Check out my new album Daybreak on your favorite streaming platform(s) here
“..his latest release “Daybreak” develops his voice even further with some stunning compositions and wonderful musicianship..Brust has a crystalline sound, imbued with a life force, vitality and exuberance that is both compelling and exciting..his music sounds at once completely familiar and yet also brand new; imbued with tradition while still breaking new ground..” -ukvibe.org
“the young alto saxophonist Nicholas Brust matches technical fire with emotional warmth and unhurried reflection..” -artfuse.org
“Nicholas…writes strong melodies [which] his playing cuts through with ease and grace on this album…” -Jerome Wilson, All About Jazz (find the rest of the review here)
Daybreak has been featured as part of Jazziz Editors’ Choice! Check it out here. The album has also been featured on Radio AMA Luxenbourg, Couleurs Jazz Radio, WDIY 88/1 FM, The New Jazz Train with Kevin Bennett Goolsby, Full Circle with Ruth Fisher, Hawai’i Public Radio, and Jazz Rochester WGMC 90.1, and WWPV 92.5 FM.
About the music on Daybreak with Nicholas:
“Absence of You” is about the necessary development of artistic independence and its accompanying isolation. “It is both crucial and challenging for artists to balance the isolation of practicing with time spent with others.”
“Diamonds and Clubs” is a continuation of a suite that Brust started with “Hearts and Spades,” released on, Frozen in Time. “Both pieces begin with a bowed bass introduction, and this one reminds me of a glimmering diamond.”
“Mind’s Eye”: This composition, “plays with similar melodies in two different keys, as though one is being remembered slightly differently than the original.”
“For Wisdom” is a tribute to Roy Hargrove and the inspiration his music and presence on the NYC jazz scene had on Brust as a musician.
“To Carry the Torch” reflects on the, “complex circumstances and responsibilities each generation inherits from the previous one, and the care we take when we ourselves pass them along.”
“Suspense in Blue” is Brust honoring the importance of the blues. “It has connected just about every genre of music (and subgenres of jazz) for generations and continues to be relevant today.”
“Daybreak,” the title track, was the guiding force for the album’s concept. The melody, encompassing two octaves, was inspired by the possibilities of a new day. “You can hear the sun coming out with a burst of energy, followed by the day’s first shadows. It’s ultimately about making the most of the opportunities that each day brings us. On a more personal note, It is about things coming anew, from the birth of my son to the reemergence of live music in a post-Covid world.”
“In This Moment”: “Spending time with loved ones has only become more precious as I’ve gotten older, and the birth of my son this past year sharpened that feeling. This song is meant to encapsulate the feeling of the fleeting, priceless time spent with the ones you love.”
“The Tempest”: Brust’s attempt to capture the structure of a storm in song - the foreboding, the destruction, and the peace of the aftermath.
“Ballad of a Sea Porpoise”: “The piano and guitar combination, without saxophone, reminds me of being underwater. Writing this song, I wanted the listener to imagine living their whole life submerged.”
“A Midsummer Night” is a contrafact written over the changes of “You Stepped Out of a Dream” by Nacio Herb Brown and is also a reference to Shakespeare. “The rhythms of the melody are meant to reference Shakespeare’s twisting, turning plots.”