Brian Lynch Wins GRAMMY® Award for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album for The Omni-American Book Club: My Journey Through Literature in Music

Added: by Brian Lynch

On Sunday, January 26th, it was announced that trumpeter and recording artist Brian Lynch won his second GRAMMY® Award of his career. The Omni-American Book Club: My Journey Through Literature in Music was awarded Best Large Ensemble Album at the GRAMMY Premier Ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. This win is particular momentous as The Omni-American Book Club is a fully independent release. The project is self-released on Lynch’s artist-owned label Hollistic MusicWorks and self-funded, making it a landmark win for independent artists everywhere. 

Lynch said the following regarding his win:

“What an amazing weekend in L.A. at The Grammy Awards! To be in the company of so many celebrated artists and esteemed friends in the music community, and then to be singled out and bestowed with one of the most prestigious accolades in our field – well, it strains even my florid vocabulary to convey the elation I feel! What an honor to receive my second Grammy and my fifth and sixth nominations in this year’s awards. I salute all the nominees and winners for a year of incredible music. 

Lynch’s acceptance speech for receiving the award was as follows:

BL Grammy 2020
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 26: Brian Lynch Big Band of ‘The Omni-American Book Club’ poses for a portrait during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robby Klein/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

 

“This is amazing. I’d like to salute the other nominees for their truly great music.
 
Thanks to the incredible guest artists on the record; Big Chief Donald Harrison, Regina Carter, Jim Snidero, Dafnis Prieto, David Liebman and Orlando Maraca Valle;
 
All the great players in my band, made up of the outstanding musicians of South Florida and my students, former students and colleagues at the Frost School Of Music, University Of Miami. I’m proud to be in your company. More thanks to Frost for my sabbatical support and access to their world class facilities;
 
Thanks to my team: Engineers Chris Palowitch and Dave Darlington, Jamie Breiwick and Robin D. Williams for design and artwork, and Lydia Liebman Promotions.
 
My producers Kabir Sehgal and Doug Davis – our continuous dialogue over the course of this project and their steady support was key in finding the project’s theme, overcoming all the challenges along the way and arriving at the finish line with more than I could have ever dreamed.
 
Thanks to my wife Marissa and Finnegan my doggie, and my parents for instilling a love for reading in me.
 
And thanks to all the authors whose books inspired this album, most especially the great Albert Murray! I first read The Omni-Americans almost 50 years ago now, at the very start of my journey into my life in music. His vision, and the vision of the other authors paid tribute to in this project, continue to provide me with hope that the day will come where we can live together, and create together, in justice, equality, respect and regard, both in our own land and as citizens of the world. Thank You!”

To date, Brian Lynch has been nominated for six GRAMMY® Awards. In addition to his nomination for best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Lynch’s composition off the album “Crucible for Crisis” was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition (John Willians ultimately won the category). In 2006, Lynch won the GRAMMY® for Best Latin Jazz Album for his release Simpático. 

The Omni-American Book Club: My Journey Through Literature in Music, released on Hollistic MusicWorks on August 29th, 2019,  is an expansive album of music for large ensemble (“big band”) composed and arranged by Lynch and featuring his work as soloist alongside an all star cast of special guests including Regina Carter, Donald Harrison, NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman, GRAMMY® Award winner Dafnis Prieto, Orlando “Maraca” Valle, and Jim Snidero.” 

On his first-ever big band recording, Lynch connects his lifelong passion for reading and the books that have shaped his life with his original music. The books that have shaped Lynch’s consciousness, and thus his music, have been myriad, and his dedications for the music of The Omni-American Book Club reflect both the diversity and the focus of his reading interests. The Omni-American Book Club was produced by Kabir Sehgal, who Lynch describes as having been instrumental in helping to fine-tune the album’s overall theme.