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| Dr. Kristen R Bromley Explores the Tradition of Wes Montgomery with Original Compositions Wes 101 is Kristen's fifth jazz album as a leader and frontwoman. This record includes seven mainstream originals that provide a mix of Kristen's high energy and blues driven jazz playing as well as her more subtle attention to melody and moving intricately through the chord changes. It was recorded, in part, as a tribute to the legendary Wes Montgomery, who had a tremendous influence on jazz guitar. Though the album definitely sounds like Kristen's style, there are some fun Wes Montgomery hints included throughout as a part of the tribute. For instance, the chord progression and motivic idea of the intro from the title track "Wes 101" were inspired by Wes's tune "Four on Six." Similarly, the chord progression and formal structure of "House of Fire" were borrowed from Wes's tune "Full House, " as was the progression of "Indy Blues" influenced by the progression of "West Coast Blues, " though "Indy Blues" is a shuffle in 4/4 time instead of being a swing tune in three. "Wahoo!" began as a composition with the feel of Wes's "Cariba" in mind, though it ended up taking many twists and turns compositionally that would likely never bring "Cariba" to mind. Wes was a great player of the ballad, and "Cherished Moments" is a ballad that has a similar chord progression to "Misty, " which Wes performed so tenderly. "Swing It for the Maestro" is just a great swing tune and "Bring It On" is a fun, high energy, shuffle style blues. Neither were written based on any specific Wes tunes but were written to fit the vibe of the classic organ and guitar sound that Wes utilized so much. The guitar solo of "Swing It for the Maestro" also progresses from single lines, to octaves, to block chords in the classic Wes way. Listeners will have a hard time not getting into the grooves and enjoying the musical expressions contained on this record. Dr. Kristen R. Bromley is a gifted and sought-after instructor, as well as a loved performer and composer. After 12 years of directing ensembles and teaching guitar and jazz studies courses as a professor at the university level, and over 20 years of teaching private music lessons, Dr. Bromley retired from in-person instruction to have more time to pursue her own writing, performing, recording, and online instruction endeavors. Kristen is the author of several guitar method books and runs a music instruction channel on YouTube called Dr. Kristen R. Bromley's Online Music Academy, which includes over 1, 100 videos aimed at helping others with their guitar playing. On the channel, there are lesson series that cover jazz guitar techniques, how to solo in the pop, rock, and blues styles, flatpicking, strumming and finger plucking chords, note reading, tablature reading, and fretboard theory and technique, in addition to the basic courses designed for the beginner. As a recording artist, Kristen R. Bromley has released seven albums to date with her label (Kristen R. Bromley Music) that feature her as the main artist: Simply Miraculous (KRBM19001), jazz trio, Amazing Grace (KRBM20001), solo guitar on a collection of hymns, Bluish Tide (KRBM21001), jazz quintet, Finding Fields (KRBM21002), Groove Axis jazz quartet, Silent Night (KRBM22001), solo guitar on a collection of Christmas songs, Muagsician (KRBM23001), 2-discs, solo jazz guitar and Wes 101 (KRBM25001), jazz quartet. Kristen has additionally been featured on other recordings and has performed at various locations across parts of North America and Europe, including some of the most highly prestigious jazz festivals in the world, such as the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival (Scotland), the Birmingham International Jazz and Blues Festival (England), the Marlborough International Jazz Festival (England), the Loulé Jazz Festival (Portugal), the San Sebastian International Jazz Festival (Spain), the Ezcaray Jazz Festival (Spain), and the Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy). Dr. Bromley has also performed and presented clinics at multiple Jazz Education Network and International Association for Jazz Education conferences. In 2006 and 2007, she was named the outstanding guitar soloist at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival. As a scholar, Dr. Bromley has focused much of her research on discovering ways to create more interactive and person-centered educational environments wherein individuals experience whole-person learning outcomes as they grow through cognitive, emotional, and experiential means, develop greater self-discipline, and become more fully-functioning persons. (For more information see Person-Centered Learning in a Collegiate Jazz Combo by Kristen R. Bromley). Kristen has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education from Boston University, a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies, with an additional BA major in Family History and Genealogy, from Brigham Young University. In January 2016, Dr. Bromley suffered a severe break to her left-arm humerus bone, which likewise crushed the radial nerve in that arm. Despite a very grim prognosis, which suggested that in a best-case-scenario she would regain a very small percentage of the function of her left-arm and hand, Kristen works as a musician and guitarist today. At the time of the injury, she was given a special priesthood blessing wherein God promised her that in time, because of her faith, she would experience a complete recovery. Truly, this miraculous promise has become a reality. After several months of patience and waiting, she slowly began regaining the ability to move her wrist and fingers, and weeks later was able to start gradually developing the ability to play the guitar again. In November of 2018, Dr. Bromley recorded a debut jazz album called Simply Miraculous, which celebrated her miraculous return to professional guitar playing. Kristen loves life, is deeply religious, and truly believes in the awesome power music has to uplift and edify the soul. She has devoted her career to enriching, uplifting, edifying, and inspiring lives through education, performance, scholarship, composition, recording, and publishing of music. ALL TRACK CREDITS: 1. Bring It On 6:38 2. Swing It for the Maestro 7:33 3. Wes 101 8:33 4. Cherished Moments 8:40 5. House of Fire 10:22 6. Wahoo! 8:40 7. Indy Blues 8:31 *All Compositions by Kristen R. Bromley SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS & CREDITS: Artist: Kristen R. Bromley Album Name: Wes 101 Label Name: Kristen R. Bromley Music Street Date: April 18, 2025 Add Date: June 2, 2025 Website: www.kristenbromley.com write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |