Brian Simpson: After graduating from Northern Illinois University, keyboardist and composer Brian Simpson relocated to Los Angeles where he was soon playing alongside musicians Gerald Albright and Norman Brown and eventually on a world tour with Janet Jackson. In 1990 Simpson received a call from George Duke that led to a decade of touring and production work with the late jazz legend. It was his tenure with George that led to working with a variety of artists, from James Ingram and Anita Baker to Dave Koz and Wayman Tisdale. The popularity of his music world wide has kept Mr. Simpson on a seemingly endless world tour which in 2019 included Japan, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal, and South Africa. With writing and performing credits on R&B chart-topping albums and Smooth Jazz Airplay charts, it’s clear why Brian is the veteran Music Director of so many jazz events. Urban Jazz Coalition: UJC has electrified audiences for years performing their unique and energetic blend of R&B/Jazz/Fusion at a multitude of prominent jazz festivals around the country, including The Capital Jazz Festival, The Seabreeze Jazz Festival, Capital Jazz Fest Supercruise, The Boscov/Berks Jazz Festival, The Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, Jazz Fest West, The Russian River Jazz Festival, River Raisin Jazz Festival, and many more. JazzTimes Magazine award winning columnist, Brian Soergel, has described the Urban Jazz Coalition sound as “flush with rhythmic grooves, funky bass lines, and beautiful melodies”. The band has also made a strong impression at radio with three consecutive releases achieving “Top 30” status on multiple contemporary jazz charts. The “One Step Closer” project generated two “Top 30” singles and was honored as one of the “Top 100 Records of 2014” on the prestigious Groove Jazz Music Chart. UJC’s music has been featured on network television programming, international film soundtracks, national advertising campaigns, and as part of an eclectic group of artists on a Gospel/Jazz compilation project released by Capitol/EMI Records.
