Brian Charette is a world class keyboard master with several chart-topping CDS to his credit, including Good Tipper, his latest for the Posi-Tone label. In addition to leading his own band, Brian has worked with Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Lou Donaldson, and many other jazz giants. Brian was recently named the winner of the 2014 Down Beat Critics’ Poll in the “Rising Star: Organ” category. He is endorsed by Hammond Organs and his many recordings for Posi-Tone and SteepleChase have earned favorable reviews in Down Beat. Outside of music, Brian plays chess and practices White Crane kung fu.

By Brian Charette

I guess I fell in love with jazz after I started to play it in high school. I was in a big band. I met lots of people and I started to play lots of gigs in the area I was living in (Meriden, Connecticut). I got in a lot of funk bands and some of the horn players in these bands were very into Charlie Parker.

I was studying for an all-state audition and I had to play a Charlie Parker song from the Omni Book, which was a book of all Bird’s solos. So I got that book and I started to study the style of Charlie Parker. I became fascinated with the science of bebop. That’s how I fell in love with jazz!