Bobby Lane's Sketchbook
Chicago, Illinois, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015
Music
Press
Jazz is becoming a language which few can understand and even fewer can speak. Bobby Lane’s Sketchbook is a group of student musicians who understand that language all too well.
The jazz quintet – consisting of Bobby Lane on trumpet, Maddie Vogler on alto sax, Jose Emilio Gobbo Jr. on guitar, Sam Peters on bass, and John Merikoski on drums — performs their sound with the highest quality of musicianship, exceeding the expectations of a local band and breaching the boundaries of what it means to be a professional musician.
The self-titled EP is made up of four songs; 3 composed by Lane himself and one arrangement of a more familiar tune originally by composer Wayne Shorter. The first track “Blueish” is a mysterious composition which slowly highlights the group’s harmonious improvisations throughout. Lane’s confident trumpeting is most present in the second track, “What’s In The Box?” with melodic content similar to the dark and striking tone of atmospheric post-bop trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.
“Footprints” may be considered the stand-out track from the Sketchbook EP, as it allows for the personable instrumentation to be clearly expressed. It breaks into epitomic post-bop sections of trading solos and spatially structured improvisation. This is one of the most enjoyable jazz records recently released in the CU area and, although this is the first from Bobby Lane’s Sketchbook, hopefully there will be more to come with an even longer track list. - Buzz Magazine
3. Bobby Lane’s Sketchbook
In complete honesty, CU has a severely underrated jazz music scene in recent years. Emerging from it with force comes Bobby Lane’s Sketchbook, the jazz quintet that has been making waves before and after their pristine self-titled debut in late January. They most recently collaborated with artist Stephanie Warren for a unique performance at the Institute 4 Creativity and, without a doubt, will be continuing to enlighten audiences with their improvised music for a while. –Westley Banks - Buzz Magazine
Discography
Sketchbook EP - released January 19th, 2015
Photos
Bio
Bobby Lane is an ambitious and versatile jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. While in high school, Bobby performed in the ECC Youth Jazz Band under the direction of Mark Bettcher, earned the distinction of Outstanding Wind Player Award from Birch Creek Music Academy. In 2012, Bobby won the solo trumpet chair in the IMEA Honors Jazz Band under the direction of Wycliffe Gordon, and would go on to win Downbeat Student Music Awards in 2012 and 2013. Bobby has been fortunate to have many great jazz educators in his life, and he has studied primarily with Chicago trumpet icons Tito Carrillo and Marquis Hill.
Bobby is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He studies with Professors Tito Carrillo and Ronald Romm and performs with the Concert Jazz Band. As a member of the Concert Jazz Band, Bobby has shared the stage with jazz greats including Adam Nussbaum, Ken Peplowski, David Bixler and Brad Leali.
Outside of school, Bobby performs as a freelance trumpeter in a variety of styles, from brass quintets to alternative bands to funk/fusion ensembles. He is active as bandleader, composer, and clinician with his jazz quintet, Sketchbook, which released its self-titled EP in the early 2015.
In the summer of 2014, Bobby attended the School for Improvisational Music in New York City, where he played with musicians from all over the world and studied with Ralph Alessi, Andy Milne, and Peter Epstein.
More information on current projects and performances can be found at www.bobbylanemusic.weebly.com.
Band Members
Links
