18 Facts About Lafayette Gilchrist

Lafayette Gilchrist was born on August 3,1967 and is an American jazz pianist and composer.

Lafayette Gilchrist has had a long association with saxophonist David Murray, with whom he has toured internationally.

Lafayette Gilchrist was born in Washington, DC, on August 3,1967; he grew up there.

Lafayette Gilchrist enjoyed the local go-go at this time, and listened to Chuck Brown practicing near his aunt's home.

Brown played jazz standards in a different style; Lafayette Gilchrist observed that "it taught me that you can combine funk grooves and jazz".

Lafayette Gilchrist moved to Baltimore when he was 17, to study economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Lafayette Gilchrist taught himself to play and compose music, and received feedback on his compositions from music students.

Lafayette Gilchrist graduated in 1992, with a BA in African-American studies.

In 1993 Lafayette Gilchrist formed the New Volcanoes, as a quartet that contained trumpeter Freddie Dunn, bassist Vince Loving, and drummer Nate Reynolds.

Lafayette Gilchrist played with the New Volcanoes and gave solo performances on the East Coast for several years after graduating.

Lafayette Gilchrist first met Murray in 1999: Gilchrist introduced himself and later sent the saxophonist a recording of his playing.

Lafayette Gilchrist subsequently obtained a recording contract with Hyena Records, but decided to remain in Baltimore, based on his belief that New York-based musicians tend to converge on a particular style of playing.

Lafayette Gilchrist gradually built the sound of the New Volcanoes by adding particular musicians on different instruments, particularly Gabriel Ware on alto saxophone and Greg Thompkins on tenor.

The first release of original material on Hyena was 2005's Towards the Shining Path, which received little attention, as Lafayette Gilchrist did not have enough money to pay for the whole band to tour.

Lafayette Gilchrist leads a trio called Inside Out, with Michael Formanek and Eric Kennedy.

Lafayette Gilchrist's New Urban World Blues was a musical re-telling of the 2015 Baltimore uprising that began with the death of a young African American man and is chronicled in the song "Blues for Freddie Gray".

Lafayette Gilchrist's composition "Assume the Position" was used in the score for the HBO drama television series The Wire.

Lafayette Gilchrist's compositions have been used in the HBO series Treme and The Deuce.