Brian Hudson Band & Trio

After many years as a sideman playing live for some of the top musicians in the southeast and tracking drums for artists worldwide, Brian Hudson ventured out on his own to create a jazz/fusion project with the goal of capturing the essence of the pioneers of jazz fusion such as Weather Report, The Crusaders, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea, along with more modern bands like Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets, and others.  Brian partnered with producer, composer and musician Randy Hoexter to write and arrange a series of instrumental jazz fusion songs. The result was the 2017 release of the full length album Next Level and the 2021 release of a 3-song EP entitled AHAYA.  Both releases received extensive radio airplay worldwide, thousands of streams and rave reviews from publications all around the world.  Next Level peaked at #3 on Roots Music Report’s Jazz Chart and #7 on the NACC Top 30 Jazz . Caledesi, the first single from the EP, AHAYA, peaked at #5 on the Roots Music Report’s Jazz Chart and spent six weeks in the top 3 on the Roots Music Report’s Fusion Chart including three weeks at #1.

Brian is the band leader for both The Brian Hudson Band, which is a 5-piece jazz fusion band featuring Randy Hoexter, Adam Nitti, Sam Skelton and Anthony Papamichael and The Brian Hudson Trio, which plays a combination of jazz, fusion, funk, Latin, instrumental pop and more and features Charles Mishalany on bass and Dave Frackenpohl on guitar.

Recently, The Brian Hudson Band has played to sold out audiences at The Velvet Note Jazz Club in metro Atlanta, and the trio was the featured artist for the Jazz Brunch at the 2019 and 2022 Lake Oconee Food & Wine Festival at The Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee and held a two-month residency at The Renaissance Gateway Hotel.

NEXT LEVEL ALBUM REVIEWS:

5 Finger Review by Tom Faddis – “Each player has chops to burn, but this band plays with a depth of conviction and soul, it is clearly something that sets them miles apart from many fusion bands out there these days.”

The Jazz Word by Ferell Aubre - On the track NYC, “Hudson creates a musical statement that is moving in both its musical prowess and its emotional stimulation.” On the track Ybor City, “Hudson’s cymbal work is exceptional as this track demonstrates, always interactive and full of rhythmic creativity. Using a portion of the intro for his drum solo on this track, Hudson again shows how he is always concerned about making an flowing musical statements that are cohesive and uniform in presentation and flow.”

Lemon Wire by Dodie Miller-Gould – “The release is a must-listen for new and veteran jazz fans.”

Jazz Weekly by George W. Harris – “Optimistic, and a fresh breath of air for a genre that is sadly overlooked these days.”

Contemporary Fusion Reviews by Dick Metcalf – “debut CD’s seldom contain a full set of tunes that are ALL “picks”… just listen to the full-body on one of my favorite jazz pieces (yet) in 2017, “Seventy Eight.”

The Vinyl Anachronist by Marc Phillips – “This collection of originals from Hudson and keyboard player Randy Hoexter is bristling with pure energy and excitement, and the whole album is executed with such precision that you’ll understand why these two gentlemen are so dedicated to this genre. Hudson is no wallflower, either–his drumming is up front and center, always full of complex rhythms and textures. From an audiophile point of view, his work is a tutorial on dynamic contrast.”