Brian Krock

Brian Krock is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader based in New York City. Krock leads the ensembles Big Heart Machine and liddle. He is also active in Broadway theatre, performing in orchestras on a multitude woodwinds. 
==Early Life== 
Krock was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter his family relocated to Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he began studying saxophone simultaneously with classical and electric guitar. In 2003, he formed the progressive Metal band Lorna Sue and began gigging around the Chicago suburbs. In 2006, Lorna Sue released Fishwim, featuring four of Krock’s early original songs.
==Career==
From 2007-2011, Krock attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, majoring in Jazz Studies with a Business minor. He studied jazz saxophone with Chip McNeill, who fostered his interest in composition and arranging. In 2011, the U of I Concert Jazz Band recorded Freeplay on which Krock received an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award for his composition “Yes, It’s True.” Krock also studied classical saxophone with Debra Richtmeyer and Noa Even and classical composition with Reynold Tharp.
In 2011, Krock moved to New York City to obtain his Master’s in Music from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied composition with Jim McNeely. While attending MSM his composition “String Quartet No. 1” received the Manhattan Prize. He co-founded the band Life Size, who released the studio album Bright Size Life. 
In 2012, Krock began working on Broadway, playing a variety of instruments for The Book of Mormon (musical). He also worked with musical artists Adam Neely, Miho Hazama, Anna Webber, and Jamie Cullum. From 2013-2015, he toured internationally with Broadway shows while composing the book of music that would constitute his big band album Big Heart Machine. He attended the Metropole Orkest Arrangers Workshop, studying with Vince Mendoza, in 2013. 
In 2018, Krock released Big Heart Machine (Outside In Music), the self-titled debut album of his big band Big Heart Machine, to critical acclaim. In the New York Times, Giovanni Russonello said, “The suspenseful, layered music can sound like migration in motion or a wisp of twisting smoke. And if you’re looking for musical-historical references, there are plenty — from progressive metal to Carnatic music to late-20th-century Western classical.” Jazz critics Nate Chinen and Giovanni Russonello profiled Big Heart Machine in articles focusing on a resurgence in big band music.” The album was featured on the Best Jazz on Bandcamp. Krock was also profiled in Downbeat Magazine, Stereogum, and the Chicago Reader.
In 2019, Big Heart Machine’s performance at NYC Winter Jazz Fest prompted good reviews in The Atlantic and the New York Times. Shortly thereafter, Krock toured for seven weeks with Ethan Iverson and The Mark Morris Dance Group, playing clarinet and soprano saxophone in Pepperland. 
His 2019 follow-up recording liddle featured Big Heart Machine alumni along with pianist Matt Mitchell (pianist) and bass guitarist Simon Jermyn. The album was a Downbeat Editor’s Pick and one of All Music’s Best Jazz Albums of 2019. The band liddle toured the U.S. culminating in a live recording at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic halted performances so Krock created a YouTube channel called Score Study, devoted to his favorite composers. The series quickly grew in popularity, allowing him to feature guest artists like Steve Swallow, Ethan Iverson, Pino Palladino, Blake Mills, and Adam Guettel. Krock also self-released two live recordings in 2020, Big Heart Machine’s Live at The Jazz Gallery, and liddle’s Viscera. Krock attended the Bang on a Can Summer Workshop in 2020, receiving a commission to write a new piece of chamber music. He wrote a piece for bass clarinet, flute, and ensemble called anti-jazz, dedicated to and culling musical materials from Eric Dolphy.
From 2021-2022 Krock is touring the U.S. as the onstage clarinetist with the Tony Award Winning musical The Band’s Visit.
==Awards and honors==
Year 	Award
2020 	ISJAC Relief Commission
2019 	Best Jazz Albums of 2019 (All Music)
2019 	Best Newcomer Musician (El Intruso)
2019 	Best New Artist (Jazz Times Critics Poll)
2019 	Keio Light Music Society Commission
2019 	ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award
2018 	Aaron Copland Recording Grant
2012-13	EtM Con Ed Composer Residency
2011 	Manhattan Prize in Composition
2011 	ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award
==Discography==
===As a leader:===
Year	Title 	Artist 	Label
2020	Viscera 	Brian Krock's liddle	toof music
2020	Live at The Jazz Gallery	Big Heart Machine 	toof music
2019	liddle 	Brian Krock 	Outside In
2018	Big Heart Machine 	Big Heart Machine 	Outside In
===As a co-leader:===
Year	Title 	Artist 	Label
2014	Bright!	Life Size	self-released
2007	Fishwim	Lorna Sue	self-released
===As a sideman, composer, or producer:=== 
Year	Title 	Artist 	Role
2022	Two Takes Vol. 2 	Jared Schonig 	composer
2021	Bombardment 	Sound Struggle 	saxophonist
2020	Truth 	Seth Weaver Big Band 	producer
2019	Outside in Music (Live at Pinch Recording), Vol. 3	Various Artists 	saxophonist, composer
2011	Freeplay 	University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band	saxophonist, composer
Category:Multi-instrumentalists
Category:American composers 
Category:American music arrangers
Category:Musicians from New York City