Thursday Night Jazz: Lynn Speakman Quintet “All About That Bass”

In this Thursday Night Jazz performance, we’re all about that bass. City of Asylum welcomes the Lynn Speakman quintet for a show featuring compositions written by bass players, for bass players, as well as some of Lynn’s own compositions that feature the bass or were inspired by a bass player. The bass is the heartbeat of any band but is not often highlighted as such. To counter this, many of these compositions assign the melody to the bass player, where it is doubled by horns. On shining the spotlight on the bass, Lynn says “As a horn player, I think it is really fun to play melodies in unison with bass players, and as a composer I often write specific lines and rhythms for the bass that integrate it into the melody in a unique way.”

Featured Musicians:

Lynn Speakman: alto saxophone, flute

James Moore: trumpet

Joe Sheehan: piano

Paul Thompson: bass

David Throckmorton: drums

About the Artist:

Lynn Speakman (alto saxophone/flute) has been a performer, composer, arranger, and music educator for over 25 years. Her career has given her the opportunity to perform with bands such as the Christian McBride Big Band, Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon Big Band and many small groups. She was a member of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra while in NYC, which she had the opportunity to tour, perform, and record with. Lynn is also an experienced music educator and has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for 18 years as well as Calhoun School and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy in NYC, Detroit Civic Youth Jazz in Michigan, and Center of Life Jazz and Judah Project in Pittsburgh. In addition to teaching and performing, Lynn spends much of her time composing and arranging as well as transcribing and engraving music for her own band, her students, and for a large list of clients in NYC, where she resided for seven years. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA and is active on the music scene there, both as a sideman and with her own band, the Lynn Speakman Quintet. 

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant Cucina Alfabeto is open for dinner from 5-9pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.