Glenn Crytzer
| Glenn Crytzer | |
|---|---|
 Seattle, August 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Glenn Crytzer |
| Born |
October 13, 1980 Butler, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Orchestral jazz, swing, big band |
| Occupations | Bandleader, guitarist, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar, banjo, cello |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Website | syncopators.net (Glenn Crytzer Jazz bands Official Website) |
Glenn Crytzer (born October 13, 1980) is an American composer, guitarist, banjoist, singer and big band leader. Crytzer began composing music at the age of 14, and began leading bands at 25. In the words of Michael Steinman of Jazz Lives, “Many jazz musicians present themselves not only as players but as composers, with varying results. (Crytzer) is one of those rare creative beings who beautifully fills both roles.”[1]
Early life
Crytzer was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States. His musical education began at a young age with piano and violin. At age 8, he took up the cello, and the guitar followed soon after, which he continued with through his time at Butler Area Senior High School. In 2000, Glenn Crytzer put down the guitar to focus on the cello, but in 2005 began studying the banjo. In 2003, he earned a Bachelor of Music in classical composition from Florida State University, and later attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where he earned a Master of Music in classical composition in 2006.
Music career
In 2005, Crytzer received a BMI Student Composer Award for his first full orchestral piece “Nocturne Fantasy”, as well as an honorable mention in the New York Youth Symphony’s 2006 ‘First Music’ competition. He was also named a finalist in the 2006 ASCAP/SCI Student Commissioning Project Competition and a Semi-Finalist in the 2008 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards for his work, “In Stride”, a jazz violoncello solo. Along with his fellow students at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Glenn Crytzer co-founded The Any Measure Jazz Band.[2]
Arriving in Seattle in 2006, Glenn Crytzer quickly set about gathering musicians in the area whose standards met his own. The group was created to play music professionally under the name Glenn Crytzer and his Red Hot Syncopators, later shortened to Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators. Their first performance came in June 2007, at the Hep Cat Swing Dance, the longest running all-ages Swing dance in Seattle.[3] In 2008, Crytzer picked up the guitar again and formed the larger Blue Rhythm Band.
Syncopators
The Syncopators are a jazz band dedicated to the popular music of the 1920s, 1930s and early 1940s. Their musical influences include jazz greats such as Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, John Kirby, Jelly Roll Morton and more. In addition to performing classic songs, the Syncopators perform new songs composed in the vintage style by bandleader Glenn Crytzer.[4]
The Syncopators' debut album arrived in April 2011, containing 20 original songs composed by Crytzer during the previous two years. Their follow-up release "Skinny Minne" was released in October 2012.
Blue Rhythm Band
The Blue Rhythm Band is a 13 piece dance band which focuses on the music of the late 1920′s through the early 1940′s. This 13 piece line up (the size of band that predominated the popular music scene in the 1930′s) plays charts from the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and many more, including of course their namesake, Mills’ Blue Rhythm Band. The band also pioneers new arrangements of classic tunes and even new songs written in the 1930′s style by bandleader Glenn Crytzer.[5]
The debut release from Crytzer's Blue Rhythm Band, "Chasin' the Blues," was issued in October 2009.
Career
Since the founding of his bands Crytzer has performed extensively at dances, festivals, and concerts across the US. In 2011/2012 Crytzer gave over 220 performances with highlights including the Redwood Coast Jazz Festival, the Sun Valley Jazz Festival, Midwest Lindy Fest, the American Lindy Hop Championships, the Balboa Rendezvous, the DC Lindy Exchange, and the Blue Rhythm Band's Lincoln Center debut as a part of the Midsummer Nights Swing Festival.
Discography
- Chasin' The Blues (2009)[6]
- Harlem Mad (2011)
- Skinny Minne (2012)
- Focus Pocus (2013)
References
- ↑ "Harlem Mad: Glenn Crytzer And His Syncopators | Jazz Lives". Jazzlives.wordpress.com. 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ↑ "Glenn Crytzer". Glenn Crytzer. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ↑ "Swing Dance Classes Seattle". Seattleswing.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ↑ "Bios « Glenn Crytzer". Syncopators.net. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ↑ "Bios « Glenn Crytzer". Syncopators.net. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ↑ "Shop « Glenn Crytzer". Syncopators.net. Retrieved 2012-02-10.