Brian Scarborough is a top call trombonist, improviser, composer, and educator in the greater Kansas City area. He can be seen performing around Kansas City leading his own ensembles, and is a member of the People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the Boulevard Big Band, and is a founding member of Zen Brass. Brian has also appeared with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Fountain City Brass Band, and was a member of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s inaugural Riff Generation ensemble. Moreover, Brian is a veteran musician of musical theatre, having performed for more than 50 productions; including shows at the Kansas City Music Hall, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Starlight Theatre, New Theatre Restaurant, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Spinning Tree Theatre, Musical Theatre Heritage, and Music Theater Kansas City, among others. Brian serves as a trombone sub for the North American tour of Hadestown, and can also be seen performing for other touring Broadway productions and touring acts when they stop in the area. Brian has also performed in jazz, classical, and chamber settings in Germany, Sweden, and England.
“Listening to trombonist Brian Scarborough, one is immediately struck by the confident facility with which he improvises and the elegance of his performances.”
In August of 2020, Brian released his debut album Sunflower Song on Outside in Music’s Next Level label. Featuring his Kansas City based quintet, the release has been called “a remarkably mature and well-balanced work, [and] simultaneously stimulating and accessible, refreshingly modern and rooted in tradition” by Chicago Jazz Magazine, and “one of the most consequential acoustic jazz albums made entirely by Kansas City musicians in recent years.” by Plastic Sax. Brian’s performance and compositions have received praise as well, being characterized as “a talented composer and soloist from a city steeped in Jazz History” by Warta Jazz and a “unique musical voice” by Last Row Music. In March 2023, Brian and his quintet recorded his second album of original jazz music. The new project, We Need The Wind, will be released on February 23, 2024.
As a soloist, Brian has been recognized at regional, national, and international festivals and competitions. He was voted Kansas City’s Favorite Jazz Trombonist in the 2022 Jam Ambassadors Music awards. Brian performed at the 2015 American Trombone Workshop hosted by the U.S. Army Band at Ft. Myer, VA and won the National Solo Jazz Competition. Additionally, Brian was named a finalist for the 2017 J.J. Johnson Jazz Trombone Competition and the 2010 Gilberto Gagliardi Tenor Trombone Competition through the International Trombone Association. In 2014, Brian was named a Luminarts Fellow in Jazz Improvisation through the Luminarts Cultural Foundation at The Union League Club of Chicago. During his studies, Brian was awarded two Outstanding Performance Awards in Downbeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards.
“A very skilled and inventive trombonist.”
Brian maintains a trombone studio at Doctor Note, and serves as a mentor for the annual Kansas City Trombone Workshop each summer. In addition to teaching, Brian is equally passionate about creating new and interesting educational resources; approaching both new and established practices from different angles. Brian’s latest book, Gettin’ It Done: Steve Davis’ Improvised Trombone Solos was released in January 2022 following the success of his first book, The Scales Handbook. Both books are available worldwide in physical and digital copies. Brian has two other book projects in various stages of development.
Brian has presented workshops and masterclasses at the University of Kansas and Johnson County Community College, has worked with public schools throughout the metropolitan area, and helped lead a masterclass series at several schools throughout Northern Germany in 2019. Brian previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Kansas City Kansas Community College and at Ottawa University. He also served as an Artist-in-Residence at Washburn University in 2016 and was a Teaching Assistant for the 2015 Jazz Trombone Institute at the Brevard Music Center.
“A couple of weeks ago, Scarborough’s group performed one of the very best sets this writer has heard all year.”
Brian earned a Master’s of Music in Jazz Studies from DePaul University in 2015 and a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from the University of Kansas in 2013. He is also a proud alumni of the Disney All-American College Band, serving as lead trombonist for the band in 2014.
Brian is a member of the International Trombone Association, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM Local 34-627).