Brian Scarborough is a trombonist, improviser, composer, and educator whose career is deeply rooted in Kansas City while reaching audiences throughout the United States and abroad. A top-call performer in the region, Brian regularly leads his own jazz ensembles and performs with leading groups including the People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City and Zen Brass, and has also appeared with the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. A veteran of more than 60 musical theatre productions, he has performed with numerous touring Broadway productions, including the First North American tour of the Tony Award–winning musical Hadestown.
As a leader, Brian has released two albums to date; We Need The Wind (2024) and Sunflower Song (2020). Featuring some of Kansas City’s finest musicians, these releases have garnered acclaim both in the United States and abroad. Brian’s music has been described as, “simultaneously stimulating and accessible, refreshingly modern and rooted in tradition” by Chicago Jazz Magazine. His individual performances 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 addition to Brian’s work as a leader, Brian has recorded as an ensemble member, sideman, and session musician for a number of jazz, classical, commercial, theater, and educational projects.
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.
Brian maintains a trombone studio at Doctor Note in Overland Park, Kansas. In addition to teaching private lessons, Brian is passionate about creating innovative educational resources that explore both new and established concepts from fresh perspectives while addressing gaps in traditional music education. In 2026, he founded Bonetruth Music as the home for his growing catalog of educational publications and to further his mission of delivering creative, accessible, and purposeful resources to musicians worldwide.
Brian has presented workshops and masterclasses at schools and universities throughout the Midwest and helped lead a masterclass series in Northern Germany in 2019. He also serves regularly on faculty at music camps.
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 in 2014.
Brian is a Buffet Crampon Artist and plays Antoine Courtois Trombones. He 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).