After a decade on the New York jazz scene, vibraphonist Behn Gillece has built a reputation as a virtuosic instrumentalist and prolific composer. Dare To Be, his second album as leader is scheduled for release in August on the Posi-tone Label. It features a stellar quartet with Nate Radley on guitar, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, Jason Tiemann on drums, and special guest trumpeter Bruce Harris for a few selected numbers. His debut album Mindset, showcasing complex and brooding original compositions, received excellent reviews in reputable jazz periodicals such as Downbeat and Jazziz. It also rose to the top 20 on the Jazzweek radio charts for several weeks, and made the top 50 for 2015....
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After a decade on the New York jazz scene, vibraphonist Behn Gillece has built a reputation as a virtuosic instrumentalist and prolific composer. Dare To Be, his second album as leader is scheduled for release in August on the Posi-tone Label. It features a stellar quartet with Nate Radley on guitar, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, Jason Tiemann on drums, and special guest trumpeter Bruce Harris for a few selected numbers. His debut album Mindset, showcasing complex and brooding original compositions, received excellent reviews in reputable jazz periodicals such as Downbeat and Jazziz. It also rose to the top 20 on the Jazzweek radio charts for several weeks, and made the top 50 for 2015.
Gillece began studying classical percussion as a teenager. While he was a percussion student at Rowan University, he quickly developed a desire to play jazz. In the early years of his career he performed regularly in his home state of New Jersey and Philadelphia. In 2006 Gillece moved to New York to study at SUNY Purchase.
During his development as a jazz composer, Gillece worked closely with saxophonist Ken Fowser in a co-led project. The pair have four acclaimed albums released by Posi-Tone including 2009’s Full View, 2010’s Little Echo, 2011’s Duotone, and 2013’s Top Shelf. All four have received international acclaim and extensive radio play.
Gillece has also been featured as a sideman on more than 20 other recordings. The most recent of these include albums by Walt Weiskopf, Michael Dease, Melody Gardot, and Ensemble Novo, a Philadelphia-based group dedicated to Brazilian repertoire.
Gillece continues to tirelessly play and compose for new projects based all over the tri- state area. He has performed his music throughout the country at venues like Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center, Smalls Jazz Club, Smoke Jazz Club, Fat Cat, Yoshi's, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, and many others. He has also appeared at festivals worldwide, including the North Sea, Montreux, Nice, Molde, Ghent, Montreal, and Toronto festivals.
In addition to his robust performance life, Gillece also has a burgeoning career as a music educator. In addition to the various workshops he has been asked to give at colleges and universities across the world, he has prepared over 200 lessons for online instruction on vibesworkshop.com, which benefits percussion students internationally.
In the spring of 2008, Gillece finished his master’s degree at SUNY Purchase. Some of his awards and honors include winning the 2008 Jazz Improvisation competition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, participating in the 2009 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency, and winning the Generations competition in 2009.
In 2014 Gillece began endorsing Malletech and has been using instruments made by the company ever since.
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