Nate Birkey Quintet at SOhO Music Club

Long time Santa Barbara resident and current NYC-based jazz trumpeter, vocalist, composer Nate Birkey returns to SOhO in Santa Barbara. Joining him will be his west coast quintet featuring saxophonist Tom Buckner, Los Angeles based pianist Jamieson Trotter, Los Angeles bassist Gabe Davis, and L.A. drummer Peter Buck.

Birkey has released ten albums for the Santa Barbara based label, Household Ink Records. Rome, his tenth was recorded in Rome, Italy.

Nate also has a major project in development – a film score for a dreamy, atmospheric indie film about love, loss, and chosen family.

Birkey composed many tracks specifically for the film For Every Lonely Soul, while others are drawn from his extensive catalog. Some vocal standards, such as “September Song,” he arranged and recorded for the film.

For Every Lonely Soul is executive produced by Emmy award winner Joan Darling, director of TV classics such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, and Doogie Howser, MD. It will be the debut feature of writer-directors Summer Brooke Gómez and Joe Anson.

“Nate’s music is at the heart of this film,” Gómez said. “It’s a dark romance, a story about how the true heart of horror is love, because when you love someone, you know it’s going to end in loss. Nate’s music captures that perfectly. His ineffable emotionality brings a whole new dimension to our storytelling.”

Birkey’s influence on the project was much greater than is typical for a film composer, Gómez says. “We didn’t just hand him the edited film and have him write music. His music and his ideas shaped the story. This is no conventional score, where the music is just there to support the film. Every track in this film will break your heart.”

“We’re absolutely planning to lead with Nate’s music,” Anson said. “This is a jazz film.”

No release date has been set, but you can catch a glimpse now at EveryLonelySoul.com.

Nate Birkey song files, reviews and photos available in the following Dropbox folder.

Nate Birkey EPK

“Birkey toured Italy and recorded this session, his 10th as a leader, in Rome. And—surprise—far from swooning into la dolce far niente (literally, the sweet do-nothing), Birkey surfaces positively energized in the Eternal City. Is he drawn to the heady joys of wake-up espresso or peering up into the Pantheon’s rotunda? Perhaps, but this animated date for Household Ink suggests it’s more likely that Birkey was enthralled by a fine Italian rhythm section.”

-Fred Bouchard, Downbeat Magazine