39th Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival Presents: B.D. Lenz (USA)
D. Lenz returns to Birmingham as part of a month-long tour of the UK, Belgium and Germany to promote his 13th album, It’s Just a Dream. New Jersey native Lenz is a guitarist whose style fuses the music of Pat Metheny, Mike Stern and Stevie Ray Vaughan – or, to put it another way, is a blend of jazz, funk and rock. His versatility shows in his appearances in everything from Orchestra pits to small combos, even at one time accompanying an Elvis impersonator!
His latest CD grew out of a small writing project to become a full-scale album of his own originals featuring (on one track each) his mentor Mike Stern and trumpet legend Randy Brecker.
‘Part of the reason for his accessibility is that he not only fuses jazz and rock, he complements it with warm chords of funk, soul and rhythm and blues.’ – New York Times
This is completely free with valid general admission tickets to the gardens.