^{Nate Birkey’s quiet but intense demeanor typifies an artist restlessly pursuing the evolution of his own musical personality. As composer, trumpeter and vocalist he imbues warmth and broiling energy into his music. His subtle vocal and trumpet approach has often been compared to that of Chet Baker and Miles Davis respectively; a sound poised and assured, powerfully stark and spare, it creates an atmosphere at once solitary and electric.}

            Though a California resident for the past fifteen years, Birkey hails from Colorado, learning piano at age seven and falling in love with his father's trumpet in the fifth grade. He then attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston where he honed his precise musical skills and later finished his studies at U.C. Santa Barbara.

            Critics have compared Birkey's subtle vocal and trumpet approach to that of Chet Baker and Miles Davis, respectively; a sound poised and assured, powerfully stark and spare, it creates an atmosphere at once solitary and electric. With this latest two-album release, Birkey shows that his passion and dedication to making music is both endearing and enduring.

(entry from All-Music Guide...)

by Matt Collar Although a quintessentially west coast jazz musician, trumpeter/vocalist Nate Birkey is a Midwestern native born in Indiana and raised in Colorado. With a soft, tenor voice and pining trumpet sound Birkey draws easy comparisons with "cool school" luminaries such as Chet Baker, Miles Davis and Art Farmer. While, these references are justified, a closer examination of Birkey's work reveals a knowledge of post-bop, the "great American songbook", and a knack for harmonically challenging original compositions. Introduced to the trumpet by his father at age 7, Birkey eventually enrolled in the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Later, after a two year stint at Seattle Pacific University, Birkey enrolled in the University of California, Santa Barbera to finish out his music studies. He has been a regular presence on the Southern California jazz scene ever since. Birkey released Blue under the moniker of The Avant Gardeners in 1993 and later formed a quintet under his own name releasing Indelibly You in 1997.

  nate birkey quintet, the mennonite 

   (CD) 2001, HI-128= $15 (postage paid)

1. The Fool in the Tree (Birkey) 2. Delirio (Birkey) 3. Penelope (Birkey) 4. Before She Goes Away (Birkey) 5. Northern Lights (Roney) 6. Hollow (Trotter) 7. Song Without Words (Birkey) 8. Prohibition (Trotter) 9. The Mennonite (Birkey) 10. What'll I Do? (Berlin)

Personnel: Nate Birkey, trumpet and vocals; Jamieson Trotter, keyboards; Cougar Estrada, drums; Jim Connolly, bass; also with Joe Woodard, guitar

  nate birkey Quintet, ballads

    (CD) 2001, HI-129= $15 (postage paid)

1. I'll Be Seeing You (Fain/Kahal) 2. Nature Boy (Ahbez) 3. For All We Know (Coots/Lewis) 4. Dreaming of Memphis (Birkey) 5. Hi Lili, Hi Lo (Deutsch/Kaper) 6. But Not For Me (Gershwin/Gershwin) 7. I'll Be Around (Wilder) 8. My Ship (Gershwin/Weill) 9. I Will Wait For You (Demy/Gimbel/Legrand) 10. You Don't Know What Love Is (DePaul/Raye)

Personnel: Nate Birkey, trumpet and vocals; Jamieson Trotter, keyboards; Cougar Estrada, drums; Jim Connolly, bass; also with Ruben Estrada, piano and vibraphone; Dan Zimmerman, electric guitar, Joe Woodard, guitar

     nate birkey quintet, indelibly you

     (CD) HI-122= $12 (postage paid)

"His biggest, boldest, most original statement as a musician yet."