Chad O'Brien
Trombone
Mauriece Hamilton
Saxophone
Ryan Nottingham
Trumpet
The Bad Ass Brass
The Bad Ass Brass is the best horn section for recording, touring, and arranging in the area. Forming their exciting musical voyage of artistic discovery in 2008, they’ve used constant collaboration and experimental sound exploration to shape their signature sound.
In the music world, there’s no standing still. You must constantly strive to evolve and tour with the purpose of offering something unique to devoted fans and followers. They find inspiration wherever they look and channel whatever moves them into their music.
CHAD O'BRIEN
TROMBONE
Chad O’Brien is a trombonist with an incredibly diverse performance career. He’s shared the stage with a wide array of ensembles, from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to the Eastman Wind Ensemble — the Gil Evans Centennial Project to internationally acclaimed Earth, Wind & Fire. These days, you can find Chad blasting off with space-funk sensation New Gunk, ripping razor-sharp horn lines with the Bad Ass Brass, or performing locally with the Louisville Jazz Initiative, a nonprofit he co-founded committed to culturally grounded jazz performance and education. Outside of music, Chad works as a Software Engineer for Switcher, Inc. and tirelessly pursues his many passions: tinkering, farming, volunteering with local mutual aid organizations, and spending time with his wife, Emily, and their many animals.
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Chad graduated from the University of Louisville in 2019 with Master of Music degrees in Trombone and Jazz Performance; his undergraduate studies earned him a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies (Trombone) and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music in 2012.
