A fine hard bop trumpeter with a crackling sound, Brian Lynch started out played locally in Milwaukee from age 16. After graduating from the Wisconsin Conservatory, he spent much of 1980 in San Diego where he played with Charles McPherson. Relocating to New York in 1981, Lynch worked with George Russell, Horace Silver (1982-1985), and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, in addition to freelancing. In 1987, he was with Frank Wess' Quintet and started playing with Eddie Palmieri. Lynch was the last trumpeter to be a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1988-1990) and he has been in the Phil Woods Quintet since 1992. Brian Lynch has recorded as a leader for Ken and Criss Cross. In 2000, he released an album on Sharp Nine Records with his quartet, featuring Mulgrew Miller, Essiet Essiet, and Carl Allen, which paid tribute to trumpet masters like Woody Shaw and Tom Harrell.