Brian Q. Torff is a bassist, composer, harmonica player, author and educator. Currently he is Professor of Music and Music Program Director at Fairfield University. Torff has performed with George Shearing, Frank Sinatra, Stephane Grappelli, Marian McPartland, Oliver Nelson, Mary Lou Williams, the Django Reinhart All-Stars, Tony Bennett, Cleo Laine and the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Orchestra. He is the Musical Director and arranger for New Duke, an eight-piece horn band that was featured on the national CBS television special, “Christmas Eve at Fairfield University.” In 1992, he served as co-chairperson for the Music Advisory Board for the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2008, Torff was named Artist of the Year by the Fairfield Arts Council. In early 2008, Brian Torff lived in Paris where he wrote In Love with Voices: A Jazz Memoir. Brian Q. Torff’s new recording, Run With Scissors, is available on all platforms.
His new book on American music will be published by McFarland and Company Publishers in the spring of 2023.