Feature: BRIAN NASH, Accidental Genius, Comes to Joe's Pub

"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the power of all true art and science..."

-Albert Einstein

If you've ever seen someone in 'flow,' you've been in the presence of this emotion. The ethereal transference of otherworldly energy and focus pulsing through the very essence of being without obstruction. That is flow. That is the elusive emotion of 'the mysterious.' That is watching Brian Nash at the piano. Watching his euphoric smile as he marvels at the wonder before him. Watching him stand up to gain deeper leverage so as to better support his singer's electric vocals, amplifying the experience to palpable excitement - filling the room with so much energy it's hard to breathe. That's what happened last night at Joe's Pub in Natalie Joy Johnson's Low Hanging Naturals. When these two collaborate, they create a force of nature that disrupts every molecule in the room. It is beautiful and foul and magical and I wouldn't want it any other way.

After watching this cabaret, it's easy to assume that a musical director who can construct a two-person reworking of Simon and Norman's The Secret Garden to tell a tawdry tale of a cherry-popping sex party experience must have their training steeped in musical theatre tradition, or composition, or jazz at the very least - but that's not the case. Nash pursued his musical studies at the American Boychoir, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Boston Conservatory studying classical voice, not piano or composition. In fact, those weren't skills he would develop until he happened upon the necessity for them.

While attending the American Boychoir, his love for classical music was fostered and cultivated, but, with his eight-year-old dreams of playing little orphan Annie still dancing in his head, he couldn't relinquish his love of musical theatre - and, at 16, he found himself conducting a production of Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar. It wasn't a task he had actively sought out, but there was no one else to do it...so he did. Not long after this, he was offered the opportunity to music direct a benefit with orchestra, but there was a catch: they didn't have the orchestral parts. So, not knowing any other way, he listened to a recording and transcribed the parts - beginning his descent into accidental genius. He saw a problem and found a solution - not knowing that this solution required extreme skill.

I should mention that he had yet to study the piano. And, in fact, his 'studies' didn't begin until his obsession with Tori Amos grew to the point that he had to teach himself her songs - well, Tori's and the Sunset Boulevard score. He would sit in the practice room with these two opposing musical forces, while studying classical voice during the day, and taught himself to play. Eventually, he found the arrangements he had failed to satisfy, so he began fleshing out the accompaniment with material he transcribed from the full orchestral recordings, slipping deeper and deeper into the brilliance that is Brian Nash. He started spreading his wings and began accompanying for students at Interlochen, and eventually Boston Conservatory.

It is at this point a certain piece of conservatory lore should be shared. While Brian was in undergrad, he got an advanced copy of the recording Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown. He wrote to the composer immediately and asked where he might be able to find the sheet music, to which Brown responded: it hasn't been written down yet. So, Brian listened to the recording and transcribed it. And, the first person to ever sing "I'm Not Afraid of Anything" at the Boston Conservatory was from a transcription Brian made. Brown's composition grew to be extremely impactful and has influenced almost all young musical theatre composers, each creating their own Songs for a New World song-cycle homage. Responding to the visceral reaction in your gut is what making music is about. That's what Brian did. He heard something, knew it was special, and found a way to be a part of it. In fact, this episode was just the genesis for the influence Brown's distinctive style would eventually have on Brian's playing.

After school he moved to New York, music directing and singing along the way, when he was given the opportunity to be a part of Justin Tranter's first 'glam-rock Hedwig-esque' band. Brian's orchestrations for the group drew on his classical and musical theatre roots, creating mammoth symphonic soundscapes. It was clear at this point what an innovative sponge he was, picking up influences from all facets of his being, infusing them into each creation. He says:

"My influences are bizarre - it's a strange collection of things: the operatic/classical, the indie singer-songwriter, the theatrical. Those are the things I love the most. With almost every project I do, I am drawing on each of those influences."

Brian's brilliance shows us that music is not one genre, but all genres. Until we allow ourselves to dissolve the walls that have been arbitrarily placed between them, can we begin to see the potential for the genius in music.

When Brian is in town, you can check him out at The Duplex on Sunday nights, but don't wait - buy his cd Forever/After here.

Production Photo Credit: Cole Grissom