Director
Springfield, VA
Shawn Purcell is a guitarist, arranger, composer and adjunct professor of jazz guitar and arranging at George Mason University and part-time lecturer of jazz guitar at West Virginia University. Purcell has shared the stage, recorded with, and/or toured with top jazz artists including: Pat Bianchi, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, Chris Potter, Regina Carter, Peter Erskine, Brian Charette, Jason Tiemann, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Chip McNeill, Jim Pugh, Eddie Daniels, Pat Coil, Jeff Coffin, The Afro Bop Alliance, and others. He has performed at jazz clubs and festivals nationally and internationally including: Blues Alley, Smalls, The Jazz Kitchen, The Blue Wisp, The Jazz Factory, Club Bonafide, JazzB (Sao Paulo), DC Jazz Fest, JEN, PASIC, IAJE, Savannah Jazz Festival, Indy Jazz Fest and Jazz Alive Summer Concert Series.
Purcell can be heard on nearly 40 recordings with artists including Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra, The Capitol Bones, Steve Fidyk, Chip McNeill, Ben Patterson, Darden Purcell, The String Queens and others.
Shawn's 2nd record as a leader, 180, was released on Origin Records in 2022. "Diving deep into the classic tradition of the organ trio, DC-based guitarist Shawn Purcell celebrates hard-bop heroes Pat Martino, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery and George Benson, while finding plenty of room for the influence from Scofield, Stern, Bernstein and others. Graced with a stylistically wide-ranging, virtuosic fluidity, Purcell blends effortlessly with Pat Bianchi's driving basslines and rich chording, while drummer Jason Tiemann creates an animated, energizing flow, propelling this set of 10 originals, along with Johnny Mandel's classic, "A Time for Love," into the realm of a 'must-have' for those deep into the B3 trio tradition."
From 1996-2004, Purcell was the guitarist in the US Air Force premier jazz ensemble, The Airmen of Note. He is currently the guitarist with the Washington D.C. based US Navy Band “Commodores” jazz ensemble.
He has served on the faculty at Towson University, Middle Tennessee State University, and was a Visiting Lecturer in Jazz Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington under the direction of jazz education legend David Baker. Purcell earned his DMA in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His compositions and arrangements have been performed by The Airmen of Note, US Army Blues, US Navy Band Commodores, Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra to name a few.
Purcell plays Benedetto Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Ted Weber speakers and Tomas Jackson Musical Electronics Amplifiers exclusively.
The Shawn Purcell Group features: Shawn Purcell – Guitar, Pat Bianchi - Organ, Joe McCarthy - Drums, Darden Purcell - Voice, Ben Patterson - Trombone
Thursday, January 5, 2023
9:00 AM – 9:50 AM US EST
Friday, January 6, 2023
9:00 AM – 9:50 AM US EST