Joseph Brent

Joseph Frederick Brent (born April 6, 1976) is an American composer, mandolinist, multi-instrumentalist, and teacher. He is known for his performances and arrangements of rock and indie songs, as well as his original compositions with the ensemble 9 Horses. He taught classical mandolin at Mannes College and currently teaches at Bard College.

Brent attended the Berklee College of Music, and studied the mandolin under Carlo Aonzo in Savona, Italy. He also received instruction from Barry Mitterhoff and Adam Steffey.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Brent is active as a sideman in several rock, jazz, bluegrass, and folk ensembles, most notably with Regina Spektor, Jewel, Kishi Bashi, Gary Smulyan, and various artists centered on the Brooklyn folk music scene.

Brent also records and has performed with symphony orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, nunc, and the New World Symphony.

Joseph Brent in 2013 with his custom-made 10-string mandolin, named Kumi.

On October 16, 2015, Brent's improvising ensemble 9 Horses, featuring violinist Sara Caswell and bassist Shawn Conley released their debut album Perfectest Herald on Sunnyside Records, and in 2016 were the winners of the 21CM LAUNCH: Emerging Artists Competition.

In 2021 Brent founded Adhyâropa Records. In addition to releasing Omegah and subsequent material by 9 Horses and its associated members, Adhyâropa has also released albums by Sam Sadigursky, Darol Anger, Lenny Pickett, and many others.

Brent has published two books of mandolin pedagogy, Scales and Arpeggios for Mandolin and Orchestral and Chamber Excerpts for Mandolin, and his book of transcriptions of the lute music of John Dowland for two mandolins, conceived with Alon Sariel, was published in 2015 by paladino music.

Customized instruments In 2008, Brent collaborated with Nova Scotia-based luthier Brian Dean to design a grand concert mandolin he named 'Pähkinä', which is Finnish for 'nut', a reference to the walnut top of the instrument. Among the instrument's many distinctive features are the walnut/maple/spruce wood combination, a zero fret, a semi-lute construction with minimal bracing, a built-in tone guard with a sound pressure relief hole cut into the back, and ornate f-holes which reach around the sides of the instrument. Dean has since built a 10-string version of this model nicknamed 'Kumí', which is currently Brent's primary acoustic instrument. In 2016, Vermont-based luthier Adam Buchwald built him a 5-string, fanned fret electric mandolin.

Discography

Solo Point of Departure (2007) Nocturnes and Caprices by David Loeb (Vienna Modern Masters) (2011) solo. EP (2011) An Englishman In New York (2013) with Alon Sariel

With 9 Horses Joe Brent & Sara Caswell EP (2013) Perfectest Herald (2015) Blood From A Stone EP (2019) Omegah (2021) Strum (2024) Strumming Music EP (2024)

With others

Year Artist Album Description 1997 Rob Giles Straight Down a Crooked Road violin, string arrangements 2002 Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt Roadside (original cast recording) mandolin, violin, guitar, banjo 2003 Eric Stuart Band BombShellShocked violin 2006 Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris 2006 off-Broadway revival cast recording mandolin, violin 2008 Lindsay Katt Picking Out Boxes violin 2010 Regina Spektor Live In London violin Joseph Stein & Stan Daniels Enter Laughing (Original Cast Recording) violin 2012 Bryan Dunn Sweetheart of the Music Hall mandolin, vocals Miller & Tysen Fugitive Songs mandolin, violin 2013 Kishi Bashi 7" Box Set violin Erin McKeown MANIFESTRA violin, piano, string arrangements Kelli Rae Powell Live at Jalopy mandolin, violin Gary Smulyan Bella Napoli mandolin, violin 2014 Lauren Kinhan Circle in a Square violin 2015 Maxine Linehan Beautiful Songs mandolin, percussion, violin Andi Rae Healy If You Want To Be My Man mandolin King Radio King Radio mandolin, violin Kishi Bashi String Quartet Live! mandolin, violin Lina Orfanos Mauthausen mandolin 2016 Kishi Bashi The Fourth Phase (Original Soundtrack) violin 2018 Various Artists I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas electric mandolin, string arrangements with Erin McKeown on 'Jenny' 2019 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Oklahoma! (2019 Revival) mandolin, guitar 2022 Lara Downes Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered mandolin, vihuela 2023 James Moore Desolation Pops vocals 2024 Christopher Zuar Exuberance mandolin

Books Scales and Arpeggios for Mandolin. Lulu Publishing. 2007. Orchestral and Chamber Excerpts for Mandolin. Lulu Publishing. 2007.