Seaside William Flynn

• 1Follow the Leader04:38
• 2January06:53
• 3Blue Ridge06:02
• 430A05:01
• 5Birthday Song05:47
• 6Sea Song06:49
• 7Heatwave07:21
• 8New Year04:58
• 9House of Savannah Street05:57
• 10Sundog06:11
• Total Runtime59:37

Info for Seaside

In January 2017, halfway through my fourth year teaching at Wichita State University, I found myself driving a thousand miles away from the plains of Kansas to the sugary shores of the Florida Gulf Coast. I had applied for and been awarded an artist residency by Escape to Create, a non-profit and volunteer-run organization that houses artists of all disciplines for month-long winter retreats in the idyllic Florida panhandle community of Seaside.

My goal for the month was to compose the music to a new album. At that time, I had a good deal of writing under my belt, but the writing was sporadic and mostly impelled by looming deadlines for recording sessions, concerts, or recitals. I had never spent an entire month ritualistically writing music on a daily basis.

My January sequestration went even better than I had hoped, and for that month I felt more productive than I had ever been. The isolation of solely occupying a cottage next to the ocean and being over a thousand miles away from my life and job allowed me to focus with a creative intensity I had never experienced.

All the music you hear on this album was penned during my time in Seaside, and I hope it puts you in as enjoyable a headspace as the headspace I was in when I wrote it. The Florida panhandle is a magical place, and I will always have very fond memories of the month I spent living on highway 30A.

"Washington-based Origin Records seems to be a mecca for guitarists, as they've been releasing a plethora of six stringed outings. This latest is from the clean-toned William Flynn, who has a dash of Grant Green to his picking as he teams with Roger Wilder/p, Sam Copeland/b and Brian Steever/dr for a decalogue of originals. There are also a couple o ..." (Jazz Weekly, George W Harris)

William Flynn, guitar
Emily Merrell, voice (tracks 4, 6)
Roger Wilder, piano
Sam Copeland, bass
Brian Steever, drums

William Flynn
is a Midwest-based jazz guitarist highly respected for his playing and teaching alike.

Described as “playing a mean guitar” (Wichita Eagle), William Flynn is a Kansas-based jazz guitarist and educator currently serving as Director of Jazz Studies at Wichita State University. William’s recent professional engagements include performances with Carmen Bradford, Pat Bianchi, and Vincent DiMartino, as well as appearances at the West Virginia Wine & Jazz Festival, the Overture to Overtown Jazz Festival (Miami, FL), and the Charlie Parker Celebration Festival (Kansas City). William’s music can be heard on Armored Records and the Artists Recording Collective, and his forthcoming album Seaside will be released on Origin Records in July 2022.

Widely respected as a leading educator in his field, William has presented and adjudicated at conferences and universities across the country. His educational writing has been published in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, and he is the co-author of Mel Bay’s 2016 publication Jazz Guitar Duets. Additionally, William is the founder of @thejazzwoodshed, an educational Instagram account followed by thousands of users from around the world.

William holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Capital University (Columbus, OH), and a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he taught as a Graduate Teaching Fellow. From 2011-2012, William held the guitar chair in the world-renowned and Grammy-nominated University of North Texas One O’ Clock Lab Band, and can be heard on Lab 2012.

In his position at Wichita State University, William teaches applied guitar and jazz improvisation, directs the Guitar Ensemble, and coordinates the Jazz Combos. In 2019, he was awarded the University Faculty Excellence Award in Creative Activity.

This album contains no booklet.