San Francisco Bay area jazz guitarist Terrence Brewer, is back with a new album, a new band, and a fresh sound! QuintEssential, produced by Strong Brew Music and recorded at the world famous Fantasy Studios, is the highly anticipated follow up to Brewer’s debut records, The Calling: Volume One and Volume Two (April 2006). QuintEssential returns Ben Stolorow (piano), Ravi Abcarian (acoustic bass), and Micah McClain (drums) from The Calling: Volume One and adds, Berkelee School of music alum and Bay area resident, Kasey Knudsen on saxophones. Ranging from hard driving swing to soulful backbeat grooves to infectious Afro-Cuban textures, QuintEssential features nine of Brewer’s original compositions. As one of the last recordings at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA before the studio closed its doors in September 2007, QuintEssential is a rare treasure. Chief Engineer Stephen Hart, most notably known in the jazz world for recording McCoy Tyner, Joe Pass, Flora and Airto, Oscar Peterson, and Branford Marsalis just to name a few recorded, mixed, and mastered the project. “Brewer has a natural, inviting sound that instantly transports you back to the heyday of classic jazz guitar…” writes David Rubien (San Francisco Chronicle feature, March 20, 2007). "(Brewer is) A naturally gifted player with a beautiful, warm tone and a melodic penchant, his playing is eminently pleasing…" penned Bill Milkowski (Jazz Times May 2007). Brewer’s playing has been hailed as, “powerful”, “smooth”, “beautiful”, “mature”, and “graceful” and The Calling: Volume One and Volume Two albums have been referred to as, “seductive”, “sensuous”, and “gorgeous”. Andy Gilbert (Contra Costa Times) remarks, “Over the past decade, Brewer has established himself as an accomplished improviser with an exquisite tone. His (Brewer) sound is marked by a balance and maturity…” while the San Francisco Chronicle included Brewer in a short list of “whom to stalk” in Bay Area jazz in 2007. Brewer’s performances include sold out shows at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, and Jazz At Pearl’s, and standing room only performances at Kuumbwa Jazz Center (Santa Cruz), and SF Jazz Summer Concert Series at Stanford Shopping Center. Brewer has also performed to standing ovations at the Sonoma Jazz, Fillmore Jazz, Montclair Jazz and Marin Jazz Festivals. Other notable Bay area jazz performances include venues such Anna’s Jazz Island, Café Van Kleef, Café Claude, Jupiter. Residing in Alameda, California, Brewer’s aggressive marketing and business acumen aided him in leading his own instrumental and vocal groups in nearly 2000 shows throughout California in the last seven years. In addition to this impressive feat, Brewer possesses the rich experience of performing with legendary artists such as Pete Escovedo, Herb Gibson, Kim Nalley, Calvin Keyes, Bruce Forman, Scott Amendola, Khalil Shaheed, Max Perkoff, Ed Kelly, Michael Zilber, Duwaan Muhammad, Tuck and Patti, and many others. In addition to performing with great artists, Brewer’s fate led him to study with musical greats such as Charlie Hunter, Duck Baker, and Mark Levine, and Tom Pattitucci. With the release of The Calling: Volume One and Volume Two, in the spring of 2006, Brewer garnered a tremendous amount of media attention and recognition. In June of 2006, long time Oakland Tribune columnist Brenda Payton wrote, “Brewer has a distinctive guitar sound and his compositions are rooted in classical jazz standards with a fresh voice. The horizon belongs to him and we are sure to hear more.” Writing for the Contra Costa Times (May 2006) consummate Jazz and Cultural Arts writer Andy Gilbert proclaimed, “Over the past decade, Brewer has established himself as an accomplished improviser with an exquisite tone… His sound is marked by a balance and maturity more often found in much older players. [Brewer’s] graceful, well-constructed solos flow thematically out of his compositions, rather than turning his tunes into mere launching pads for displays of technique.” Dan King of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “(Brewer) is one of the reasons the Bay area Jazz scene looks promising…”. In addition to printed press, Brewer found himself featured in radio and television interviews. Chris Cortez of KSCM-FM91.1 (May 2006) referred to Brewer as “a skilled and gifted guitarist”. When referring to Brewer’s music in various interviews, KCSM and KPFA (April/June 2006) DJ Greg Bridges stated, “New standards are sure to come out of these recordings”. Television interviews and performances on San Francisco’s CBS affiliate KPIX CBS 5 (May 2006) and ABC affiliate KGO-TV 7 (August 2006) continue to pave the way for Brewer’s Bay area marketing success, KPIX CBS 5 anchor Lisa Chan referred to Brewer as “…the Bay area’s newest rising star!” during his May 28 televised interview. With the support from his local communities, the press, his wide-reaching listening audience, and Brewer’s passion for creation and innovation through improvisation, many more exciting things lay in store for Brewer and his fans.