A native of Buffalo, New York, trombonist, composer, and educator Brendan Lanighan’s talents have been recognized on the international stage. In the summer of 2017, he was selected as the winner of the International Trombone Festival’s J.J. Johnson Jazz Solo Competition.

In the fall of 2015, Lanighan earned degrees in Jazz Trombone Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. During his time at Eastman, he was an active member of the vibrant Western New York music scene, developing his skills as a highly versatile musician.

Also in that year, he was a finalist for the 2015 International Trombone Festival’s Carl Fontana Competition, as well as the recipient of a Downbeat Magazine award for his arrangement of J.J. Johnson’s composition “Lament”.

After a year of freelancing, teaching, and searching, Lanighan left Western New York to join the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Nick Hilscher. During his time on the road, Brendan played over two hundred shows in concert halls throughout the U.S., Canada, and Japan. He also lended his singing talents to the band’s vocal group, the Moonlight Serenaders. 

Around the time his tenure with Glenn Miller was coming to a close, Lanighan auditioned and was accepted into the Juilliard School in Manhattan, NY. Lanighan began pursuing a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies at Juilliard in the Fall of 2018. At Juilliard, he honed his skills under the tutelage of jazz masters such as Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Elliot Mason, and Kenny Washington. In May of 2020, Brendan earned his degree in Juilliard’s first ever virtual graduation ceremony due to the circumstances caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Brendan has been heard around New York City as both a leader and sideman in notable jazz venues such as Dizzy’s Club, the Kitano Hotel, Zinc Bar and others. Lanighan is featured on several tracks of an upcoming album from one his earliest influences, Wycliffe Gordon, to be released later this year. He also began working and traveling extensively with the Gordon Webster Band, one of the premier Lindy hop dance bands in the world.

An inspired writer, Lanighan’s compositions and arrangements for large ensemble have been played by the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, the Juilliard Jazz Ensemble, the Williamsville East Jazz Orchestra featuring Bill Charlap, as well as by his own groups, most notably, the Brendan Lanighan Octet. This Octet released an album in March of this year entitled “A Little Optimism” which was hailed as “an ardent and colorful debut” by AllAboutJazz.

In 2014, Lanighan received an Outstanding Arrangement Award from Downbeat magazine in recognition of his arrangement of the great trombonist J.J. Johnson’s ballad, “Lament”, for small ensemble. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brendan was a member of the BMI Workshop, under the direction of Andy Farber and Alan Ferber.

Presently, Lanighan resides in Buffalo, NY, where he maintains a diverse teaching and playing schedule (recent performances include Bright Eyes, the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, guest soloist with the Penn State Behrend Jazz Ensemble, etc). He is adjunct professor of Tuba, Euphonium, and Trombone at the University at Buffalo, adjunct professor of Jazz Trombone and Jazz Theory at SUNY Fredonia, and last year taught a semester of Jazz Trombone at the Eastman School of Music as part of a sabbatical replacement.