Brian Newman (born June 10, 1981) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician, singer, and trumpet player. He is most known for his numerous performances with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and her surprise appearances at his performances in New York City. Newman currently holds a residency at the Rose Bar at the

Gramercy Park Hotel Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. __FORCETOC__ History Gramercy Park Hote ...

in New York City and is married to

American burlesque American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in America in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By th ...

performer

Angie Pontani Angela Pontani is a contemporary burlesque dancer, choreographer, producer, and blogger based in Brooklyn, New York. She was crowned Miss Exotic World Pageant, Miss Exotic World in 2008. Biography Andrea Louisa Pontani is originally from Trento ...

Early life

Newman was born on June 10, 1981, and raised in Mentor and Concord Township in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He told his mother at age 12 that he wanted to grow up to be a New York City jazz musician. He began playing at age nine and made his public debut at age 14. He is a 1999 graduate of

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin is a coeducational, Catholic college-preparatory school in Chardon, Ohio, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame.. Background The school began as Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls school founded in 1878. The school mo ...

. Concerning his youth in Cleveland, Newman stated, "That's one thing Cleveland and my family taught me well—the importance of hard work...There are a lot of hard workers in Cleveland." He attended the University of Cincinnati's College-

Conservatory of Music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger i ...

in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Career

Along with other graduates from Cincinnati's College-

, Newman began performing in venues across New York City including the Oak Room at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

, and

Duane Park Duane Park is a small, triangular public urban park located in the diamond of the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The park is bordered by Hudson Street to the east and branches of Duane Street on north and south sides. It was o ...

. Newman has also performed trumpet for

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

and Mark Murphy. When he first arrived in New York, Newman served bar and waited tables between performances to help make ends meet. Newman's music was featured in the 2011 film, ''

Friends with Kids ''Friends with Kids'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film. Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns also star ...

''. In 2018, he released the LP ''Showboat''.

Collaboration with Lady Gaga

While in New York City, Newman befriended

's boyfriend, Luc Carl, which led to a friendship with Lady Gaga. He has performed with Gaga on the special, '' A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' (and its follow-up EP, '' A Very Gaga Holiday''), ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'', the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

, and

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

. He arranged and appeared on Lady Gaga's jazz album with

, ''

Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.

'' (2014), and later their second album, '' Love for Sale'' (2021). Gaga has also made random surprise appearances at Newman's gigs throughout the city which have been covered by major media outlets including E!,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, and VH1. His trumpet performance can also be heard on the track "Just Another Day", from Gaga's 2016 album '' Joanne''. He also collaborated with Gaga on "

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for the American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been cover ...

" from his ''Showboat'' album. Their later collaborations include the television special '' One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga'', and Gaga's Las Vegas residency, Jazz & Piano.

Personal life

Newman is married to

, a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

dancer who was

Miss Exotic World The Miss Exotic World Pageant (officially, the Miss Exotic World Pageant and Striptease Reunion) is an annual neo-burlesque pageant and convention, and is the annual showcase event (and fundraiser for) the Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly the E ...

2008. They have a daughter together, named Sistilia (born in 2016). Her godmother is Lady Gaga.

Discography

* ''Live From New York City '' (2012) * ''Eyes On the City'' (2016) * ''Showboat'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Brian 1981 births Living people American jazz musicians