A boundary-pushing soloist, composer, and bandleader, saxophonist Brian Krock makes forward-thinking jazz that touches upon avant-garde group improvisation, post-rock, and prog-metal. He first gained attention in 2018 with his dynamic, Brooklyn-based big band Big Heart Machine's eponymous debut album.

A native of Arlington Heights, Illinois, Krock initially studied classical and guitar growing up. As a teenager, he became enamored of heavy metal and prog rock and listened to bands like Rush and Yes, as well as Porcupine Tree, Megadeth, and Pantera. As his musical interests expanded he gravitated toward jazz, which he further explored as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From there, he earned his Master's Degree in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied under noted musician/educators like Jim McNeilly and Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh. While living in New York he befriended arranger and Secret Society bandleader Darcy James Argue. Argue then produced the debut of Krock's genre-bending big band, 2018's Big Heart Machine. Along with garnering plaudits for his performance, Krock has earned other accolades including a 2011 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's Award, a 2012 Manhattan Prize in Composition for his "String Quartet No. 1," and a 2018 Aaron Copland Recording Grant. In 2019, Krock returned with his small group solo debut, Liddle, which included contributions by fellow Big Heart Machine members guitarist Olli Hirvonen and bassist Marty Kenney. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi