Quinlan Kirchner (b. December 14, 1981) is a drummer, composer & improvisor from Chicago, Illinois. He first started his musical studies at the age of 10 at the famed Academy of Movement and Music and later at the Merit Music Program of Chicago. Learning from Chicago educator, Don Skoog, his studies soon grew to include the traditions of Afro-Cuban drumming, taking him to Havana, Cuba to study under acclaimed percussionists Jose Eladio, Omar Rojas & Don Poncho Terry. His early exposure to expressive arts and dedicated practice led him to earn a Basin Street Scholarship to the University of New Orleans, led by Ellis Marsalis, at the age of 18. There, Kirchner learned under the guidance of the city’s drumming masters including Ricky Sebastian, Jason Marsalis, Troy Davis and Johnny Vidacovich and his undergraduate studies led to a B.A. in Music, Jazz Studies, and the Gregory Frederico Senior of the Year Award. It was also while in New Orleans that Kirchner began recording and performing as an artist with such groups as QMRplus, Red Shift, The Other Planets, The Hall Monitors, Adam Croche, Jeff Albert, Irene Sage & Ed Petersen. After the dislocation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kirchner headed to New York for Masters Degree studies at the Manhattan School of Music under John Riley before relocating to Chicago. In the 14 years since his return to his native Chicago, Kirchner has become a ubiquitous drumming force throughout the city's diverse music scene. He has led countless large & small groups including the Broste/Beach/Kirchner, Head With Wings, Ear To The Ground, Golombisky/ Kirchner Duo, Lost Levels, Kirchner/Van Duerm/Lux (KVL) & The Quin Kirchner Trio, Quartet, Ensemble & Group. In 2006, he was commissioned by the Umbrella Music Organization to compose and perform a 4-movement piece for string quartet & percussion entitled The Quagmire String Quartets. In 2010 he was selected as a member of the New Generation, a cross-cultural exchange in Dortmund, Germany led by Georg Graewe and Tobias Delias as part of the Ruhr 2010 Cultural Capital of Europe. In 2018, Kirchner released his debut album as a leader, The Other Side Of Time, a sprawling 90-minute collage of jazz, beats & improvisations, called "the first great jazz album of 2018" by Chicago Reader's Peter Margasak. It was well received by critics, named an album of the year by Bandcamp Daily, a top 5 "Best Debut" in the NPR Jazz Critics Poll & given four stars in Downbeat & All About Jazz. In August 2018, The Quin Kirchner Group performed at the 40th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. Kirchner is also a popular sideman performing with such musicians as Rob Mazurek, Jeb Bishop, Jeff Parker, Greg Ward, Dave Rempis, Paul Giallorenzo, Mars Williams, Wayne Montana, Nick Mazzarella, Nate Lepine, Jason Stein, Ben Lamar Gay & Matt Ulery to name a few. He has toured, performed and recorded with many different groups including Greg Ward's Fitted Shards & Rogue Parade, Matt Ulery's Delicate Charms, Nate Lepine Quartet, The Nick Mazzarella Quintet, Bill MacKay's Darts & Arrows, Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo, blink., ZING!, In Tall Buildings, NOMO, Wild Belle, Ryley Walker and The Lucky 7s, among others. His musical talents have been showcased on stages all across North America and in over 20 countries around the world. --- SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY Knots - Tim Stine Quartet - November 2019 Volume 1 - KVL - November 2019 Delicate Charms - Matt Ulery - October 2019 Everybody One Of A Kind - Wild Belle - March 2019 People Are Fragile - Ashley Danneman - March 2019 Stomping Off From Greenwood - Greg Ward Presents Rogue Parade - January 2019 Sinner Songwriter - Phillip-Michael Scales - December 2018 The Lillywhite Sessions - Ryley Walker - November 2018 Volume 3 - Matthew Golombisky's Cuentos - November 2018 Deafman Glance - Ryley Walker - May 2018 Golden Sings That Have Been Sung - Ryley Walker - August 2016 Dreamland - Wild Belle - April 2016 Eidetic - Dave McDonnell Group - April 2016 Old Door Phantoms - Dave Miller - April 2016 Quartet: Vortices - Nate Lepine - September 2016 Delicate Beast - blink. - July 2016 Islands - Rob Clearfield Trio - June 2016 Drink With Your Eyes - Warm Blooded - March 2016 Gustav 29 Hannah Concerto - Tomorrow Music Orchestra - January 2016 Altamira - Bill MacKay's Darts & Arrows - October 2015 The International Anthem b/w Besides - The Nick Mazzarella Quintet - December 2014 Force Majeur - Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo - May 2014 Lullabies & Nightmares - Justin Walter - May 2013 Isles - Wild Belle - May 2013 Diamonds From The Cherry Mine - Leaf Bird - June 2012 Eyes of the Carnival - Bill MacKay's Darts & Arrows - April 2012 Various - Grubenklan.Reloaded - December 2011 The Architects - blink. - April 2011 Leaf Bird EP - Leaf Bird - February 2011 South Side Story - Greg Ward's Fitted Shards - September 2010 Invisible Cities - NOMO - May 2009 Pluto Junkyard - Lucky 7s - May 2009 Ghost Rock - NOMO - June 2008 The Epidemic of Ideas - blink. - 2008 Magnetic Flux - ZING! - October 2007 Farragut - Lucky 7s - August 2006