Brian Dunning (21 December 1951 – 10 February 2022) was an Irish flautist and composer,[1][2] largely known for being a member of the Celtic band Nightnoise.[3] He had both Celtic and jazz influences early on. He studied jazz and classical music, and was a student of James Galway.[4] He taught music for a short while at Ashlyns School in Berkhamstead, in the United Kingdom. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in 1977.[5]
Dunning played the flute and panpipe in Puck Fair, a primarily instrumental "Irish jazz" group formed in New York in 1984 that played traditional Irish songs and original compositions.[4][6] They released the album Fairplay on the Lost Lake Arts/Windham Hill label in 1987, with Dunning on flute and drummer Tommy Hayes on bodhran, joined by various musicians including Mícheál Ó Domhnaill.[7][8] The group was later reformed in Dublin with Dunning, guitarist Sean Whelan, and percussionist Robbie Harris, releasing the album Forgotten Carnival on their own label in 2008.[9] He collaborated with keyboardist Jeff Johnson since the late 1980s, recording several albums together, including Songs from Albion (1992), The Music of Celtic Legends – the Bard and the Warrior (1997), Byzantium (2000), and Patrick (2004).[10][11]
Brian was a member in the extraordinary band Nightnoise since 1987.
Dunning can be heard on the soundtrack to Gangs of New York, Windhorse, and The Outcasts.[12][13]
Dunning died on 10 February 2022, at the age of 70.[14]