Pittston native Brian Quinn performs with the Michael Allman Band at the River Street Jazz Cafe.

Brian Quinn, center, poses for a family portrait with his parents, Barbara and Marty, at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains Township.

Pittston native Brian Quinn performs with the Michael Allman Band at the River Street Jazz Cafe.

Pittston native Brian Quinn, right, performs with the Michael Allman Band at the River Street Jazz Cafe.

Pittston native Brian Quinn performs with the Michael Allman Band at the River Street Jazz Cafe.

Michael Allman, center right, and the Michael Allman Band perform at the River Street Jazz Cafe.

PLAINS TWP. — Brian Quinn’s aptitude as a guitar player is undeniable. He plays with precision, passion and soul with a style that can be both powerful and elegant.

The Pittston native, who has had significant successes with his bands Octane and Fosterchild, returned home on June 6 to play with the Michael Allman Band at the River Street Jazz Café in Plains.

Allman is the son of Gregg Allman, lead singer and piano player of the highly-influential Allman Brothers Band and the nephew of the late and great Duane Allman, who always gets votes in the conversation about the greatest rock guitar players of all time.

In front of family and friends, Quinn took the stage with this member of an iconic rock and roll family to play a few of Allman’s originals, as well as to pay tribute to the music of his father and uncle.

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“It’s kind of surreal coming home,” said Quinn. “That’s the best word I can put to it, because I came up, I cut my teeth on a lot of the Allman Brothers’ stuff.”

Quinn, whose personal style includes an affinity for playing slide guitar, is a perfect fit to play the bluesy southern rock riffs originated by Duane Allman throughout a seven-show run with Michael Allman.

The 38-year-old has been in bands since he was a young teenager, but vividly remembers his introduction to the slide. He credits local music promoter James Callahan with introducing him to Warren Haynes, the lead guitar player and singer of Government Mule who also did a long stint as a guitarist in the Allman Brothers Band.

Through conversations and a guitar session or two, Quinn got a feel for the style via Hayne’s explanations.

“It really reinvented the instrument for me,” said Quinn.

The band took the stage at the Jazz Cafe, opening with a slow sultry blues tune called “If Dreams Were Money,” one of Michael Allman’s originals. Then the group got right into the Allman Brothers songs and Quinn displayed a smooth, swampy style reminiscent of Dwayne Allman but had just enough grungy, gainy bite to be something all his own while giving reverent tribute.

The band, which included Allman on lead vocals, Quinn and John McNutt on guitar and vocals, A.J. Hager on bass and vocals, Marc Iezzi on drums and vocals and Tim McKinstry on keyboard, organ and vocals, captured every bit of soulfulness and brilliance of the Allman Brothers band as it powerfully performed some other Michael Allman originals like “A Mule Named Whiskey.”

At one point in the first set, Quinn and McNutt traded call and response guitar riffs, screaming at each other in wailing blues phrases that would have made Duane Allman and Dicky Betts (the Allman Brothers other famed guitar player) proud.

A true working musician, Quinn has been playing gigs with Allman, Octane and Candlebox as well as spending time in the studio with the bands Le Projet and Saint Caine as they have recently cut new records.

Quinn credits his ability to find work to his open mindedness and willingness to learn and play all styles of music regardless of his particular affinity for them. “That’s been my biggest asset,” he said.

In an industry that swallows up and turns away musicians every day, Quinn looks toward hard work and motivation as he continues to carve out his living. He loves to practice six to eight hours every day when he’s not touring.

“Ninety percent of the battle is staying in it,” he said. “You’ve just got to stay in it and deal with it, because it is a lot of nonsense. There’s a lot of static outside, but if you just stay focused on becoming better, be as good as you can possibly be and put the time in.”

He is also working with a trio that has allowed him to delve into a backlog of songs he’s developed that have been in need of the right configuration of musicians. Quinn says the trio is allowing him to get back to some of his favorite musical styles. He looks forward to playing riff heavy, 70s guitar rock and combining it with melodic songwriting.

In the meantime, he is getting a kick out of being on stage with the Michael Allman Band. “Me being such an Allman Brothers fan, a Warren Haynes fan, a Duane Allman fan, to actually get to play with someone in the bloodline, it’s rock royalty, man; it’s unbelievable.”