Don Braden Musician - All About Jazz

Updated: July 7, 2023

Born: November 20, 1963

A world-class saxophonist, flutist, composer and educator, Don Braden’s jazz career has spanned over 40 years. He has toured the world with jazz greats Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Herbie Hancock and the Hancock Institute, and many others, and has performed in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, Saturday Night Live, Harvard University (where he studied Engineering as an undergrad), and countless jazz festivals and clubs. He has played on over 100 CDs as a sideman and has produced 23 as a leader, the most recent being his critically acclaimed Earth Wind and Wonder and the recently released In the Spirit of Herbie Hancock and Chemiatry, co-led with bassist Joris Teepe.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 20, 1963, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Braden's first exposure to music came from his parents' record collection, and from radio. Although there were no musicians in his family, he showed a strong interest in music early on. At age 13, he started playing tenor sax in middle school band class, and two years later, joined his first professional band — influenced by and performing the music of "contemporary Jazz" groups like The Crusaders. After being introduced to acoustic jazz in high school by band director Ernie Sanders, Braden studied for years with saxophonist Mike Tracy and also attended Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Workshops. He went on to be chosen first chair for the McDonald's All-American High School Jazz and Marching Bands, and to receive a Yamaha Instrument Award (given to an outstanding All-American Band member).

After his acceptance to Harvard University in 1981, Braden divided his time between studying engineering and performing at jazz clubs around the Boston/Cambridge area and with the Harvard Jazz Bands. In 1984, he took time off from Harvard to more deeply explore jazz (and some engineering) in the “real world” of New York City. While working part-time as a computer programmer, he landed his first gigs with the Harper Brothers Quintet, with organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, and then with legendary vocalist Betty Carter. After touring with the Wynton Marsalis Quintet for over seven months, he recorded with Betty Carter on her Grammy Award-winning album, "Look What I Got" (Verve-Polygram). Following tours in Europe, Japan and the Americas with Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and many others, Braden became a member of the Freddie Hubbard Quintet from 1989 to 1991, then the Tom Harrell groups from 1993 through 1997. Since then he has worked with the Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron, J. J. Johnson, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and many others, as well as with his own groups.

In between the myriad tours of the 80s and 90s, Braden stayed active as a software engineer, writing computer programs with colleagues from his Harvard days for a number of major corporations including Citibank, Republic National Bank and Pitney Bowes. His specialty was database management software, and he kept programming part-time until 1995, when his recording and composing career really took off.

Braden's latest CD, Chemistry (co-led with Joris Teepe), is the second recording of the Trio of Liberty. Joris and Don formed this group as a way to explore a more open style of jazz improvisation, with no chordal instruments and with remarkable guest drummers. The previous Trio album, Conversations, featured Matt Wilson and Gene Jackson. Chemistry features Jeff “Tain” Watts and the legendary Louis Hayes. In 2020 Joris and Don also released “In the Spirit of Herbie Hancock”, recorded live in the Netherlands in 2019, and featuring the music of the legendary pianist. Don’s CD Earth Wind and Wonder, released in 2018, features his quartets performing jazz interpretations of songs by R&B titans Earth Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder. It stayed on the JazzWeek national airplay chart for 5 months, peaking at #2. He has released 20 previous CDs as a leader or co-leader, starting with The Time is Now in 1991. His list of sidemen reads like a Who's Who of Jazz: bassists Christian McBride, Dwayne Burno & Joris Teepe, pianists Benny Green, Julian Joseph, Kenny Werner and Darrell Grant, drummers Carl Allen, Cecil Brooks III, Jeff "Tain" Watts & Billy Hart, saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman, Vincent Herring, and Dave Liebman, trumpeters Terell Stafford, Tom Harrell & Randy Brecker, trombonists Steve Turre and Conrad Herwig, organists Jack McDuff, Kyle Koehler & Larry Goldings, and guitarists Dave Stryker and Russell Malone among many others.

Braden has composed over 150 pieces for ensembles ranging from duo to full symphonic orchestra, including an orchestral performance/commission for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 25 big band charts and over 100 songs for smaller jazz groups. His compositions appear on dozens of CDs, and several major TV shows and indie films. He has received the Doris Duke Foundation New Works composer’s award, and has served on adjudication panels for that foundation, SURDNA, the Downbeat Student Music Awards, and others.

A highly experienced educator, Braden is currently the Director of the Harvard Jazz Combo Initiative, teaches part-time at the Prins Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands, and is the Music Director of both the Litchfield Jazz Camp (since 1998) and the Texas Jazz and Blues Camp (since 2016). In May 2022, Don was selected as the “Guest Jazz Master” with the Hancock Institute touring ensemble during their U.S. State Department tour of Jordan with Herbie Hancock himself. He ran NJPAC’s Wells Fargo Jazz For Teens Program for 15 years, the jazz program at Montclair State University for several years, and led the Harvard University Monday Jazz Band for three years. Don believes that jazz is a great music style to study, because it reflects so many important aspects of life, including improvisation, discipline, teamwork, leadership, listening skills, democracy, supportiveness and creativity.

Don Braden has had several articles published over the years, including “Take Excellent Care: Health and Fitness for Musicians”, in the June 2018 issue of Downbeat magazine.

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Peter Hand: Blue Topaz

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by Jack Bowers
February 24, 2024

Peter Hand has a hand in almost everything on Blue Topaz, playing masterful guitar, writing seven of the album's ten engaging numbers and arranging all of them. He also spliced together a pair of blue-chip ensembles for his first small-group recording after three well-received big-band albums, and invited his longtime friend--and legendary tenor saxophonist--Houston Person to sit in on two tracks. Person had also guested on one of the guitarist's big-band recordings, Out of Hand (2014). Hand's ...

Interview

A Conversation with Don Braden

by AAJ Staff
August 1, 2023

This interview was first published in two parts at All About Jazz on May 1999. In this interview, we chat with Don Braden about his views on MP3 files, his relationship with Bill Cosby, the impact Kenny Kirkland had on his latest album for RCA Victor, Fire Within, and a host of other related and unrelated things. It's Braden, at home, from the heart, unedited, and in his own words. All About Jazz: Let's start from ...

Album Review

Don Braden: Earth Wind and Wonder, Vol. 2

Read "Earth Wind and Wonder, Vol. 2" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 20, 2023

As on the first recording of this two-volume series, acclaimed tenor saxophonist Don Braden pays tribute to a couple of his coming-of-age idols, singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder and the genre-defying group Earth, Wind and Fire. Braden has chosen four of Wonder's compositions and three associated with EW&F to accompany a pair of his splendid original themes. Braden plays tenor saxophone most of the way, flute and alto flute, respectively on Wonder's “Bird of Beauty" and “Creepin.'" Needless to ...

Album Review

Eric Goletz: Standard-ized!

Read "Standard-ized!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 24, 2023

If variety is on your wish list, you will find a lot to like on Standard-ized!, New York-based trombonist Eric Goletz's third album in three years. Group size and makeup are seldom the same, Goletz's charts traverse new realms, there are special guests to enhance the proceedings, and Goletz even enlists a six-piece string “orchestra" on several numbers. The strings accompany one of the guests, vocalist LaJuan Carter, on the Nat King Cole chart-topper, “Nature Boy," and ...

Album Review

The Don Braden Organix Quartet: Luminosity

Read "Luminosity" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 29, 2015

Saxophonist Don Braden is all about positivity and sharing the joys of jazz. His ebullient music speaks to his intelligence yet he never falls prey to the jazz-as-intellectual-exercise trap that seems to snare younger musicians and a good amount of his peers. Over the course of his previous albums, Braden's managed to create accessible music built atop the pillars of wit, honesty, swing, and heart. He does it once more on this satisfying date. The aptly-titled Luminosity ...

340

Album Review

Don Braden: Gentle Storm

Read "Gentle Storm" reviewed by Ken Dryden

by Ken Dryden
February 19, 2009

Don Braden has come a long way since his days at Harvard, where he studied engineering along with playing in the university's jazz band. Over two decades into his career in jazz at the time of these recording sessions, the tenor saxophonist is very much at the top of his game. Joined by pianist George Colligan, bassist Joris Teepe and drummer Cecil Brooks III, who have all worked together on a number of occasions, Braden assembles a terrific program.

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Interview

Don Braden: Harvard Hipster

by Jason Crane
January 22, 2007

Don Braden went to Harvard in 1981 to become a computer programmer and emerged as a new voice on the saxophone. For two decades he's been making a name for himself in the modern jazz world, and he's compiled an impressive resume, working with established masters like [trumpeter] Freddie Hubbard, [vocalist] Betty Carter, [drummers] Roy Haynes and Tony Williams; then-emerging-talents like [trumpeter] Wynton Marsalis and the Harper Brothers; and as a leader and composer in his own right.Braden's ...

Recording

Don Braden: Earth Wind and Wonder, Vol. 2

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 22, 2023

It has long astonished me that so many jazz musicians choose to ignore the Third Great American Songbook when looking for songs to cover on albums and in performance. Instead, many regularly turn to songs by composers such as Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, and Jimmy Van Heusen. Or they turn to jazz standards by Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and others (do we really need another Satin Doll or Cherokee?). Others have dipped into the well of what ...
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Education

Ottawa JazzWorks Jazz Camp And Composers Symposium, August 13-19, 2018. Register now!

Source: Judith Humenick
July 27, 2018

JazzWorks is a jazz camp for adults and talented youth. There’s still time to register! Call us now at 613-523-0316 to find out more. Join us as we celebrate 25 years in jazz education! The JazzWorks Jazz Camp is a great way for singers and instrumentalists to learn jazz theory and technique from innovative Canadian jazz musicians and international guests, in a relaxed and supportive environment. It's an intensive, adult-focused learning experience where participants of all levels can ...
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Education

Litchfield Jazz Camp Registration Now Open!

Source: Albert Rivera
January 30, 2014

Celebrate 18 years of Litchfield Jazz Camp at our new location, Canterbury School in New Milford, CT. Register by next Saturday, February 8 to get a special EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT. Sibling, loyalty and full combo discounts available too. Music Director Don Braden and Director of Operations Albert Rivera lead a star studded faculty through out the summer which include Matt Wilson, Charli Persip, Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis, Claudio Roditi, Helen Sung, Mike DiRubbo, Jimmy Greene, Dave Stryker and many more! ...
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Event

Newark Arts High With Don Braden To Perform At WBGO Gala Concert

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations
November 6, 2013

WBGO Provides Free Gala Concert Tickets to Students from Newark Arts High to Honor the City’s Bright Future of Music Star-studded Evening Features Performances by Inside Straight: Christian McBride, Carl Allen, Christian Sands, Jaleel Shaw & Warren Wolf Hypnotic Brass Ensemble; Michael Wolff & Mike Clark; Ray Vega; Kenny Barron & Gretchen Parlato; Melissa Aldana; Jazz House Kids; Newark Arts High Quartet with Don Braden; and Rhythm Revue Dance Party with Felix Hernandez NEWARK, NJ – WBGO’s Ninth Annual Champions ...
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Recording

Don Braden And Karl Latham Release "Big Fun(k) Live"

Source: Powderfinger Promotions
May 8, 2012

Big Fun(k) Live is a mosaic of different musical influences and styles led by tenor saxophone all-star Don Braden and internationally-known percussionist Karl Latham. Having worked with legends such as Wynton Marsalis, Johnny Winter, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams and Bill Cosby, both Braden and Latham are masters at creatively and passionately expressing themselves in any genre they choose. In fact, Braden is known primarily in the modern Jazz world, but revisits his roots (he cut his teeth playing ...
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111

Education

New York Saxophonist/flutist Don Braden Joins JazzWorks' Summer Workshop August 19-22, 2010

Source: Judith Humenick
July 21, 2010

New York saxophonist and flutist, Don Braden will join the top Canadian Jazz Faculty for the 17th Annual JazzWorks 3-day Intensive Weekend Workshop, at the CAMMAC Music Centre, on Lake McDonald, Quebec, located north of Hawksbury, Ontario, August 19 to 22, 2010. Don Braden, a master of the tenor and soprano saxophone and also an outstanding flutist, has toured the world leading his own ensembles, as a special guest and as a sideman with such greats as Betty Carter, Wynton ...
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137

Performance / Tour

Feinstein's Presents Jazz Band Braden-Rapp in Their Debut CD Release of "The Strayhorn Project."

Source: Miller Wright & Associates
January 22, 2010

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed Best of New York by New York Magazine, and an invaluable New York institution by The New York Post, will continue its star-studded Winter/Spring 2010 season with the debut of the new band led by world-renowned saxophonist, flautist and composer DON BRADEN and MARK RAPP, one of Downbeat Magazines top emerging trumpeters. Their show at Feinstein's will celebrate the release of their debut recording The Strayhorn Project a tribute to jazz composer, arranger ...
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Event

Jazz Around Kent; 19 Free Concerts in July Presented by the Litchfield Jazz Festival

Source: All About Jazz
June 17, 2009

The Litchfield Jazz Festival is proud to announce a series of 19 free concerts throughout the month of July Jazz Around Kent Presented by the Litchfield Jazz Festival. Part 1 of the series, Litchfield Jazz Camp Faculty Concerts will be held at Kent Schools Mattison Auditorium, One Macedonia Road (Route 341) in Kent, CT from July 6 through July 29. Part 2 of the series, Jazz Around Kent features talented Litchfield Jazz Camp students in Kent restaurants. Wednesday July 8, ...
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236

Education

Litchfield Jazz Camp Awards $90,000 in Need-Based Scholarships

Source: All About Jazz
June 15, 2009

Litchfield Jazz Camp Awards $90,000 in Need-Based Scholarships Location: Kent School, Kent, CT Contact: 860-567-4162 Email: [email protected] Website: litchfieldjazzfest.com Kent. CT--Litchfield Jazz Camp, the 13-year-old teaching arm of the renowned Litchfield Jazz Festival, has made if first big move this summer-- to Kent School in Kent, CT, for a month-long program July 5 August 2. The move was much welcomed by the Kent Community and has allowed the program to enroll a record number ...
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141

Interview

Saxophonist Don Braden Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
January 22, 2007

AAJ contributor ...
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“Don Braden creates accessible music built atop the pillars of wit, honesty, swing, and heart, and delivers music that alternately cooks, calms, struts, and soars.”

—Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

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