George Braith (born George Timothy Braithwaite on June 26, 1939) is a

soul-jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

saxophonist from New York.

Career

Braith is known for playing multiple horns at once, a technique pioneered by

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Franks, Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known ...

. Braith is credited with the invention of the Braithophone, two different horns (straight alto and soprano) mended together by extensions, valves and connections. Braith is featured in a mosaic in the 72nd street station of the

Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...

in the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

system. Of Braith's album ''

Musart Discos Musart is a Mexican record label founded in 1948. It is headquartered in Mexico City and remains one of the country's biggest labels, focusing on Mexican music, as well as international releases licensed from various labels around the world. ...

'' Thom Jurek at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "Musart is his masterpiece; it is one of the most diverse yet refined albums to come out of the '60s, and has few peers even today."

Discography

As leader

* '' Soul Stream'' (Blue Note, 1963) * ''

Two Souls in One ''Two Souls in One'' is the debut album by American saxophonist George Braith recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note, 1963) * ''

Extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

'' (Blue Note, 1964) * '' Laughing Soul'' (Prestige, 1966) * ''

'' (Prestige, 1967) * ''Double Your Pleasure'' (Bellaphon, 1992) * ''The Complete Blue Note Sessions'' (2001) * ''Barcelona Blues'' (Excellence, 2006) * ''Boptronics'' (Excellence, 2006) * ''George Braith & Friends'' (Excellence, 2006) * ''Bip Bop Bam'' (Excellence, 2006) * ''Bop Rock Blues'' (Excellence, 2007)

As sideman

With John Patton * '' Blue John'' (Blue Note, 1963) * ''Eagle Eye Blues'' (Excellence, 2001)

References

External links

Official site

"George Braith: The Man Who Also Cried Fire"
Kelsey, C. ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'', March 2004. Living people 1939 births Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musicians from the Bronx 21st-century American saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Blue Note Records artists Prestige Records artists Post-bop saxophonists Soul-jazz saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub