Don Braden (born November 20, 1963) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

tenor saxophonist.https://jazzbakery.org/events/saxophoniest-don-braden-quartet-presents-earth-wind-and-wonder saxophonist Don Braden Quartet presents Earth Wind and Wonder

Career

Braden was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He began playing tenor sax at age 13 and started playing professionally at 15. In high school, he played in the McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

from 1981 to 1984, studied engineering, and played in the school's jazz ensemble. He moved to New York City in 1984, where he played with The Harper Brothers, Lonnie Smith, and

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

. In 1986–87 he toured with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

, and following this played with Out of the Blue,

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

, Tony Williams,

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

, and the

Mingus Big Band The Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It was managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with the Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Monda ...

Discography

As leader

* ''The Time Is Now'' ( Criss Cross, 1991) * ''Wish List'' (Criss Cross, 1991) * '' After Dark'' (Criss Cross, 1993) * ''Landing Zone'' (

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

, 1994) * ''Organic'' (

Epicure Epicureanism is a system of philosophy developed by Epicurus ca. 300 BCE. Epicurean or epicure may also refer to: *Epicure (gourmet), a person interested in food, sometimes with overtones of excessive refinement *'' The Epicurean'', 1827 novel w ...

, 1995) * ''The Open Road'' (

Double-Time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

, 1996) * ''The Voice of the Saxophone'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1997) * ''

The Fire Within ''The Fire Within'' (french: Le Feu follet , meaning "The Manic Fire" or "Will-o'-the-Wisp") is a 1963 drama film written and directed by Louis Malle, based on the 1931 novel ''Will O' the Wisp'' by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, which itself was in ...

'' (RCA, 1999) * ''Contemporary Standards Ensemble'' (Double-Time, 2000) * ''Brighter Days'' (

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

, 2001) * ''The New Hang'' (HighNote, 2004) * ''Workin' - Live at Cecil's'' (HighNote, 2006) * ''Gentle Storm'' (HighNote, 2008) * ''The Strayhorn Project'' (with Mark Rapp) (Premium Music Solutions, 2009) * ''Big Fun(k) Live'' (with Karl Latham) (Creative Perspective Music, 2011) * ''Come Together'' (with Julie Michels) (Creative Perspective Music/JHP, 2012) * ''Full Circle'' (with Vanessa Rubin) (Creative Perspective Music, 2013) * ''Luminosity'' (Creative Perspective Music, 2015) * ''Earth Wind and Wonder'' (Creative Perspective Music, 2018)

As sideman

With

*''

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

'' (Arabesque, 1997) With

* '' At Jazz Jamboree Warszawa '91: A Tribute to Miles'' (Starburst, 2000) With Jimmy Ponder * ''Guitar Christmas'' (HighNote, 1998) With

Roseanna Vitro Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro (born February 28, 1951) is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas. Biography Born Roseanna Elizabeth VitroScott Fredrickson and Gary W. Kennedy.Vitro (Wickliffe), Roseanna" In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2 ...

* ''

Tropical Postcards Tropical Postcards is the 9th album by jazz singer Roseanna Vitro, released in 2004 by A Records, an imprint of Challenge Records International. Brazilian jazz and Musica Popular Brasiliera, popular music predominate, with seven of the album's ...

'' (A Records, 2004)

References

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

Don Braden Don Braden (born November 20, 1963) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.https://jazzbakery.org/events/saxophoniest-don-braden-quartet-presents-earth-wind-and-wonder saxophonist Don Braden Quartet presents Earth Wind and Wonder Career Braden w ...

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 ...

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braden, Don American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Cincinnati 1963 births Harvard University alumni Living people Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Jazz musicians from Kentucky 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Ohio 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Criss Cross Jazz artists HighNote Records artists RCA Records artists Double-Time Records artists Landmark Records artists