Bobby Bradford

Bobby Lee Bradford (born July 19, 1934) is an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer. He is noted for his work with Ornette Coleman. In October 2009, Bradford became the second recipient of the Festival of New Trumpet Music's Award of Recognition.[1]

For other people with the same name, see Robert Bradford (disambiguation).
Bobby Bradford
Bradford at the Moers Festival in 2008
Background information
Birth nameBobby Lee Bradford
Born (1934-07-19) July 19, 1934
Cleveland, Mississippi, U.S.
OriginDallas, Texas
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentsCornet, trumpet
Associated actsMo'tet, Ornette Coleman, New Art Jazz Ensemble

Biography

Bobby Lee Bradford's life began in Mississippi; he and his family then moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1946. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1953 where he reunited with Ornette Coleman, whom he had previously known in Texas.[2] Bradford subsequently joined Coleman's ensemble, but was drafted into the U.S. Air Force and replaced by Don Cherry.

After playing in military bands from late 1954 to late 1958,[3] he rejoined Coleman's quartet from 1961 to 1963, which infrequently performed in public, but was indeed recorded under Coleman's Atlantic contract. These tapes were among those many destroyed in the Great Atlantic Vault Fire. Freddie Hubbard acted as Bradford's replacement upon his departure to return to the West Coast and pursue further studies.[4] Bradford soon began a long-running and relatively well-documented association with the clarinetist John Carter, a pairing that brought both increased exposure at international festivals (though the records remain scantily available, when one excludes web rips and bootlegs). Following Carter's death in 1991, Bradford fronted his own ensemble known as The Mo'tet, with which he has continued to perform since. He is the father of drummer Dennis Bradford and jazz vocalist Carmen Bradford.

He holds a B.M. degree from Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin, Texas.[5]

In addition to Coleman, Bradford has performed with Eric Dolphy, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Bob Stewart, Charlie Haden, George Lewis (trombone), James Newton, Frode Gjerstad, Vinny Golia, Paal Nilssen-Love, and David Murray, who was previously a student of his in the 1970s.

He is a former instructor at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California,[6] and still teaches his popular History of Jazz class at Pomona College in Claremont, California, a course that, according to the college's syllabus, covers the history of jazz "from its roots in blues and ragtime through New Orleans jazz, Dixieland, bebop, cool jazz, free jazz and contemporary styles."[7]

Discography

As leader
  • Flight for Four (Flying Dutchman, 1969)
  • Seeking with New Art Jazz Ensemble (Revelation, 1969)
  • Self Determination Music with John Carter (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
  • Secrets with John Carter (Revelation, 1973)
  • Bobby Bradford with John Stevens and the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (Freedom/Intercord, 1974)
  • Love's Dream (Emanem, 1974)
  • Vols. 1 & 2 with John Stevens (Nessa, 1980, 1981)
  • Lost in L.A. (Soul Note, 1984)
  • Live One Night Stand (Soul Note, 1988)
  • Comin' On with John Carter (hat ART, 1989)
  • West Coast Hot with John Carter (BMG/Novus/RCA 1991)
  • Tandem 1 with John Carter (Emanem, 1996)
  • Tandem 2 with John Carter (Emanem, 1996)
  • Purple Gums with Francis Wong & William Roper (Asian Improv, 2003)
  • Mo' Betta Butta with Francis Wong & William Roper (Asian Improv, 2007)
  • Reknes with Frode Gjerstad (Circulasione Totale, 2009)
  • Varistar with Tom Heasley (Full Bleed Music, 2009)
  • Live in LA with Mark Dresser (Clean Feed, 2011)
  • Dragon with Frode Gjerstad, (PNL, 2012)
  • Kampen with Frode Gjerstad, (NoBusiness, 2012)
  • Silver Cornet with Frode Gjerstad (Nessa, 2014)
  • No U-Turn Live in Pasadena 1975 with John Carter (Dark Tree, 2015)
  • The Delaware River with Frode Gjerstad (NoBusiness, 2015)
  • Live at the Open Gate with Hafez Modirzadeh (NoBusiness, 2016)
  • Live at the Magic Triangle with Hafez Modirzadeh (NoBusiness, 2017)
  • Live at the Blue Whale with Hafez Modirzadeh (NoBusiness, 2018)
  • Blue Cat with Frode Gjerstad (NoBusiness, 2019)

With Circulasione Totale Orchestra

  • Open Port (Circulasione Totale, 2008)
  • Bandwidth (Rune Grammofon, 2009)
  • PhilaOslo (Circulasione Totale, 2011)

As sideman

With John Carter

  • Variations (Moers Music, 1979)
  • Night Fire (Black Saint, 1981)
  • Dauwhe (Black Saint, 1982)
  • Castles of Ghana (Gramavision, 1986)
  • Dance of the Love Ghosts (Gramavision, 1987)
  • Fields (Gramavision, 1988)
  • Shadows On a Wall (Gramavision, 1989)

With Vinny Golia

  • Compositions for Large Ensemble (Nine Winds, 1982)
  • Lineage (Nine Winds, 1998)
  • Sfumato (Clean Feed, 2005)
  • Take Your Time (Relative Pitch, 2011)
  • Live at the Century City Playhouse Los Angeles 1979 (Dark Tree, 2017)

With David Murray

With others

Bibliography
  • Isoardi, Steven L. (2006). The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles. The George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24591-1
  • Litweiler, John (1990). The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80377-1
  • Dailey, Raleigh. Folklore, Composition, and Free Jazz: The Life and Music of John Carter. Ph.D. dissertation; University of Kentucky, 2007.

References
  1. "FONT :: Festival of the New Trumpet :: Full History." fontmusic.org.
  2. Fred Jung, "A Fireside Chat With Bobby Bradford", Jazz Weekly.
  3. Clifford Allen, "Bobby Bradford: Self-Determination in the Great Basin", All About Jazz.
  4. "Beauty is a Rare Thing," Ornette Coleman Atlantic Collection, liner notes by Robert Palmer et al.; Michelle Mercer, "Jazz West" Archived April 16, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, PCM, Winter 2002, Vol. 39, No. 2.
  5. "Bobby Bradford". Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  6. "Bobbie L Bradford - Pasadena City College". Archived from the original on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  7. "Bobby Bradford | Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College". Pomona.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
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