Dr. Bragonier is a jazz educator and historian with a 50+ year love of jazz.
I was born and raised in Iowa but have lived in the greater Los Angeles area since 1970. In 2002 I retired as Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services; I was Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine for 32 years.
I began playing the piano at age 4, the trombone at age 11, and the vibraphone during college. I have loved jazz for more than 50 years, working my way through both college and medical school as a “disc jockey” of jazz and classical music on FM stations in Iowa and Nebraska. I have accumulated a collection of jazz and classical music that approximates 6,000 pieces. For the past decade and a half I have been a regular contributor to multiple jazz forums and lists on the Internet, reviewing jazz concerts and newly released CDs for CompuServe, then www.52ndstreet.com (where I serve as Forum Moderator), and here at All About Jazz, where I have also conducted jazz interviews and written articles. Since 2003, I have been teaching The History of Jazz (now four different courses) through the South Bay Adult School in Manhattan Beach, CA. In addition, last year and this year, I am coordinating a jazz discussion group for Omnilore, senior education under the auspices of California State University, Dominguez Hills.
My wife of 50 years, Barbara (a retired University Professor and Counselor), and I have three grown children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren!
