Jazz Articles about Don Braden

Don Braden: Workin'

by Alain Londes
July 16, 2006

Tenor saxophonist Don Braden comes out swinging on Workin' with a famous Earth Wind & Fire tune from the mid-'70s called “Can't Hide Love (from Gratitude, Sony, 1975). The audience is very much with him in this quaint New Jersey jazz club, which has a creative separation between the dinning room and the bar area. Nobody is too far from the music in this relaxed atmosphere. Braden is accompanied by Cecil Brooks III (drums) and Kyle Koehler (organ) ...

Don Braden: Workin'

by Ken Franckling
July 8, 2006

Tenor saxophonist Don Braden works in a variety of contexts. None is more interesting than his Organic Trio with Cecil Brooks III on drums and Philadelphia native Kyle Koehler on organ, recorded live at Brooks' Jersey club Cecil's for Workin', his 13th disc as a leader. This is no soul-tinged “chicken shack session, though the playing is indeed soulful in a modern jazz way. It is also enriched by the simplicity that comes with having an uncrowded bandstand, showcasing Koehler ...

Don Braden: Workin'

by Nic Jones
April 23, 2006

A number of potential factors can work against the success of any live jazz recording, despite the fact that the music should in theory always be at its best when captured in such a setting. Such factors, like the kind of form the individual musicians happen to be in on any given night, for example, are irrelevant here; what in essence is captured for posterity is a night when a trio of musicians came together to play.

Tenor saxophonist Don ...

Don Braden: The New Hang

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 2, 2004

On the verge of what might be a definite breakthrough, tenor saxophonist Don Braden has been at the top of the list among better informed jazz followers, but he has just skirted below the radar of the average consumer. A superb trio of Criss Cross sides in the mid '90s led to a contract with RCA Records which unfortunately didn't deliver the bang for the buck that one would have hoped for. Now he's with another small independent label and ...

Don Braden: The New Hang

by Terrell Kent Holmes
January 22, 2004

The ever youthful Don Braden has released his 12th recording as a leader, The New Hang , a splendid collection which showcases not only his prowess as one of jazz' tenor ambassadors but the prowess of a stellar supporting cast. Things start off with a surprisingly jaunty and upbeat version of Chaka Khan's “Through the Fire." Braden swings during his solo, moving in and around the melody as drummer Cecil Brooks III thrashes behind him. Organist Kyle Koehler follows and ...

Don Braden: The Contemporary Standards Ensemble

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 1, 2001

It's a known fact that the majority of jazz performers, both past and present, draw on popular material in some way or form for a part of their repertoire. These items are the “standards" that have become the language of most improvising musicians. These tunes have stood the test of time, but emanate from a previous era. Technology, values, and mindsets have changed since the days of the Porters and Gershwins and one has to really wonder whether or not ...

Joris Teepe: For Adults Only

by David Adler
September 1, 2000

With For Adults Only, Dutch bassist Joris Teepe adds to the steady flow of strong live albums being recorded at Smalls in New York. Enlisting David Hazeltine on piano, Bruce Cox on drums, and a killer frontline in Don Braden and Chris Potter, Teepe offers a batch of originals and standards with some provocative twists. The band sets Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge" to a mid-tempo, “Killer Joe"-type groove with tight ensemble hits on the melody. Hazeltine and Teepe share the spotlight ...