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BrandonLee Cierley

About Me

BrandonLee Cierley is an up and coming Saxophonist born in Tacoma, Wa and now relocated to Portland, OR, who effortlessly combines elements from sounds that have influenced his musical voice such as Jazz, Hiphop, Lofi and Groove. During his time in Washington, BrandonLee graduated from Pacific Lutheran University where he pursued his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science & Music

During his uprising in the music scene, BrandonLee continuously sought instruction to master his saxophone craft by working with multiple instructors such as; Tracy Knoop, Braxton Cook, Steve Tresler, & Todd Delguidice.

While being a band leader and solo artist, BrandonLee has showcased his talents working with some of the music scene’s most exciting producers/artists around the world such as; Jam of the Week Founder/Portland based Trumpeter Farnell Newton, Portland based Producer/Instrumentalist POSY, EyeLoveBrandon, Jonny Tobin, multi-instrumentalist from Portland Machado Mijiga, & Hunter Love to name a few. In 2018, BrandonLee Cierley ventured into exploits outside of his staple genre to be a guest artist with TwoFriends, EDM LA Dj Duo, at sold out music festivals Lucky & Paradiso. BrandonLee has also joined the stage with world renowned Saxophonist Mike Phillips who has played with musical giants such as Michael Jackson, Prince & Stevie Wonder for his appearance at the PDX Jazz Festival 2023.

BrandonLee Cierley has performed over all the Pacific Northwest and being featured on Portland’s KMHD Radio and showcased multiple times on Seattle’s KNKX 88.5 Live Studio Session segments. Recently, BrandonLee Cierley performed at the 45th Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival July 2025 under his own name.

BrandonLee Cierley released his debut album “Here Comes a New Challenger” in July of 2020 bringing in over 20k streams and counting which earned him a spot on PDX's jazz station KMHD's Best Single of the Year. On July 8th, BrandonLee released a much anticipated summer 2-pack EP “Thank You for Waiting” which feature dLA-based Saxophonist Braxton Cook and made Spotify’s Editorial Playlist “All New Jazz” reaching over 2 million streams and counting receiving a writeup from Abe Beeson, Host of KNKX’s The New Cool.

BrandonLee released his sophomore record “Camaraderie” which made Spotify’s Editorial Playlist “All New Jazz” along with many others. The album was picked up by local Portland based label LofiJazzSoul. “Camaraderie” received album reviews from one of Seattle prestigious jazz writers, Paul Rauch, from “All About Jazz” as well as from Robert Ham of “Jazz Society of Oregon''. With that, BrandonLee's newest album has been placed on a plethora of playlist placements including 2 of Spotify's biggest followed Editorial Playlist, “All About Jazz” & “Fresh Finds: Jazz”.

BrandonLee Cierley has a vast discography that has landed him a spot on Belgium label StereoFox recently releasing his debut EP with their label entitled “Pathways”. BrandonLee’s 3rd studio album “Be Water, My Friend” is out now on all streaming platforms.

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My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it’s a way of expression through nonverbal communication with other like minded individuals on the band stand. Jazz is an ever changing art form and the progression of this music is endless. I was first exposed to jazz during the 7th grade when I joined the jazz band. My band teacher had a jazz band from the local high school come and performed and it was so intriguing to me and I knew after hearing how the band sounded I wanted to dive into this style of playing. One of my heroes in jazz was Roy Hargrove. When I first heard him play live at Jazz Alley in high school, I was in awe of how he had total mastery of his instrument and how he communicated with his band. After the show was over, I was able to meet him and he was the nicest guy and sat and talked about music with me. It was something that I will always remember and cherish. When I play, I try to fully embrace the moment and play what I’m feeling. To lose yourself in the music is an out of body experience and one of the reasons why I chose this career path. I want people to hear my music and feel that there is pure emotion each song and get a snapshot of my life. While taking lessons back in high school with Tacoma’s own Tracy Knoop, he opened my palate of what I was listening to there was one record in particular that always stood out and we took a deeper dive into studying which was “Relaxin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet”. When I had my own record player after saving up to get one, this was the first record I ever bought and to this day will still spin it. My advice to new listeners is to have an open mind when listening to my music or any music in general. An open mind allows you to fully immerse in what you are listening to find your own interpretation of the music. That’s the beauty of music, there isn’t a “concrete” meaning, we are all different and have different views.