“Geof Bradfield has drawn plenty of praise for his work as a reed soloist, and it’s all deserved… But in the last few years, Bradfield has made just as much impact with his precise and colorful writing, in compositions that evoke a vivid sense of place through the same mixture of detail and sweep.” Neil Tesser
“Like I said man, you’ve been chosen. You don’t know that. The African
Ancestors chose you. When you truly love your ancestors, with true love,
they will guide you and they will touch you no matter where you are on the
planet earth. You can be in Stockholm, you can be in Mississippi, you can be
in Rio de Janeiro, when the ancestral spirits touch you, you have to respond.
So they got you!” – Randy Weston
Voted Rising Star Arranger, 2015 Downbeat Critics Poll
Press for Melba!
“A heartfelt tribute and an impressive statement.” **** Downbeat Magazine
“Randy Weston gives saxophonist and clarinetist Bradfield his blessing in the
album’s liner notes, and the acclaim is deserved…Bradfield and a
sympathetic group expound on each theme with elan and intelligence.
JazzTimes
“By invoking the spirit of Melba Liston in a highly personal, creative fashion,
Bradfield honors her memory as he carries on her legacy.” New York City
Jazz Record
“The long lines, complex themes and meticulous structuring of this score
point to the high craft of Bradfield’s writing.” Howard Reich, Chicago
Tribune
“… a magnificent recording. Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz
“Geof Bradfield has drawn plenty of praise for his work as a reed soloist, and
it’s all deserved; on tenor and soprano saxes, plus bass clarinet and flute, his
muscular, choate solos unfurl with a torrent of detail, even as he sketches
the bigger picture. But in the last few years, Bradfield has made just as much
impact with his precise and colorful writing, in compositions that evoke a
vivid sense of place through the same mixture of detail and sweep.” Neil
Tesser, ChicagoMusic.org
“Through all of the score studying, composing, and careful consideration of
bandmates, it should not be ignored that the one thing that makes this well-
planned suite of music into a fantastic jazz recording is the saxophone
playing of Geof Bradfield. Nearly unparalleled on the Chicago scene,
Bradfield’s playing is at once inspiring and intimidating… Further still,
through all of his high-flying acrobatic saxophone work, he never once loses
his intensely personal sound or ability to connect with an audience.” Alex
Marianyi, Nextbop
“The brilliantly orchestrated pieces allow individual band members to step
into the spotlight without dominating the scene. The carefully structured role
of the instruments, nevertheless allows for creative spontaneity within the
framework of each composition. This innovative and seamless fusion of the
ad-lib and pre-written makes for a thrilling listening experience. ” Hryar
Attarian, AllAboutJazz
Press for African Flowers
Selected as one of the Top 10 Jazz CDs of 2010 by The Los Angeles Times,
Neil
Tesser, the Ottawa Citizen, Cadence Magazine, All About Jazz, and the All
Music
Guide.
Selected as one of the best CDs of 2010 by Tom Hull of the Village Voice.
Named “one of the most anticipated CDs of 2010 by Howard Reich of the
Chicago Tribune.
“…the resulting suite of music from Bradfield draws as much from his own
musical essence as a modern jazz performer steeped in the jazz heritage, as
it
draws directly from African music. With all these elements plus his innovative
imagination and strong writing and arranging skills, Bradfield has crafted an
appealing musical portrait of Africa which is well comprehended and
performed
by his excellent sextet, yielding one of the finest jazz albums of the year in
my
view. (Cadence Magazine)
“African Flowers is a knock-out!” (Peter Margasak)
"Bradfield's experiences [in Africa] play out vividly on the new disc in a
continuous suite; the thematic arc is identical to his itinerary… "Butare,"
"Lubumbashi" "Kampala" and "Harare," divided by solo interludes in addition
to
melodic anecdotes, like the hard-swinging postbop bustle "Nairobi Transit"
and
tender ballad "Mama Yemo," A sleek swing undercurrent keeps African
Flowers
filed in the jazz bin, but the syncopated countermelodies coursing through
Bradfield's compositions play like a musical travelogue. " (Downbeat)
“Bradfield turned in poetic work on his CD of last year, African Flowers. The
luster of his tone on saxophone is matched by the depth of his work as
composer.”(Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune)
"...together the band delivers entrancing polyrhythmic themes like the
melodic
Rwandan praise song "Butare" and the danceable Congolese rumba
"Lubumbashi," the latter a catchy clave vehicle for the leader's bold tenor
sax
work. (Bill Milkowski, Jazztimes)
"Bradfield traveled to Africa and like many jazz musicians who have
journeyed
overseas to hear other forms of music, absorbed what he heard and blended
influences from them with his own original ideas...Africa seen through the
prism of Geof Bradfield's music proves to be a delightful experience.
(AllMusicGuide)
"We’ve come to expect top-drawer saxophone solos from Bradfield... His
solos
unwind with a wealth of imaginative detail but without any sense of alacrity;
at
his most impassioned, he remains unruffled and unflappable, drawing
occasional comparisons to a young Sonny Rollins or to the contemporary
Chris
Potter. But Bradfield’s writing is a revelation. Not only does it have much the
same power and precision of his soloing; it also shows a highly refined use
of
the limited instrumentation, which allows him to create orchestral textures
from
just his sextet."
(Neil Tesser, The Examiner)
"He gracefully and precisely leads a superb sextet—with Fludas, Cohan,
Sommers, guitarist Jeff Parker, and trumpeter Victor Garcia—through pieces
characterized by lush, elegant melody lines and streaked with contrapuntal
figures and pretty harmonies. Bradfield hasn’t undertaken an ethnographic
experiment here—like the Ellington work I mentioned above, what he saw
and
heard functioned as an inspiration for ideas in his own idiom." (Chicago
Reader)
"Mature and exciting work from an ascendant player and composer."
(Chicagojazz.net)
"Bradfield's excellent jazz adventure into Africa ultimately leads right back
home. Funny, how small this world actually is. This is one beautiful record."
(Allaboutjazz)
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