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George Braith

George Braith, a legend in the field of modern progressive jazz, commands an uncanny and absolutely phenomenal knowledge and use of harmonics, rarely evidenced in modern jazz music today. As described by Chris Kelsey, in Jazz Times, his Braithophone chops are developed, and his lines are long, and graceful. His tenor work is lithe, melodic and unpredictable in the best sense. Braith's playing is a study in wisdom and authenticity.

George Braith is an inventor who has created the Braithophone, an instrument that blends two saxophones (soprano and alto) and Boptronics which is "the conjunction of improvisational jazz and the use of electronic virtual instruments."

George Braith is a Blue Note artist and when you hear his Blue Note releases you will be struck by the originality of his approach. New York born and bred, he made three albums for Blue Note from 1963 - 1964. He also recorded as a sideman with organist Big John Patton and led dates for Prestigue later in the decade. Currently, George Braith has released a series of CD's through his label, Excellence Records, many of which are available through cdbaby.com.

George Braith, son of a Pentecostal minister who played piano and organ and a mother who sang in church, is the youngest of nine siblings who are all musically inclined. As a child he played baritone sax and the flutophone in his father's church and in school and had his own calypso group. He was introduced to jazz in the late 40's when he heard Tiny Noles, a trumpet player, playing through the back window of the his family's apartment in the Bronx. In Junior High School Braith took up the clarinet and alto sax. While in Music and Art High School, Braith began summer gigging with a band in the Catskills with Pete Sims (LaRoca). While in high school he began playing bassoon and flute. After graduating he toured Europe with his group, The American Jazz Quintett. The following fall, he was enrolled in the Manhattan School of Music where he studied theory and arranging by day and gigged at night.

Braith began developing his two horn technique around 196l. In 1965 George was living in Los Angeles where he played with Freddie Hubbard and then sat in with Coltrane who was so impressed with his double horn playing that he facilitated his relocation to New York so that they could play together.

As Braith prepared to play with Coltrane, he opened Musart, in a basement in Soho. Musart, one of the first health food restaurants in the city, became an avant guard center where muscians and artists could develop creatively. It became a center for the best jazz artists in town, such as Larry Young, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, Freddy Hubbard, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Abby Licoln, Wilbur Ware, Roy Haynes, Kenny Durham, Gilly Coggins, Albert Dailey and Beever Harris. Much of their music was recorded and currently is being released through Braith's label, Excellence Records.

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My Blue Note Obsession

George Braith: The Complete Blue Note Sessions - 1963-64

Read "George Braith: The Complete Blue Note Sessions - 1963-64" reviewed by Marc Davis


Playing two saxophones at once is a gimmick, and not a very good one. It can be done, and maybe if your name is Rahsaan Roland Kirk, you can even sell a few records doing it. But it's not a great artistic achievement, and the sound you get is mostly tinny and obnoxious. Which brings us to George Braith. In 1963 and '64, Braith recorded his first three albums as a band leader, all for Blue ...

362
Big Jazz Nerd

George's Braithophone

Read "George's Braithophone" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Big Jazz Nerd, Whatever happened to George Braith? I remember listening to him play on the street in NYC decades ago. Is he still playing? Roger Sales, Darien, Connecticut Roger: Yes, George Braith is still making music at age 67. His home base is in Milwaukee where he leads the Braith Family Singers--Flame, Jasmine, Taharqa, Chime, and youngest grandson Chris. Perhaps best known as the originator ...

198
Album Review

George Braith: The Complete Blue Note Sessions

Read "The Complete Blue Note Sessions" reviewed by David Adler


George Braith is not as widely known as Roland Kirk, but he too made indisputably musical sounds playing two horns simultaneously. He in fact played one of Kirk’s signature instruments, the stritch (a type of straight alto), often in tandem with the soprano. This Blue Note reissue combines the three albums Braith made for the label between 1963 and 1965: Two Souls In One, Soul Stream, and Extension. Braith, guitarist Grant Green, and organist Billy Gardner appear on all three ...

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Carl Cornwell
saxophone, tenor

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Complete Blue...

Blue Note Records
2001

buy

Musart

JJ-Tracks
1967

buy

Laughing Soul

JJ-Tracks
1966

buy

Collage

JJ-Tracks
1966

buy

Extension

JJ-Tracks
1964

buy

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