Born: February 5, 1965 Primary Instrument: Saxophone
Saxophonist, Alain Bradette, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. An accomplished performer, composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist, he has performed in Canada, Europe and the United States. In 2004, two of Alain’s compositions were recognized by the prestigious Great American Song Contest: Montreal-Marseille took first place honors and A Bird’s Dream ranked second in the top five Outstanding Compositions in the jazz category. He has been both a sideman and a featured musician on several recordings and produced singer-songwriter, Serina Jung’s, second album Sparrows. Other musical collaborations include performances with The International Montreal Jazz Festival Orchestra with guest musicians Adam Makowicz and George Mraz, the Vic Vogel Big Band, Tiger Okoshi, at a Timucua Art Foundation event, and Quebec’s star, Pierre Flynn.
The youngest of eight children, Alain was exposed to many different styles of music, at an early age, from his siblings as well as his father who had an extensive collection of vinyls. He was introduced to alto and baritone saxophone in high-school at age 14, and showed an aptitude right away. When he was 15, he discovered Count Basie’s Big Band which had an enormous impact on him and a year later, was hired for his first professional studio session gig. After highschool, studied classical saxophone for two years at College St-Laurent. There, he performed with success in many competitions, both jazz and classical. After the college years, Alain pursued music studies at University Of Montreal, while working as a freelancer in different settings and styles of music. By then, tenor and soprano saxophones had become his instruments of choice. In 1998, Alain became, and still is, a full-time band member for Cirque Du Soleil’s La Nouba, a permanent show located in Disney World, Florida.
Alain’s musical influences are many and range from jazz music to pop and classical, however, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and Jan Garbarek are the saxophonists who have most influenced his evolution. He has a passion for creative outlet, as evidenced by his extensive stylistic tastes and ventures, and his natural ability for dynamic performance and improvisation both live and in the studio.
While his busy schedule keeps him involved in other people’s music, Alain still composes for and performs with his group. In 2005, he released his independent debut album, State of Mind, a collection of eight original pieces and a creative arrangement of My Secret Love. In spite of already having an extensive catalog of original songs, Alain is currently composing songs for his next album, for which a release date is not yet set.
Alain lives in Florida with his family.
“it's not surprising that State of Mind emerges as a confident and well-polished debut, in which Mr. Bradette establishes himself as a fully featured modern jazz saxophonist and composer.” --Review by Isaac Laughlin, Jazzreview.com
”A highly accomplished musician and composer.” --Great American Song Contest 2002
