David Braid

“Braid has accomplished much for someone still in the early stages of a career. He has been evolving so quickly that he doesn't just need to be watched--he needs to be watched closely.” - All About Jazz

Touted as one of Canada's most gifted young jazz pianists and composers, David Braid is a Juno Award winner, National Jazz Award recipient, and has performed extensively across Canada, Europe, Australia, Korea, Japan, China and other parts of Asia.

Braid graduated from the University of Toronto in 1998 and was nominated for the Canadian Governor General's Academic Medal. In 2001, the Canada Council for the Arts (JazzID program) selected and showcased Braid as one of five important young composers and jazz musicians in Canada.

Braid made a relatively late entry into music and an even later foray into jazz. After several years of dedicated study, he quickly earned respect from music critics for the quality of his contributions as a composer and performer to a wide range of projects including The David Braid Sextet, Nimmons'n'Braid, Brubeck Braid and Davidson/Murley/Braid Quintet (DMBQ). He is also a regular member of 12 other jazz ensembles including John MacLeod's Rex Hotel Orchestra, Mike Murley Septet, Metalwood, William Carn Quintet, Kelly Jefferson Quartet, Artie Roth Quintet, William Sperandei ensemble, and Nehring, Koller & Braid.

“...he's already secure in the senior ranks of jazz pianists... Braid the player, writer, arranger and bandleader is clearly a force to be reckoned with.” - The Toronto Star

Braid was the recipient of the 2007 'SOCAN Composer of the Year,' which recognized his writing for the David Braid Sextet, the principal vehicle for Braid's compositional work since 2000. One notable work was a commission from the Global Knowledge Foundation to compose and perform a piece to honour Dr. Stephen Hawking during his visit to Toronto in 1998.

“ ...Hawking loved David Braid's hauntingly beautiful composition, For Stephen Hawking, and accepted the CD recording with evident glee at the conclusion of his Convocation Hall lecture.” - The Globe & Mail

Thirty-two-year-old Braid has written over sixty works and unveiled his first orchestral piece with the Winnipeg Symphony in 2005, which blended jazz form, symphonic composition and improvisation. Braid's open-mindedness in exploring different music style has allowed him to venture outside jazz circles, as recent engagements with symphony orchestras performing George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” has confirmed Braid as an artist of surprising versatility. He is continuing to explore this blended form through a commission to compose and record an album with the renowned classical quintet, The Canadian Brass.

Aside from performing and composing, Braid has been a faculty member at the University of Toronto since 2003.

“A Jazz Genius to Call Our Own”- Maclean's Magazine

The David Braid Sextet
Canadian critics have cited the David Braid Sextet as a premier ensemble that exports a compelling statement about the sophisticated jazz talent percolating in Canada. Each composition is crafted by Braid to expose the unique talents in this ensemble comprising Terry Clarke, drums; Steve Wallace, bass; Mike Murley, saxophone; Gene Smith, trombone; and John MacLeod, flugelhorn. Their first recording in 2001 struck internationally acclaimed jazz critic, Gene Lees, who said: “If Bill Evans were alive, I'd send Braid's CD to him” and their second album, VIVID, won the 2005 Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year. Their third album, ZHEN (the last recording made at the historic 'Top 'O The Senator'), was nominated for a Juno Award and was voted one of the top jazz recordings in 2006 by The Toronto Star (top 10), Ottawa Citizen (#1) and All About Jazz (Best of 2006). The Sextet was recently endorsed by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs to tour Japan, China and Hong Kong in 2006; and Brazil in 2007.

“Hearing the David Braid Sextet proved their world-class mettle.” - Jack Chambers, author of 'The Music and Times of Miles Davis'

The Murley Braid Quartet & DMBQ
Awarded “Acoustic Group of the Year” at the National Jazz Awards 2007, this ensemble is a collaborative effort between multi-Juno-award-winning saxophonist Mike Murley and pianist David Braid. The Murley-Braid Quartet brings together musicians with a unique affinity for one another developed from an extensive history of playing together in The Mike Murley Quintet, The David Braid Sextet, Mike Murley Quartet (featuring Dave Liebman) and Metalwood. Bassist Jim Vivian and New York-based drummer Ian Froman complete this ensemble. The Quartet's first recording “Mnemosyne's March,” featuring the compositions of Murley and Braid, was heralded as one of the top jazz recordings in 2006 and was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award. The Quartet toured across Canada in 2004 and 2006.

In the fall of 2006, the quartet expanded to include saxophonist Tara Davidson to create DMBQ (Davidson/Murley/Braid Quintet). In January 2008, the new quintet will release a live recording made in Vancouver.

Nimmons'n'Braid
This duo of 84-year-old Phil Nimmons and 32-year-old David Braid performs spontaneous music, structured improvisation without any initial conception of structure.

Their debut recording, “Beginnings,” documents their first performance together. This album is a rare, unedited recording of acoustic jazz created spontaneously by two Canadian composers separated in age by more that 50 years. Recorded live in concert in November 2004, Nimmons sat in St. Paul's United Church in Dundas, Ontario, and began to play spontaneously. Braid, gifted with perfect pitch, was quick to join in to complement Nimmons to produce seven improvisations which are abundant in melody, harmony and form.

“If any two people represent the past, present and future of Canadian jazz, it has to be the inspired duo of clarinetist Phil Nimmons and his former pupil, David Braid.” - Jazzfest International, Victoria

“20 fingers, 1 heart” - Halifax Herald

Brubeck Braid
American cellist/composer Matt Brubeck and Canadian pianist/composer David Braid formed this duo in late 2006. Classically trained but steeped in jazz, Braid Brubeck can easily segue between genres with fluid versatility. Their music blurs the distinctions between jazz, classical and new music. The duo format provides a unique opportunity to showcase the intimate interplay of these like-minded musicians. The duo's debut CD, “Twotet/Deuxtet,” has recieved much critical acclaim and is nominated for a 2008 Juno Award.