Born: June 30, 1970 Primary Instrument: Saxophone
”Geof 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)
“Bradfield turned in poetic work on his CD of last year, “African Flowers” (Origin Records). The luster of his tone on saxophone is matched by the depth of his work as composer.”(Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune)
Geof Bradfield was born in Houston, TX, where he attended the renowned High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He lived and worked for periods in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington before settling in Chicago in 2004. Along the way, he has been fortunate to work alongside many jazz luminaries and to perform throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Africa and the Middle East. He is featured on numerous recordings, including his critically acclaimed 2010 release African Flowers, which was named one of the top 10 CDs of 2010 by the Los Angeles Times. His septet performed this 10-part suite in 2011 at Chicago’s Millennium Park to an audience of 8,000 as part of the celebrated series Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz. Mr. Bradfield and his ensemble also presented the suite at the DuSable Museum of African American Art as the Artist-in Residence of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in the fall of 2011.
As a composer, Mr. Bradfield has received several commissions and awards, including a 2008 New Jazz Works commission from Chamber Music America and grants and fellowships from the City of Chicago Community Arts Partnership, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Black Metropolis Research Consortium. His recent suite Melba!, inspired by the life and music of trombonist and arranger Melba Liston, premiered in 2012 through the support of a 2011 New Jazz Works commission from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. In the fall of 2012, Mr. Bradfield’s septet toured Melba! in the Midwest and South, returning to Chicago to close the tour at the legendary Green Mill jazz club. The group recorded the suite for release on Origin Records in April, 2013.
Mr. Bradfield also has extensive experience as an educator. Since completing his MFA at California Institute of the Arts, he has held positions at diverse colleges and universities as well as teaching master classes in composition, history and performance in the U.S. and abroad. He is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University.
Awards:
2012 Illinois Arts Council Grant for Music Composition 2011 New Jazz Works: Composition and Presentation Award from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Foundation 2010 Illinois Arts Council Grant for Music Composition 2010 Fellowship in Music Composition from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium and the Carnegie-Mellon Foundation. 2009 Community Arts Assistance Program Grant from the City of Chicago 2008 New Works: Composition and Presentation Award from Chamber Music America/Doris Duke FoundationSelected 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)
Melba!
Origin Records
2013
Track Listing: Kansas City Child; Central Avenue; Dizzy Gillespie; Randy Weston; Solo Saxophone Introduction; Detroit-Kingston; Homecoming; Let me not lose my dream.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: tenor saxophone, soprano sxophone, bass clarinet; Ryan Cohan: piano; Jeff Parker: guitar; Joel Adams: trombone; Victor Garcia:trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion; Clark Sommers: bass; George Fludas:drums,percussion; Maggie Burrell:vocals
African Flowers
Origin Records
2010
Track Listing: Butare; Piano Solo; The Children's Room; Lubumbashi; Mama Yemo; Drum Solo; Nairobi Transit; Prelude; Kampala; Bass Solo; The Nurse From Nairobi; Harare/Leaving Africa.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: tenor saxophone, soprano sxophone, bass clarinet, flute; Ryan Cohan: piano; Jeff Parker: guitar; Victor Garcia:trumpet, flugelhorn, congas, percussion; Clark Sommers: bass; George Fludas: drums, percussion.
Urban Nomad
Origin
2008
Tracks: Urban Nomad;Janus Groove;Ever Ever Land; i carry your heart with me;You're My Everything;Twirl;Chin Check;Kids are Pretty People;Con Alma.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and Soprano Saxophone; Ron Perrillo: piano; George Fludas: drums; Clark Sommers: bass.
Rule of Three
Liberated Zone
2003
Tracks: John Gilmore;Koan;Nichols Plated;Day Dream;Paul's Pal;Contemplation;Reconciliation;Persephone;Happy.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and Soprano Saxophone; Ted Sirota:drums; Noel Kupersmith:bass.
As A co-Leader
Ba(SH)
Piece of Coal Music
Tracks: Introduction; Nairobi Transit; think of One; Trillium; Io; Randy and Melba;Inga
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: tenor saxophone and bass clarinet; Dana Hall: drums; Clark Sommers: Bass
Collage
Collage
self produced
2007
Tracks: The Pontificator; Night Trivia; Distraction; Urban Nomad; Still; November Song; Tricycle; Bagatelle; Myron.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Sam Macy: guitar; Hyosub Kim: bass; John Smillie: drums.
As A Side Musician
Eleventh Hour: Live at the Green Mill
John Moulder
Origin Records
2012
Track Listing: Proclamation of the Unexpected; African Sunset; Cold Sea Triptych (Introduction); Cold Sea Triptych; The Eleventh Hour; Gateway; Magical Space; Creation; Time Being.
Personnel: John Moulder: electric and acoustic guitars; Geof Bradfield: saxophones, bass clarinet; Jim Trompeter: piano; Larry Gray: bass; Paul Wertico: drums.
Opening Statement
Tito Carrillo
Origin Records
2012
Bassprint
Marlene Rosenberg
Origin Records
2012
Ryan Cohan
Another Look
Motema Music
2011
Track Listing: Monk'n Around; Joshua; You & Me; This or That; Caravan; (Intro) Gentle Souls; Gentle Souls; Another Look; (Intro) Song for my Grandfather; Song for my Grandfather; Steppin' Up.
Personnel: Ryan Cohan: piano; Joe Locke: vibraphone; Geof Bradfield: soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet; Lorin Cohen: bass; Kobie Watkins: drums; Steve Kroon: percussion.
Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls
Seize the Time
Naim Music
2009
Track Listing: Clampdown; 13 De Maio; Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi U.S.A.; Hard Times (Come Again No More); Killa Dilla; Tollway; Viva Max! (Improvised Drum Solo); J.Y.D.; Polo Mze Pt. 1; Polo Mze Pt. 2; Little D; The Keys To Freedom.
Personnel: Ted Sirota: drums; Geof Bradfield: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Dave Miller: guitar; Jake Vinsel: acoustic bass, electric bass.
Breeding Resistance
Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls
Delmark
2004
Tracks: Saro-Wiwa; Chairman Fred; Knife; For Martyrs; This is a Takeover; Elegy; Breeding Resistance; Huntsville, TX; D.C.; Axe; Pablo.
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Ted Sirota: drums; Jeff Parker: guitar; Jeb Bishop: trombone; Clark Sommers: bass.
vs. the Forces of Evil
Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls
NAIM
1999
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Ted Sirota: drums; Rob Mazurek: cornet; Noel Kupersmith: bass; Kevin Kizer: tenor saxophone and clarinet; Jeff Parker: guitar.
One Sky
Ryan Cohan
Motema
2007
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Ryan Cohan: piano; Bob Shepard: tenor and soprano saxophone; Tito Carrillo: trumpet and flugelhorn; Kobie Watkins: drums; Lorin Cohen: bass; James Cammack: bass.
The Door
Kelly Brand Nextet
Origin
2008
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, flute; Kelly Brand: piano; Kelly Sill: bass; John Deitemeyer: drums; Art Davis: trumpet; Naomi Sill: cello.
Trinity
John Moulder
Origin
2007
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax; John Moulder: guitar; Laurence Hobgood: piano; Rob Amster: bass; Kelly Sill: bass; Paul Wertico: drums; Tito Carrillo: trumpet; Paul McCandless: english horn; Brad Wheeler: saxophone; Jim Gailleretto: saxophones.
Inner Rhythm
Michael Allemana Quartet
self released
2006
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax; Michael Allemana: guitar; Ted Sirota: drums; Matt Ferguson: bass.
Here and Now
Ryan Cohan
Sirocco
2001
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Ryan Cohan: piano; Bob Shepard: tenor and soprano saxophone; Tito Carrillo: trumpet and flugelhorn; Dana Hall: drums; Lorin Cohen: bass; James Cammack: bass.
Under the Influence
Tuey Connell
Minor Music
2003
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor sax; Steve Klink: piano; Tuey Connell: guitar, banjo, vocals.
Songs for Joy and Sadness
Tuey Connell
Minor Music
2001
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor and soprano sax; Dana Hall: drums; Tuey Connell: guitar, banjo, vocals; Matt Ferguson: bass; Dennis Luxion: piano.
Let the Music Speak
Sabina Lilly
sabinasongs
2006
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: soprano saxophone; Sabina Lilly: vocals; Ryan Cohan: piano; Lorin Cohen: bass; Kobie Watkins: drums; Delfeayo Marsalis: trombone; Neal Alger: guitar.
Meeting Place
Erin McDougald
Flapper Girl Productions
2005
Personnel: Geof Bradfield: Tenor sax; Erin McDougald: voice; Dan Cray: piano; Clark Sommers: bass; Greg Wyser-Pratt: drums.
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Primary Instrument:
Saxophone
Location:
Chicago, IL
Credentials/Background:
Geof Bradfield has extensive experience as an educator. Since completing his
MFA at California Institute of the Arts, he has held positions at several colleges
and universities as well as teaching master classes in topics ranging from
improvisation to the history of American music in the twentieth century to jazz
composition and saxophone technique. He has toured Africa, the Middle East
and Russia through Jazz at Lincoln Center's "The Rhythm Road: American Music
Abroad" program as a performer and clinician. In 2012, Mr. Bradfield joined the
faculty of Northern Illinois University as Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone
and Jazz Studies.
Clinic/Workshop Information:
Clinics topics include saxophone technique and sound production, practice
strategies for the jazz musician, improvisation, composition and arranging,
ensemble coaching, and lecture/demonstrations on various aspects of jazz
history. Clinics can be geared to most levels and class sizes and are designed
to be interactive, participatory experiences for everyone involved.
