Anthony Branker
Composer Anthony Branker has recorded for Origin Records and Sons of Sound Records and has eight releases in his fast growing and musically rich discography. They include: Beauty Within (Origin, 2016), The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite (Origin, 2014), Uppity (Origin, 2013), Together (Origin, 2012), Dialogic (Origin, 2011), Dance Music (Origin, 2010), Blessings (Origin, 2009), and Spirit Songs (Sons of Sound, 2006). He leads three collectives that include Anthony Branker & Imagine, Anthony Branker & Ascent and Anthony Branker & Word Play, which have featured Ralph Bowen, Fabian Almazan, Linda Oh, Rudy Royston, Pete McCann, David Binney, Conrad Herwig, Jim Ridl, Kenny Davis, Donald Edwards, Renato Thoms, Alison Crockett, Mark Gross, Tia Fuller, Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, Andy Hunter, Clifford Adams, Eli Asher, Jonny King, Bryan Carrott, John Benitez, Belden Bullock, Adam Cruz, Ralph Peterson Jr., Wilby Fletcher, Kadri Voorand, and Freddie Bryant.
Recently Branker was named in Down Beat magazine's 63rd & 62nd Annual Critics Poll as a Rising Star Composer. He has received composition prizes, commissions, served as composer-in- residence, and has had his music featured in performance in Poland, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Australia, France, Germany, China, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Japan; as well as in performance at such venues as the Iridium Jazz Club, Sweet Basil Jazz Club, Smalls Jazz Club, The Five Spot, New York’s Symphony Space, the Fez under the Time Café, Trumpets Jazz Club, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Australia), Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Australia), and the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture. In addition, his music has appeared on National Public Radio, was spotlighted at the International Jazz Composers Symposium at the University of South Florida, and has been performed by the Shanghai Jazz Orchestra in Shanghai, China.
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Album Review
- Beauty Within by Karl Ackermann
- Beauty Within by Dan McClenaghan
- Uppity by Dan McClenaghan
Interview
Live Review
Album Review
- Dance Music by Karl Ackermann
- Dance Music by Edward Blanco
- Blessings by John Barron
- Spirit Songs by Ken Franckling
- Spirit Songs by Robert R. Calder
March 05, 2013
Origin Records To Release "Uppity," By Composer/Bandleader Anthony...
April 12, 2011
Anthony Branker and Ascent, "Dance Music" a Treat for the Ears
May 17, 2006
Anthony Branker & Ascent "Spirit Songs" CD Release Tonight at the...
“Anthony Branker is crafting some of today’s finest compositions…” —All About Jazz
(Branker) pulls off the dandy feat of merging art and commerce making creative jazz that could leap to mass appeal...this is everything you could want in a swinging, mainstream date...simply hits it out of the park —Midwest Record Review of Together CD
A soulful album that should only be the start of any exploration of Branker's work —eMusic Review of Together CD
“Branker's music relies on a strong rhythmic foundation, with Afro-Cuban inspired grooves and solo sections over energetic vamps…With a unique combination of depth and accessibility, Branker is able to put forth a jazz perspective steeped in soulful optimism.” —John Barron, All About Jazz
“Composer/arranger/trumpeter/mentor Anthony Branker is one of those gurus who, although he has appeared in the spotlight as a leader or co- collaborator with various big names, has made his most lasting mark as an educator and composer… (he) has proven to be an inspiration to many known and unknown musicians...Spirit Songs is Branker’s all-cards-on-the-table look at his compositional being, a deeply spiritual individual who uses his faith to imbue his art for eight compelling compositions
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Credentials/Background
Dr. Anthony D.J. Branker held an endowed chair in Jazz Studies, was Founding Director of the Program in Jazz Studies, Director of University Jazz Empembles, and served as Associate Director of the Program in Musical Performance at Princeton University, where he taught for 27 years. He directed an extensive list of ensembles and taught courses in jazz theory through improvisation & composition, jazz performance practice in historical and cultural context, jazz composition, the evolution of jazz styles, and the improvising ensemble. He has served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia and has also been a member of the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, Hunter College of the City University of New York, Ursinus College, and the New Jersey Summer Arts Institute. Dr. Branker was visiting composer at the Southern Danish Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Odense/Esbjerg, Denmark; Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany; the Estonian Academy of Music & Theatre; and for the Socrates/Erasmus Intensive Programme in cooperation with the European Union, the Association of Baltic Academies of Music, and the Estonian Academy of Music & Theatre.
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