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Owen Broder

Owen Broder is a saxophonist based in New York City. He runs in a variety of musical circles, leading his own groups and participating in others. His American Roots Project’s debut album, Heritage, was praised by DownBeat Magazine as a “transcendent work of art,” and listed as #5 among the Best Music of 2018 [Francis Davis, NPR]. Broder’s quintet, Cowboys & Frenchmen, has enjoyed multiple US tours and seen success in international competitions including the DC JazzPRIX, Umbria Jazz Festival’s Conad Competition, and M-Prize. The group has received critical acclaim for its three full-length recordings, including a four-star review from DownBeat Magazine for their 2017 release, Bluer Than You Think, and singles from their recent 2021 release Our Highway premiered by WBGO and JazzTimes.

Broder is a member of the GRAMMY® nominated Anat Cohen Tentet and the Manhattan Saxophone Quartet and has performed with internationally respected artists such as Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, Trio Globo, and YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox.

An award-winning composer and arranger, Broder writes for his own ensembles and a variety of others. His composition Goin’ Up Home earned him a 2018 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, and in 2020 he received a commission grant from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers. The projects Broder leads are marked by creativity and originative thinking. UNCSA’s 2021 Artpreneur of the Year Award and the 2018 Eastman/ArtistShare® New Artist program recognized his entrepreneurial ventures for their creative musical programming, innovative presentation, and meaningful impact on the community.

Broder grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and also has hometown ties to Detroit, MI, and Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music.

Awards

2021 UNCSA Alumni Artpreneur Grant Recipient 2020 International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers Grant Recipient 2018 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award 2017 Umbria Jazz Festival: Conad Competition Finalist (Cowboys & Frenchmen) 2017 Eastman/ArtistShare New Artist 2016 DC Jazz Festival: DC JazzPrix Competition Finalist (Cowboys & Frenchmen) 2015 DownBeat Student Music Award: Best Graduate Small Group Arrangement


Tags

2
Radio & Podcasts

Anthony Orgeta, Johnny Hodges & Owen Broder

Read "Anthony Orgeta, Johnny Hodges & Owen Broder" reviewed by Joe Dimino


With a healthy dose of reverence, we begin the 778th Episode of Neon Jazz with Brooklyn saxophonist Owen Broder doing his take of “Royal Garden Blues" off his 2022 project Hodges Front and Center Volume 1. From there, we hear from Johnny Hodges himself with the song “Rabbit Pie" followed by the talented Melody Diachun covering Sting. Then, we hear from Sting himself with “A Touch of Jazz." Then it's on to a good dose of new material from Ernesto ...

4
Album Review

Owen Broder: Hodges: Front and Center, Vol.1

Read "Hodges: Front and Center, Vol.1" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Johnny Hodges was a unique instrumentalist whose alto saxophone playing was readily recognizable due to his tone, phrasing, and melodic engagement in improvisation. For the greater part of his musical life, he was anchored in the middle chair of the Duke Ellington Orchestra's saxophone section. However Hodges never turned down an opportunity to stretch out in a small group setting on such albums as Back To Back and Side By Side. Additionally, there were several sessions with organist Wild Bill ...

3
Album Review

Cowboys & Frenchmen: Our Highway

Read "Our Highway" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Okay, the name may be rather out of the ordinary (Cowboys & Frenchmen?), but once past that, what remains is a burnished New York City-based quintet whose music might best be described as decidedly liberated and contemporary. This isn't “free" jazz wherein each member of the group goes his own separate way; there is, however, a large share of free-lancing within the established boundaries of melody, harmony and rhythm that moderate all save the most ungoverned forms of the music. ...

Album Review

Owen Broder: Heritage

Read "Heritage" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il trombonista Owen Broder ha evidenziato le sue doti di sassofonista e autore in due dischi pubblicati col quintetto “Cowboys and Frenchmen" co-diretto con il collega Ethan Helm. Soprattutto nel secondo Bluer Than You Think (Outside In Music, 2016) l'intento d'ispirarsi alle radici musicali nord-americane, entro un vivace modern mainstream con qualche sperimentazione, è risultato fresco e fantasioso. L'ultimo lavoro compie un bel passo avanti, presentando un ampio organico con nuovi e brillanti componenti che eseguono partiture ...

6
Album Review

Owen Broder: Heritage

Read "Heritage" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


The cross-pollination of jazz and folk music is nothing new, but saxophonist Owen Broder does push things forward in this exploration of the idea, asking five different composers from varying generations and backgrounds to each write their own take on American folk music for an eight-piece ensemble. Besides Broder himself, the compositions and arrangements come from Miho Hazama, Bill Holman, Jim McNeely, Ryan Truesdell and Alphonso Horne. Holman, whose career stretches back to working for Stan Kenton in ...

Read more articles
"Fans of large-ensemble music might notice the sturdy artistic thread that connects bandleaders Maria Schneider, Ryan Truesdell and Owen Broder." Bobby Reed, DownBeat Magazine

"Broder employs a past-via-the-present compositional technique with ingenuity and skill, producing music of genuine warmth and majesty." Brian Zimmerman, Jazziz Magazine

"Owen Broder plays with gospel-soaked gravitas." Raul da Gama, World Music Report

Primary Instrument

Saxophone

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Information and rates available at owenbroder.com.

Clinic/Workshop Information

Information at owenbroder.com/teaching.

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Hodges: Front and...

Outside in Music
2024

buy

Hodges: Front and...

Outside in Music
2022

buy

Hodges Front and...

Outside In Records
2022

buy

Our Highway

Outside in Music
2021

buy

Heritage

ArtistShare
2018

buy

Royal Garden Blues

From: Hodges Front and Center Vol 1
By Owen Broder

Where Is your Wealth

From: Our Highway
By Owen Broder

Videos

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