Carmen Bradford & The Quentin Baxter Trio

Accompanying Bradford for the concert will be pianist Kevin Bales, bassist Billy Thornton, and drummer Quentin E. Baxter. 2019 Grammy nominee Carmen Bradford was born in Austin, Texas and raised in Altadena, California. Bradford grew up with music in her home and in her heart. It was only natural that Bradford would follow in the footsteps of her great family legacy – she is the daughter of legendary coronet/composer Bobby Bradford and world-renowned jazz vocalist/composer/author Melba Joyce. Her grandfather Melvin Moore sang with Lucky Millender and his Big Band and Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band in the 1940s. Millender also sang with the Ink Spots. Even though she has come from a long line of family musicians, Bradford has carved out a place in music history for herself and is playing an integral role in jazz. At 22 years old, Bradford was discovered and hired by William “Count” Basie and was the featured vocalist in the legendary Count Basie Orchestra for nine years. She has since performed and/or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Shelly Berg, Jeremy Monteiro, John Clayton and the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne, Doc Severinsen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Tierney Sutton, Liz Wright, Patti Austin, Byron Stripling, Dori Caymmi, George Benson, Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Kurt Elling, Jeff Tyzik, Freddie Cole, Benny Carter, Kenny Rankin, Lou Rawls, James Newton, David Murray, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, along with the National Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Dani Felber Big Band, Dallas Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Pops, and countless artist around the world. Bradford performed on two Grammy Award winning albums with the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1980s and later collaborated on a third Grammy Award winning album, Big Boss Band with guitarist George Benson in 1991. Her soulful voice warmed the hearts of the world through the celebrated performance of the classic duet, “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that same year. Bradford began another chapter in her illustrious career as a solo artist with her critically acclaimed debut album Finally Yours (Evidence Records) in 1992. The 1995 release of her second solo album With Respect (Evidence Records) established her as one of “jazz music’s most diverse and exciting vocal stylists’” (Q – who said this quote? It needs to be attributed) proving to the world that Carmen Bradford was a unique voice in her own right. Bradford teamed with singer/composer Kenny Rankin for the Benny Carter Songbook Project making history once again. Many well-known musicians were involved in the making of this special album. Some notable attendees were Joe Williams, Ruth Brown, Bobby Short, Peggy Lee, Shirley Horn, Jon Hendricks, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, among others. Bradford was chosen to sing “Key Largo” for this Grammy Award winning album. Her performance on “The Benny Carter Songbook” marked another of Carmen’s wonderful studio collaborations reaffirming her stardom. On occasion, Bradford has loaned her talented voice to stage productions and the music of Hollywood films, cartoons, television and radio commercials, and theater. She sang on the haunting soundtrack for Oprah Winfrey’s “Beloved” and starred in the title role of Duke Ellington’s Folk Opera “Queenie Pie” at the University of Texas, Butler School of Music. Bradford’s 2004 release, Home With You (Azica Records) is a warm and beautiful collection of vocal and piano duets with guest artist Shelly Berg. The album was yet another departure for Bradform, offering her fans a stripped down, intimate portrait of the artist they have grown to love. Bradford returned to her big band roots on Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra’s Live from Jazz At Lincoln Centers Dizzy’s Club. This also brought Bradford back to her big band family, The Count Basie Orchestra, which she continues to tour with to this day. Bradford’s 2015 album with jazz great John Mills, Invisible Design, is another example of her ability to sing all forms of jazz. Carmen is doing it all whether it is a duo concert with her favorite pianists Shelly Berg, Tyrone Jackson or Kevin Bales or Big Band with an array of bands across the world. She was also on the 2015 Christmas album A Very Swinging Basie Christmas, with the Count Basie Orchestra. That album was conducted by Scotty Barnhart featuring, Carmen Bradford, Johnny Mathis, Ellis Marsalis, and Ledisi. In 2016 Carmen was the voice on the album Imagination Nation by trumpeter Darren English. His critically acclaimed album won the Pledge For Peace Award from the Global Peace Song Awards, and Best in Jazz Category. Carmen Bradford has never stopped performing with her Basie family, the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, conducted by Scotty Barnhart. Even after all these years, Bradford has always said “when they call me, I go.” She has never forgotten Mr. Basie who opened that wonderful door, and gave her wings. The 2019 Grammy Nominated album All About That Basie with the Count Basie Orchestra, conducted by Scotty Barnhart on Concord Records, features Bradford, Stevie Wonder, Kurt Elling, Jamie Davis, Joey DeFrancesco, Jon Faddis, Wycliffe Gordon, and Take 6.   MUSIC CHARGE: $20.00REQUEST A RESERVATION