Rick Braun | All It Takes
ON JULY 28, TRUMPETER-COMPOSER-PRODUCER
RICK BRAUN DELIVERS ALL IT TAKES,
HIS ECLECTIC DEBUT ON ARTISTRY MUSIC
Nobody on the contemporary jazz scene knows more about the power of perfect, timely partnerships-or what it takes to keep the #1 hits coming-than Rick Braun. Drawing from the title of the trumpeter, composer and producer, his eclectic, envelope-pushing debut on Artistry Music, All It Takes, is finding the groove with his friends and fellow greats.
Braun launched the millennium in Shake It Up mode with Boney James, and later hooked up with Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown as BWB. He reached even greater heights in 2007 by teaming up with then fellow ARTizen artist, saxman Richard Elliot for RnR. Their duet project hit #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart immediately upon release; its catchy single was an instant smash, staying at #1 on Radio and Records' (R&R) Contemporary Jazz airplay chart for over two months. After touring as part of Jazz Attack with Peter White and Jonathan Butler in 2005 and 2007, Braun and Elliot teamed up for the genre's biggest tour in 2008.
The recording of RnR gave Braun the opportunity to work with his longtime friend, Parisian-born keyboardist Philippe Saisse, who had recently relocated from New York to Braun's Los Angeles neighborhood. Partnering with Saisse for the project helped Braun forge a musical identity distinct not just from RnR, but from the more retro-funky soul flavors he was working with simultaneously as a producer on Elliot's new solo project Rock Steady. "I always love working with Richard, but I couldn't picture myself completely getting into a whole new mindset for my project without the kind of outside perspective Philippe provided. We have an incredible chemistry together and because of his contributions and the way he inspired me to try exciting new ventures, All It Takes has a very unique identity that sets it apart from any other solo or collaboration CD I have ever done."
This new mindset begins with the conscious effort Braun makes to progress beyond the familiar technique of doubling his horn with tenor sax lines and textures. Most of the songs on All It Takes find Braun artfully combining flugelhorn with muted trumpet (using the Harmon mute). The perfect example of this approach is "Ever Changing World," which has a bubbling electronic ambiance and soaring flugelhorn/muted trumpet melody over a booming electronic funk rock foundation.
The trumpeter complements his Saisse collaborations with three equally seductive tracks that roll very much in the old school soul vein. "Freddie Was Here" is a heartfelt tribute to one of Braun's chief influences, the late great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. "Freddie was an incredible genius on his instrument," says Braun, who met the legend several times. "There was no player who was ever as confident, creative or innovative. He took improvisation to a whole new level and I have always considered his album First Light with George Benson and Hubert Laws to be the original urban jazz album."
Besides his solo career, Braun has also become a top genre producer, working with Elliot, Antoine, Willie & Lobo, David Benoit and Jeff Golub, among others. Braun set a record at the 2002 National Contemporary Jazz Awards in San Diego by winning a total of five trophies, including Best Male Artist, Best Album (Kisses in the Rain, which hit #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Chart), Song of the Year (the title cut) and Best Brass Player. He also shared a Best Collaboration award with (then Warner Bros. label mate) Boney James for their 2000 hit Shake It Up, which reigned at #1 on the Billboard chart for 11 weeks. His project with Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown, BWB, scored the #1 hit title track "Groovin'," and a popular U.S. tour in the Fall of 2002.
Even those who have followed Braun's rise as a solo artist since the release of 1993's Intimate Secrets are sometimes surprised by the diversity of the Allentown, Pennsylvania native's résumé prior to finding his niche in contemporary jazz. While attending the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Braun and some classmates formed the jazz-fusion combo Auracle, which released two albums. His path toward solo stardom ("I also wrote my share of Rick Springfield-like songs because I was also a good singer," he laughs) led him to some prestigious behind the scenes roles, first as a pop songwriter ("Here With Me" was a Top 20 hit for REO Speedwagon in 1988), then as a touring sideman with Rickie Lee Jones, Tina Turner, Glenn Frey, Natalie Cole, Crowded House, Tom Petty and War.
Rick Braun · All It Takes (ART 7020) · Release Date: July 28, 2009
DL Media
CONGRATULATIONS FOR RICK BRAUN FOR HIS NEW RELEASE.
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