In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the popular “Speaking Of” series at Pasadena's Allendale Library features a discussion with one of our area’s great musical treasures: legendary jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, composer, and educator Bobby Bradford.
An Altadena resident, Bradford grew up in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s, settling in Los Angeles in 1963 after finishing college studies in Texas. Assimilating the musical language of such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Fats Navarro, and Charlie Parker, Bradford emerged as one of the most important jazz trumpeters in the 1960s and ‘70s, articulating a modern post-bebop, avant-garde sound while performing with Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and John Carter, and, in recent years, heading his own ensemble known as The Mo’tet.
For over thirty years, Bradford has taught jazz history and improvisation at Pasadena City College and Pomona College, inspiring and mentoring a generation of outstanding jazz musicians, including David Murray, James Newton, and Mark Dresser. Bradford, whose daughter Carmen is also an accomplished jazz singer, received the Festival of New Trumpet Music’s Award of Recognition in 2009.
Further information: (626) 744-7260 or visit pasadenapubliclibrary.net
SPEAKING OF: BOBBY BRADFORD
Allendale Branch Library, 1130 S. Marengo Ave., Pasadena
Saturday, April 27, 2013, 2:00 p.m.
