Carmen Bradford

 Jazz Vocalist

 

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txgurlmusic@yahoo.com|carmenbradford.com

"Carmen, having had long associations with icons such as Count Basie and Nancy Wilson, is the rare example of a jazz artist at the top of her field who, in turn, is choosing to mentor the students following in her footsteps. Her joy, artistry, and passion will inspire us all – faculty and students alike."

~Simon Rowe, Executive Director, Roots, Jazz, and American Music program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

 

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 Jazz Clubs

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▪  Birdland Jazz Club, New York, NY

▪  Blue Note Jazz Club, New York, NY

▪  Blue Note Jazz Club, Nagoya, Japan

▪  Blue Note Jazz Club, Tokyo, Japan

▪  Blues Alley Jazz Club, Washington, D.C.

▪  The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA

▪  The Jazz Corner, Hilton Head, SC

▪  The Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN

▪  Living Room Jazz Club, Bangkok

▪  Lionel Hampton Jazz Club, Paris

▪ Parker’s Jazz Club, Austin, TX

▪ Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London

▪ Velvet Note Jazz Club, Alpharetta, GA

▪ Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Oakland CA

 Other Venues

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▪  Aaron Davis Hall, New York, NY

▪  The Arlee Theater, Mason City, IL

▪  Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR

▪  The Arts Garage. Delray Beach, FL

▪  Barnstable Performing Arts Center, Cape Cod, MA

▪  Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, TX

▪  Benaroya Concert Hall, Seattle, WA

▪  Berk Recital Hall. Boston, MA

▪  Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, TN

▪  Birch North Theatre, Jazz in North Park, San Diego, CA

▪  Brucknerhaus Concert Hall, Linz, Austria

▪  Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

▪ Jazz Educators Network (JEN) Conference, Atlanta, GA 

▪ JEN Conference: The Jazz Association of Singapore

▪ JEN Conference, New Orleans, LA

▪ Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, MD

▪ Kennedy Center, New York, NY

▪ Mary Stuart Rogers Theater, Modesto, CA

▪ Meng Concert Hall, CSU, Fullerton, CA

▪ Mountain View Center For The Arts, Mountain View, CA 

▪ The Music Center at the Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD 

▪ New Mexico Jazz Festival, Albuquerque, NM

▪ New Orleans Jazz Festival, New Orleans, LA

▪ Palace Theatre Sao Paulo, Brazil

▪  The Cary Theatre, Cary, NC

▪  Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL

▪  The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA

▪  Constitution Hall, Washington, DC

▪  Crooner’s Supper Club, Minneapolis, MN

▪  Crown Upton Theatre, Wichita, KS

▪  Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore

▪  Gerald R. Ford Theater, Vail, CO

▪  Holland Center, Omaha, NE

▪  Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA

▪  Hosmer Hall, State University of New York, Potsdam, NY

▪  The Jazz Corner, Hilton Head, SC

▪  Jazz Cruise, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

▪ Patricia Reser Center For The Arts, Beaverton, WA 

▪ The Phoenix Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ

▪ Santa Fe Cooking School, Santa Fe, NM

▪ The Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV

▪ Southern Theatre, Columbus, OH

▪ The Sunrise Theater, Las Vegas NV 

▪ Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN 

▪ Wallstreet Theatre, Norwalk, CT

▪ Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA 

▪ Wallstreet Theatre, Norwalk, CT

▪ Winter’s Jazz Club, Chicago, IL

▪ Visalia Fox Theater, Visalia, CA

 

 Television & Radio Appearances (partial list)

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▪  Carmen Bradford and Melba Joyce at WBGO (88.3 FM)

▪  FIOS Omaha (91.5 FM), Jazz Heritage Series

▪  Forever Ella, Biography Channel

▪  KCSM-FM Jazz Radio, San Mateo, CA

▪  KUVO Radio Jazz, Denver, CO

▪  The Morning Show, Sydney, Australia

▪ Sydney Opera House, ‘The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra’

▪ ‘Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,’ NBC Studios

▪ WBGO Radio, Newark, NJ

▪ WCLK Radio, Clark-Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA

▪ WDR Radio Orchestra Television Special Ja

Jazz Festivals

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▪  Atlanta Jazz Festival, Atlanta, GA

▪  Azalea Festival, Valdosta, GA

▪  Breckinridge Music Festival, Breckinridge, CO

▪  Brubeck Jazz Summit, North Lake Tahoe, NV

▪  Concord Jazz Festival, Concord, CA

▪  The Casper College Jazz Festival, Casper, WY

▪  DeMiero Jazz Festival, Edmonds, WA

▪  Grand Teton Music Festival, Jackson Hole, WY

▪  Hill Country Jazz Festival, San Marcos, TX

▪ Legacy of Jazz Series, Cary, NC

▪ Lion City Youth Jazz Festival, Singapore

▪ Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, Rockville, MD

▪ Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, Silver Springs, MD

▪ Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, Mt. Hood, OR

▪ New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA 

▪ NewOrleans Jazz Festival, New Orleans, LA

▪ North Sea Jazz Festival, the Netherlands

▪ Salem Vocal Jazz Festival, Salem, OR

▪  International Jazz Festival, Honolulu, HI

▪  INNtone International Jazzfestival, Diersbach, Austria

▪  Iowa City Jazz Festival. Iowa City, IA

▪  Iwate Jazz Festival, Iwate, Japan

▪  Kansas State University Jazz Festival, Manhattan, KS

▪  Kinser Jazz Festival, Casper, WY

▪  Kuala Lumpur Jazz Festival, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

▪ Sitka Jazz Festival, Sitka, AK

▪ Toledo Jazz Festival, Toledo, OH

▪ University of Northern Colorado Music Festival, Greeley, CO

▪ WDR Radio Jazz Festival, Cologne, Germany

▪ Wichita Jazz Festival, Wichita, KS

▪ Word of the South Music Festival, Women in Jazz, Tallahassee, FL

Masterclasses (partial list)

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▪  California State University Summer Arts Festival, Fresno, CA

▪  Carmen Bradford in Concert, Gardena, CA

▪  DeMiero Jazz Festival, Edmonds, WA

▪  Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY

▪  Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, IL

▪  Essentially Ellington, New York, NY

▪  Frost School of Music, Coral Gables, FL

▪  Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

▪ Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, Silver Springs, MD

▪ The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

▪ San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, CA

▪ Sitka Jazz Festival, Sitka, Alaska

▪ University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

▪ Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA

▪ Visiting Artist Series, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

Performed with

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Solo Artists

▪  Yolanda Adams

▪  Harry Allen

▪  Kenny Banks, Sr.

▪  William “Count” Basie

▪  Tony Bennett

▪  George Benson

▪  Shelly Berg

▪  Bobby Bradford

▪  James Brown

▪  Ray Brown

▪  Benny Carter

▪  Olivia Chindamo

▪  John Clayton

▪  George Duke

▪  Billy Eckstine

▪  Billie Eilish

▪  Kurt Elling

▪  Harry “Sweet” Edison 

▪ Al Freeman with

Symphonies, Big Bands & Ensembles

▪ The Airmen of Note

▪ The Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin, TX

▪ The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore, MD

▪ The Cape Symphony Orchestra, Cape Cod, MA

▪ The Capital Jazz Sextet and Capital City Jazz Orchestra, Concord, NH

▪ Central New York (CNY) Jazz Orchestra, Fayetteville, NY

▪ The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

▪ The Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Columbus, OH

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra directed By Scotty Barnhart, New York, NY 

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra directed By Frank Foster, New York, NY

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra directed By Bill Hughes, New York, NY

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra directed By Thad Jones, New York, NY

▪ The Count Basie Orchestra directed By Dennis Mackrel, New York, NY 

▪ The Count Basie Alumni Jazz Orchestra

▪ Count Basie and his Orchestra, New York, New York

▪ The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas, TX

▪ The Dani Felber Big Band

▪ The David Murray Big Band 

Performed with, continued

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Solo Artists

▪  Champian Fulton

▪  Derrick Gardner

▪  Hilary Gardner

▪  Sara Gazarek

▪  Dizzy Gillespie

▪  Benny Goodman

▪  Lionel Hampton

▪  Slide Hampton

▪  Herbie Hancock

▪  Deborah Harry (Blondie)

▪  Michelle Hendricks

▪  Lena Horne

▪  Tyron Jackson

▪  Melba Joyce

▪  Ted Levy

▪  Seth MacFarlane

▪  Carmen MacRae

▪  Kevin Mahogany

▪  Leo Manzari

▪  Sherrie Maricle

▪  Wynton Marsalis

▪  Christian McBride

▪  Mulgrew Miller

▪  Brian Stokes Mitchell

▪  Claressa Monteiro

▪  Jeremy Monteiro

▪  Barbara Morrison

▪  Willie Nelson

▪  David “Fathead” Newman

▪  Shung Ng

▪  Mohamed Noor

▪  Gretchen Parloto

▪  Freda Payne

▪  John Pizzarelli

▪  James Polk

▪  Tito Puente

▪  Kenny Rankin

▪  Lou Rawls

▪  Dianne Reeves

▪  Max Roach

▪  Diane Schuur

▪  Marilyn Scott

▪  Frank Sinatra

▪  Byron Stripling

▪  Sarah Vaughan

▪  Michael Veerapen

▪  Jody Watley

▪  Bill Watrous

▪  Joe Williams

▪  Nancy Wilson

Symphonies, Big Bands & Ensembles

▪ The Davidson College Jazz Ensemble, Davidson, NC 

▪ The Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton, OH

▪ The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, MI

▪ DIVA Jazz Orchestra Club

▪ Eastman Jazz Lab Bad, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY 

▪ The Florida University Big Band

▪ The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth, TX

▪ Frank Capp Juggernaut

▪ Georgia State University Big Band, Atlanta, GA

▪ The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Band and Choir, Austin, TX 

▪ Jazz Academy All Stars

▪ The Jazz Arts Group, Columbus, OH

▪ Jazz at the Ballroom Quartet, San Francisco, California

▪ The Jefferson College Jazz Ensemble, Hillsboro, TN

▪ Jeremy Monteiro Big Band▪ Jeremy Monteiro and the Jazz Association of Singapore Orchestra 

▪ Joe Gransden Big Band

▪ The John Rangel Trio

▪ The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Knoxville TN

▪ The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City, MO

▪ Konrad Paszkudzki Quartet

▪ The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, New York, NY

▪ Lionel Hampton Jazz Orchestra

▪ Lisa Hittle Big Band

▪ Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Long Beach, CA

▪ Maryland Symphony, Hagerstown, MD

▪ The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee, WI

▪ The Naples Philharmonic, Naples, FL

▪ The Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Nashville, TN

▪ National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

▪ The New Haven Symphony, New Haven , CT

▪ The Ohio State University Jazz Orchestra, Columbus, OH

▪ The Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Omaha, NE

▪ The Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Portland, OR

▪ Philadelphia Pops, Philadelphia, PA

▪ The Phoenix Symphony, Phoenix, AZ

▪ The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh, PA

▪ The Portland Symphony Orchestra, Portland, Portland, ME

▪ Quentin Baxter Trio

▪ RJAM students and faculty, San Francisco, CA

▪ The San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego, CA

▪ Seacoast Big Band, Durham, NH

▪ Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra

▪ The Shelly Berg Trio

▪ Sigi Feigl and His Big Band

▪ Sigi Feigl and Jazz Orchester Steiermark

▪ Spokane Symphony, Spokane, WA

▪ The Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra, Springfield, OH

▪ The Tallahassee Symphony, Tallahassee, FL

▪ The Tonight Show Jazz Orchestra

▪ University of Louisville Big Band, Louisville, KY

▪ University of Northern Colorado Big Band, Greeley, CO

▪The University of Northern Colorado’s Compass Jazz Orchestra, Greeley, CO

 

Ensembles

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▪  Count Basie and his Orchestra

▪  The Count Basie Orchestra

▪  Doc Severinsen and his Orchestra

Discography

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▪ Carmen Sings Carmen, Carmen Bradford & The Compass Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute To Carmen McRae – Summit Records, to be released in 2024

▪  Basie Swings the Blues, The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Candid Records, 2023

▪  Everybody Let’s Roll, The Texas Horns featuring Carmen Bradford –Blue Heart Records, 2022

▪  Live At Birdland The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Candid Records, 2021

▪  The Road Less Traveled, The Knoxville  Jazz Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Blue Canoe Records, 2019

▪  All About That Basie – Concord Records, 2018

▪  John Mills featuring Carmen Bradford – Invisible Designs –Fable Records, 2014

▪  Imagination Nation, Darren English featuring Carmen Bradford –Hot Shoe Records, 2016

▪  A Very Swingin’ Basie Christmas, The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Concord Records,  2015

▪  Let It Ride, Joel Evans featuring Carmen Bradford –Cinemasters Records, 2013

▪  The Airmen of Note featuring Carmen Bradford –Radio Broadcast Recording, 2012

▪  Joel Evans, What Are the Chances of That, featuring Carmen Bradford – Cinemasters Records, 2010

▪  Queenie Pie featuring Carmen Bradford with the Butler School of Music – Longhorn Music, 2010

▪  Cinema: A Romantic Vision, Dori Caymmi Featuring Carmen Bradford – CDB, 2008

▪  Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca –Cola: Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford –DIVA Jazz Orchestra – Self-released, 2008

▪  Home With You, Carmen Bradford and Shelly Berg –Arica Records, 2004

▪  Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis plays the music of Duke Ellington, featuring Carmen Bradford on “Jump For Joy” –Brooks Brothers Records, 2004

▪  Soundtrack “Beloved” – Epic Records, 1998

▪  Shelly Berg the Will: A Tribute to Oscar Peterson, featuring Carmen Bradford – Cars Productions 30, 1997

▪  Kamau Dauood Leimert Park featuring Carmen Bradford –Mama Records, 1997

▪  Benny Carter Songbook featuring Carmen Bradford –International Records, 1996

▪  With Respect, Carmen Bradford – Evidence Records,1995

▪  Mirage, The B-Sharp Jazz Quartet featuring Carmen Bradford –Summit Records, 1995

▪  Count On It featuring Carmen Bradford – Inter music Records, 1995

▪  Finally Yours, Carmen Bradford – Evidence Records, 1992

▪  Big Boss Band, George Benson – Warner Brothers Records 1990

▪  The Legend, The Legacy –The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Denon Records, 1989

▪  Long Live The Chief –The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Carmen Bradford – Denon Records, 1986

▪  Chicago Hello/You Belong To Me, Carmen Bradford –Major Records, 1986

Teaching Experience

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San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Professor of Jazz Voice and Chair, Jazz Vocal Studies, Jazz Voice Department, Faculty Member, Roots, Jazz, and American Music program 

2018-2023

University of Southern California, Lost Angeles, CA  - Adjunct Vocal Instructor, Department of Jazz Studies

1999-2004

University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA - Adjunct Vocal Instructor, Jazz Studies Department

1998–1999

Awards

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▪  Grammy Award, 2024, “Basie Swings the Blues – the Count Basie Orchestra”

▪  Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jazz Vocalist Award, 2021

▪  BlackWomeninJazzandtheArts,LegendaryLadyofJazzAward,2016

▪  Tenuto Award, Frank DeMiero Jazz Festival, 2013

▪  The Jazz Legends of Los Angeles (LOLA) Award (Jazz Legends of Los Angeles), for contributions to the cultural heritage, legacy and spirit represented by Central Avenue, 2006

▪  Certificate of Commendation from the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, 2004

▪ International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE): Special Citation For Outstanding Musicianship, Anaheim, CA, 1995

▪  June 17 declared “Carmen Bradford Day by the Mayor of Austin, TX, 1993

Professional Affiliations

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▪  Carmen Bradford Productions, Inc.: CEO and Artistic Director

▪  AMPLIFY panelist, The Emerging Black Composers Project, a partnership among the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), the San Francisco Symphony, and the SFCM President’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion

▪  Earthworks Audio: Artist

▪  Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter, Governor

Education

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Student, vocal performance, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, TX