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She was born Joanne Grogan, in Ventura, Calif., in 1938. A grand piano in her childhood home lured her to the keyboard. By age nine she was playing and teaching herself. |
Actual piano lessons were short lived, as her free spirit proved incompatible with classical exercises. Instead, she began transcribing the piano music she was more familiar with -- at that time, the music of big band leader and pianist Frankie Carl.
Joanne attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, but she found music education at the time too stifling. She soon dropped out of conservatory and began pursuing a jazz career full time. A thriving scene in 1950s L.A. allowed Joanne to sit in with jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon, Bobby Hutcherson and Billy Higgins. In the early '60s Joanne married jazz sax man, Charlie Brackeen and started a family that would eventually include 4 children. While the gigging slowed a bit, it didn’t stop and Joanne continued to hone her chops and her unique style while raising her kids.
The Brackeens moved to New York in the mid-'60s and Joanne began playing with such luminaries as Dave Liebman and Woody Shaw. By the end of the decade, Brackeen had stumbled into a gig with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, after having asked to sit in with the band during one of their gigs. She was the first female pianist to play with the group and stayed with them for the next several years. Brackeen went on to extended gigs with Joe Henderson and Stan Getz.
Having performed with some of the biggest names in jazz, Brackeen soon emerged as an impressive and innovative leader. She has since become a major figure among contemporary jazz pianists. In addition, Brackeen has become an important jazz composer for both small groups and large ensembles with rhythmically complex tunes and a diverse sonic palette.
Brackeen is also a respected educator and mentor to young jazz artists. She currently serves as a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Set List for Joanne Brackeen on Piano Jazz:Zapatos Espanoles (Brackeen)
Have You Met Ms Jones (Hart, Rodgers)
Ambience (McPartland)
Some Other Spring (Kitchings)
M & M's (Brackeen)
Body & Soul (Green, Heyman, Sour)
Turnaround (Coleman)
Giant Steps (Coltrane)
Joanne Brackeen's Web Site
Joanne attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, but she found music education at the time too stifling. She soon dropped out of conservatory and began pursuing a jazz career full time. A thriving scene in 1950s L.A. allowed Joanne to sit in with jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon, Bobby Hutcherson and Billy Higgins. In the early '60s Joanne married jazz sax man, Charlie Brackeen and started a family that would eventually include 4 children. While the gigging slowed a bit, it didn’t stop and Joanne continued to hone her chops and her unique style while raising her kids.
The Brackeens moved to New York in the mid-'60s and Joanne began playing with such luminaries as Dave Liebman and Woody Shaw. By the end of the decade, Brackeen had stumbled into a gig with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, after having asked to sit in with the band during one of their gigs. She was the first female pianist to play with the group and stayed with them for the next several years. Brackeen went on to extended gigs with Joe Henderson and Stan Getz.
Having performed with some of the biggest names in jazz, Brackeen soon emerged as an impressive and innovative leader. She has since become a major figure among contemporary jazz pianists. In addition, Brackeen has become an important jazz composer for both small groups and large ensembles with rhythmically complex tunes and a diverse sonic palette.
Brackeen is also a respected educator and mentor to young jazz artists. She currently serves as a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Set List for Joanne Brackeen on Piano Jazz:
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