Sonny Bradshaw

Last updated

Sonny Bradshaw
Birth name Cecil Bradshaw
Born(1926-03-28)28 March 1926
Kingston, Jamaica
Died 10 October 2009(2009-10-10) (aged 83)
London, England
Genres Jazz, reggae
Occupation(s) Musician, bandleader, broadcaster, promoter
Instruments Trumpet, piano, flügelhorn, clarinet, trombone, saxophone
Years active Late 1940s – 2009
Associated acts The Sonny Bradshaw Seven
Jamaican Big Band

Cecil "Sonny" Bradshaw CD (28 March 1926 – 10 October 2009), known as the "dean of Jamaican music", and the "musician's musician", was a Jamaican bandleader, trumpeter, broadcaster, and promoter who was a major figure in Jamaican music for more than sixty years.

Order of Distinction national order in the Jamaican honours system

The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament in 1968. The motto of the Order is "Distinction Through Service".

Jamaica country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.

Contents

Biography

Bradshaw was born in Kingston, Jamaica, [1] the only child of Edgar and Gladys Bradshaw, until the birth of his sister Marion twenty years later. [2] He attended Central Branch Conservatorium and then Kingston Technical High School, and was a regular reader of Popular Mechanics magazine, which led to him building his own radio, allowing him to listen to music from Cuba and the United States. [2] [3] His first job after leaving school was at Montague's Musique on Tower Street, and he taught himself to read music and play the trumpet. [2] His first professional work as a musician came in the late 1940s in Eric Deans' orchestra. He left in 1950 to form the Sonny Bradshaw Seven (he claimed seven was his lucky number), [4] which became renowned for recreating the sound of a 14-piece orchestra with only seven musicians, [2] and later also led the Jamaican Big Band (aka the All Stars Band), which included some of Jamaica's top musicians including Joe Harriott, Dizzy Reece, Ernest Ranglin, "Little G" McNair, Dwight Pinkney, and Monty Alexander. [5] [6] The band also backed the visiting Sarah Vaughan in 1956, the first time a Jamaican band had backed a visiting artist. [6] Other artists that Bradshaw's band backed included Johnny Mathis, Lou Rawls, Johnnie Ray, Brook Benton, and Sam Cooke. [2] [6] Bradshaw was best known as a trumpeter, but played a variety of instruments including piano, flügelhorn, clarinet, trombone, and saxophone. [5]

Kingston, Jamaica Capital city in Surrey, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.

<i>Popular Mechanics</i> magazine

Popular Mechanics is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation of all types, space, tools and gadgets are commonly featured.

Cuba Country in the Caribbean

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square kilometres (42,800 sq mi). The island of Cuba is the largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006 square kilometres (40,543 sq mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11 million inhabitants.

His career also saw him work as a journalist, teacher (his pupils included saxophonist Dean Fraser and drummer Desi Jones), and broadcaster, with his Teenage Dance Party radio show on the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) (for which he was director of musical programmes, and leader of the JBC Orchestra) playing a key role in giving greater exposure to Jamaican music in the 1960s and 1970s. [5]

Dean Fraser saxophonist

Dean Ivanhoe Fraser is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Musgrave Medal by the Jamaican government in 1993 in recognition of his services to music.

The Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) was a public broadcasting company in Jamaica founded in 1959 by premier Norman Manley with the aim of emulating the success of other national broadcasting companies such as the BBC and CBC.

For over 14 years he served as the president of the Jamaican Federation of Musicians, during which time he battled to improve the working conditions of live band musicians, whilst also encouraging greater professionalism from the musicians themselves. [7] Along with his wife, singer Myrna Hague, he founded the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival in 1991. [5] He also founded the Tastee Talent Contest in 1979 (later known as the Tastee Talent Trail), which played a major part in launching the careers of artists including Yellowman, Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, T.O.K., Papa San, Mad Cobra, and Brian and Tony Gold. [8] [9]

Myrna Hague Jamaican singer

Dr. Myrna Hague-Bradshaw, better known as Myrna Hague, known as "Jamaica's First Lady of Jazz", is a Jamaican lovers rock and jazz singer and actress, who recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One.

Yellowman Jamaican reggae singer

Winston Foster, better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He was popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, coming to prominence with a series of singles that established his reputation.

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis

Anthony Moses Davis, better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer. He is referred to as the world's "King of Dancehall".

Bradshaw was known as the "dean of Jamaican music", and the "musician's musician". [3] He was awarded the Order of Distinction, Commander class by the Jamaican government for his contribution to Jamaican music in 2004. [3] [10] He was also honoured by the Miramar City Commission at a ceremony to mark the opening of the Miramar Cultural Arts Center in Florida in 2008, for his contribution to music in Jamaica and internationally. [11]

Miramar, Florida City in Florida, United States

Miramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census.

Bradshaw regularly visited the United Kingdom, where he would attend the annual service of thanksgiving on the anniversary of Jamaica's independence at St Martin-in-the-Fields. He suffered a stroke while in London in August 2009, and remained in hospital until his death on 10 October, aged 83. [8] Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding paid tribute by calling Bradshaw "a pioneer whose contribution to Jamaica's music industry could not be quantified". [8] Jamaica's High Commissioner to London, Burchell Whiteman, stated "It is almost impossible to imagine modern Jamaican music without the presence of Sonny Bradshaw. He was a true musical pioneer who dedicated more than six decades of his life to ensuring that Jamaican music and especially jazz was always kept in the forefront and was accessible to all." [12]

St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London

St Martin-in-the-Fields is an English Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since the medieval period. The present building was constructed in a Neoclassical design by James Gibbs in 1722–1726.

Bruce Golding Jamaican politician; Prime Minister of Jamaica

Orette Bruce Golding is a former Jamaican politician who served as eighth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party which he led from 2005 to his resignation in 2011.

Burchell Whiteman is a former Jamaican ambassador and former Education Minister. In 2014 he received an appointment to the council of the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Discography

Related Research Articles

Dizzy Gillespie American jazz trumpeter

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer.

Doc Severinsen American trumpeter

Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American jazz trumpeter who led the band for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Abdullah Ibrahim South African pianist and composer

Abdullah Ibrahim is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre of Cape jazz. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. He is known especially for "Mannenberg", a jazz piece that became a notable anti-apartheid anthem.

Ernest Ranglin Jamaican guitarist and composer

Ernest Ranglin OD is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin played guitar on many early ska recordings and helped create the rhythmic guitar style that defined the form. Ranglin has worked with Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy Cliff, Monty Alexander, Prince Buster, the Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Eric Deans Orchestra. He is noted for a chordal and rhythmic approach that blends jazz, mento and reggae with percussive guitar solos incorporating rhythm 'n' blues and jazz inflections.

Damian Marley Jamaican reggae artist

Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley is a Jamaican reggae recording artist. Damian is the youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley. Damian was 2 years old when his father died; he is the only child born to Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976. Damian's nickname Junior Gong is derived from his father's nickname of Tuff Gong. Damian has been performing since the age of 13.

Delaware is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The Delaware Symphony Orchestra is the largest organization of professional performers in the state, and is more than seventy years old; the orchestra evolved out of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. The Delaware Music Festival is a prominent music festival. Other musical institutions include OperaDelaware, the Music School of Delaware, and the School of Contemporary Music.

Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a Jamaican-born hard bop jazz trumpeter. Reece is among a group of jazz musicians born in Jamaica which includes Bertie King, Joe Harriott, Roland Alphonso, Wilton Gaynair, Sonny Bradshaw and Tommy McCook, trombonist Don Drummond, pianist Monty Alexander, bassist Coleridge Goode, guitarist Ernest Ranglin and percussionists Count Ossie and Lloyd Knibb.

British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in the 1940s, often within dance bands. From the late 1940s British "modern jazz", highly influenced by American bebop, began to emerge and was led by figures such as John Dankworth and Ronnie Scott, while Ken Colyer, George Webb and Humphrey Lyttelton emphasised New Orleans, Trad jazz. From the 1960s British jazz began to develop more individual characteristics and absorb a variety of influences, including British blues, as well as European and World music influences. A number of British musicians have gained international reputations, although this form of music has remained a minority interest within the UK itself.

Jazz Jamaica band that plays jazz

Jazz Jamaica is a jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London in 1991.

Gary Crosby (bassist) British musician

Gary Crosby OBE is a British jazz double bassist, composer, music arranger, and educator. He was a founder member of the celebrated group the Jazz Warriors in the 1980s and has worked with many top international artists.

Andy Hamilton (saxophonist) British musician

Andy Raphael Thomas Hamilton, MBE was a Jamaican-born British jazz saxophonist and composer, who migrated to the UK in 1949.

Harry William Waters is a British piano and Hammond organ player, associated with progressive rock and jazz.

Byron Lee, OJ, CD, born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, was a Jamaican musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.

Magic City Jazz Orchestra

The Magic City Jazz Orchestra (MCJO) is an American jazz ensemble which was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the SuperJazz Big Band by Birmingham, Alabama jazz pianist and vocalist Ray Reach. The mission of the group is to "...perform and record big band jazz music written by well known but under-recorded jazz artists."

John Arlington "Dizzy" Moore OD was a Jamaican trumpet player and founding member of pioneering Jamaican ska and reggae act The Skatalites.

Dwight Pinkney Jamaican musician

Dwight Pinkney OD, also known as Brother Dee, is a Jamaican guitarist best known for his work as a session musician and as a member of Zap Pow and the Roots Radics, who since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist.

Aubrey Wellington Adams was a Jamaican pianist and keyboard player who was one of the top bandleaders in Jamaica in the 1950s, and led the Dewdroppers as well as playing with Clue J & His Blues Blasters.

The Birdland Big Band is a 16-piece jazz orchestra that performs at the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. The Birdland Big Band is led by saxophonist David DeJesus

Seymour St. Edward "Foggy" Mullings OJ CD was a Jamaican politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister under P. J. Patterson. He was also an accomplished pianist.

References

  1. ↑ "Sonny Bradshaw", Daily Telegraph , 1 December 2009, retrieved 19 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Collinder, Avia (2008) "Sonny Bradshaw – Married to jazz Archived 30 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Gleaner , 20 April 2008, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sonny Bradshaw: "dean" of Jamaican music", Times Online , 16 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  4. ↑ Anglin-Christie, Kavelle (2007) "Sonny Bradshaw ? big band man Archived 16 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Gleaner, 18 March 2007, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Leggett, Steve "Sonny Bradshaw Biography", Allmusic , Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 Gambrill, Tony (2007) "Sonny Bradshaw is 81 years young", Jamaica Observer , 27 May 2007, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Castro, Silvera (2009) "Sonny Bradshaw:a musical tour de force Archived 22 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Gleaner, 18 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Walker, Karyl (2009) "Sonny Bradshaw is dead Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Observer, 12 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  9. ↑ "Tastee Talent Contest: the brainchild of Sonny Bradshaw Archived 16 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Gleaner, 19 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Howard (2008) "Sonny Bradshaw recovers – Serious stroke affected musician's brain Archived 1 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine .", Jamaica Gleaner, 29 August 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Sonny Bradshaw Honored In South Florida Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine .", jamaicans.com, 21 November 2008, retrieved 25 October 2009.
  12. ↑ "Veteran Jamaican Musician Sonny Bradshaw Dies", Jamaica Information Service – Ministry of Youth, Sport & Culture, 11 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.