Biography
Emerging from the avant-garde as one of its standout trumpeters, Bobby Bradford essentially realized the promise that Don Cherry once displayed, even as Cherry’s technical command diminished over time from devoting so many hours to flute and other instruments. Raised in Dallas, Bradford performed locally on trumpet alongside Cedar Walton and David Newman. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1953, where he first encountered and collaborated with Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. After fulfilling military service and completing his studies, Bradford took Don Cherry’s place in the Ornette Coleman Quartet for the years 1961-1963, an interval when the ensemble seldom found steady engagements. Settling once more in Los Angeles, he worked as a school teacher while forging a durable partnership with clarinetist John Carter, whose dissonant excursions were complemented by Bradford’s mellow tone. He appeared on a 1971 recording with Ornette Coleman, yet remained most closely identified with his performances and sessions alongside Carter. Following the clarinetist’s death, Bradford regularly directed a quintet called the Mo’tet that included Vinny Golia and, at times, Marty Ehrlich. During the ’90s he also played with John Stevens’ Freebop, the David Murray Octet, and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra.
Albums
