Rick Braun

Rick Braun stands out immediately among trumpeters thanks to his full-bodied sound and personal, melodic phrasing. Emerging during the 1990s as a leading instrumental figure, he drew inspiration from Chet Baker and the Gil Evans-era Miles Davis while forging a modern jazz approach of his own. Beyond more than twenty smooth-jazz chart-toppers, he has worked alongside jazz and pop figures such as Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, Dave Koz, Rod Stewart, Natalie Cole, and Sade. He has placed over five albums inside the Billboard Top 200 and scored five number-one jazz entries that began with Full Stride in 1998 and continued through Kisses in the Rain in 2001. The pattern resumed in the 2010s with Can You Feel It in 2014 and the 2018 Dave Koz collaboration Summer Horns II: From A to Z. Across the years his recordings have appeared on an array of charts that include Hip-Hop, Adult R&B, Dance Club, Smooth Jazz Songs, Independent Albums, and Holiday Albums. In 2022 he marked the thirtieth anniversary of his first release.

Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1955, Braun began on drums before taking up the trumpet during high school. While attending the Eastman School of Music he joined the jazz-fusion group Auracle, which issued two Chrysalis albums—Glider in 1978 and City Slickers in 1979—both produced by Teo Macero. After the band dissolved, Braun shifted to songwriting and earned a hit when REO Speedwagon recorded “Here with Me” in 1984.

He later concentrated on contemporary jazz and released his debut solo album, Intimate Secrets, in 1993. Following a tour with Sade he returned in 1994 with Night Walk and the holiday set Christmas Present. Popularity grew further with the 1995 album Beat Street. Body and Soul arrived in 1996 and introduced the NAC number-one single “Notorious.” A two-time recipient of the Gavin Report’s Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year honor, Braun issued Full Stride in 1998 and joined Boney James for the 2000 project Shake It Up.

Kisses in the Rain followed in 2001. Throughout the 2000s he continued releasing albums, among them Esperanto in 2003, Sessions, Vol. 1 in 2004, Yours Truly in 2005, the duo recording RnR with saxophonist Richard Elliot in 2007, and All It Takes in 2009. In 2011 he took a different direction with Sings with Strings, a collection of standards whose arrangements were written by Philippe Saisse. Returning to the groove-centered instrumental style of his earlier work, he delivered Can You Feel It in 2014. Around the Horn appeared on Shanachie in 2017, earning favorable notices and strong placement on contemporary-jazz album charts. He rejoined Dave Koz for the charting Dave Koz & Friends: Summer Horns II: From A to Z the following year.

Braun returned to Shanachie with Crossroads in August 2019. The album featured a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” together with guest appearances on the originals “Me and You,” which included guitarist Peter White, and “Versace on the Floor,” which featured saxophonist Richard Elliot. In 2022 he marked three decades since his debut with the self-titled Rick Braun. Recorded primarily at his Los Angeles home, the project included contributions from guitarist Tony Pulizzi, percussionist Lenny Castro, and string orchestrations conducted by Nick Lane.