Geof Bradfield

Geof Bradfield is a Chicago tenor saxophonist, bass clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator whose work spans quintets and large ensembles.

Tenor saxophoneBass clarinetComposerEducator4 current shows

Photo source · Official artist media

Career Overview

About Geof Bradfield

Origin Records traces Bradfield's path from Houston through work in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington before he settled in Chicago in 2004. The label biography identifies him as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator with university teaching and international master-class experience.[1]

His artist catalog moves from the live sextet album Birdhoused to the seasoned quintet heard on Quaver and the twelve-piece ensemble of Colossal Abundance. Across those records Bradfield plays tenor saxophone and, in the larger work, bass clarinet and mbira while writing for specific Chicago improvisers.[2][3][4][5]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

Geof Bradfield Quintet

Quaver documents Bradfield with Russ Johnson, Scott Hesse, Clark Sommers, and Dana Hall in live and studio settings.[4][2]

Leader, composer, tenor saxophonist, and bass clarinetist

Colossal Abundance ensemble

The twelve-piece project combines Bradfield's compositions with interpretations of music by John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Henry Threadgill, and Jaki Byard.[5]

University teacher and workshop leader

Jazz education

Origin Records documents Bradfield's university teaching and wider work presenting composition, history, and performance master classes in the United States and abroad.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive