Joanne brackeen biography
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Joanne Brackeen
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March is Women&#;s History Month, and we&#;re celebrating it by paying tribute to talented women in Jazz. We&#;re starting with NEA Jazz Master Joanne Brackeen, a brilliant artist who has been described as “one of the most distinctive, exciting jazz pianists in the world.”
JOANNE BRACKEEN&#;S BIOGRAPHY
Joanne Brackeen was born in Ventura, California, and started studying music at a young age. She reminisces about her early years and first discovery of music: &#;I remember—and my sister does, too, that when we – I was six, so she was eight, there was a grand piano in our house for maybe a month or two. We don’t know where it came from or where it went. Anyway, I remember sitting at this piano and, you know, playing—just playing the notes and saying, “Oh, wow. This is the easiest thing in the world. These notes all go up. These go down. I could do anything on the piano.”
These early trials eventually led Joanne Brackeen to play in school performances, and then venture out to local jazz clubs. After performing in Los Angeles with jazz heavyweights like Dexter Gordon and Harold Land, Joanne moved to New York City. Brackeen&#;s career took off in the Big Apple when she was spotted by Art Blakey in a night club in Greenwich Village.
Joanne Brackeen went on to per
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Biography
“I am surprised to be honored with the NEA’s prestigious award and to be in such inspiring company. It feels marvelous and awesome, and it motivates and enables me to expand more in this intriguing and fascinating world of jazz. Thank you so much!”
Whatever the musical setting—whether solo, duo, trio, quartet, or quintet—pianist Joanne Brackeen's unique style of playing commands attention. In addition to her captivating and complex improvisations, she has written intricate, rhythmically daring compositions in a wide stylistic range. She is a full-time professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Berklee guest professor at the New School in New York City.
Brackeen was a child prodigy who at age 11, learned to play the piano in six months by transcribing eight Frankie Carle solos. By 12, she was already performing professionally. Some of her musical constituents at the time were Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins, Bobby Hutcherson, Scott Lafaro, and Charles Lloyd. Simultaneously, the Los Angeles Conservatory heard of her musicianship and offered her a full scholarship. She attended classes less than one week before deciding the bandstand was more significant.
Brackeen married and moved her family, includi