When did you start developing a love for Jazz music?

Bradley:  I grew up in a musical family.  My mother was a singer and my father played trumpet.  They met while playing in a big band back when jazz was popular music.  My older brothers also played.  When we were kids, we took turns playing “When The Saints Go Marching In” on a variety of instruments on Friday nights.  We didn’t know we were improvising.  We were just having fun.  Jazz is as free a music as you could ever play.

Did you study Jazz piano formally and if so where?

Bradley:  I had the standard kid piano lessons until about age 12.  This was supplemented by my brothers teaching me theory and practical stuff like how to read chord symbols.  I found a jazz teacher at age 15 but I wasn’t a very good student – typical cocky kid who thought he already knew it all.  In high school, I played in the jazz lab band and also attended a couple of jazz camps.  I majored in music composition in college rather than jazz which was a good move.  Later, when I lived in New York City, I studied with Joanne Brackeen and jammed with a lot of great musicians doing society gigs.  I’ve also read a lot of books which help to clarify things but, ultimately, jazz is an aural art form.  Musicians learn from each other both on and off the bandstand.

Who do you consider some of the main influences on your writing and playing Jazz?

Bradley:  My favorite pianists include Keith Jarrett for his inimitable technique and rich musical imagination, Oscar Peterson because he swings so,so hard, Lyle Mays for his lyrical touch, Bill Evans for his whole concept of the instrument, Egberto Gismonti for the sheer beauty of his compositions, Vince Guaraldi for his optimism... there are more.

However, my biggest influences are life experiences.  I’m more interested in the ability of music to connect with real world feelings than I am in exploring the permutations of a tetrachord or whatever. 

Other than that, I’m fascinated by what I call “America’s Musical Melting Pot.”  What is it  in spirituals, tin pan alley, the blues, shape note singing, bluegrass, ragtime, jazz, Gershwin, Copland and others that define the American sound?  I’ve been exploring that question throughout my musical life.

You have developed a Jazz worship service that you help provide at churches where you play. Can you tell us about that?

Bradley: The possibilities are endless but the goal is always to create a worship experience with a music emphasis that is welcoming, participatory and accessible to all.  In the beginning, I would collaborate with church leadership to plug my music into their existing order of worship. More and more, however, I’m being asked to create the whole service. Churches that are interested in alternative worship find that “Jazz Sunday” offers an opportunity to try new things beyond just changing the music.  Liturgical churches have less flexibility with their worship, but its still possible to revitalize the tradition.  For example, I’ve developed service music including a Sanctus, Doxology and responsorial prayers that are all jazzy but can easily sung by the congregation.  Eventually, I plan to add Glorias, Amens, and the rest to create a complete jazz mass.

I’m big on mixing participation with contemplation so all of my services include hymn singing (but with jazz accompaniment), lay readings (scripture and poetry), and prayer alongside simply listening. For example, in lieu of a sermon, I often perform jazz arrangements of hymns and spirituals interspersed with commentary connecting the music to the theme of the day.  I make it a point to emphasize inclusivity, service, gratitude and grace over judgment while trying to steer clear of actually preaching. 

How often do you get to lead a Jazz worship service? Are they more frequently in the evening ( Jazz Vespers?) Or do you get the opportunity on Sunday Morning?

Bradley:  Right now, I’m doing at least two services per month.  It slows down during the summer and major holidays when the traditional approach seems more appropriate.  I have been involved with Jazz Vespers but my preference is for Sunday mornings.  I feel that jazz is entirely appropriate for worship here in its country of origin and should not be marginalized to some sort of side affair.

I noticed that you sometimes play at churches with a trio. Any plans for a recording as a trio?

Bradley:  In the Fall, I’ll release For the Beauty of the Earth, Hymns and Spirituals for Solo Jazz Piano, Vol. 3.  After that, I’m not sure what I’ll record.  If it is with a trio or quartet, I’d like to do it live in order to capture the spontaneous energy of improvising musicians.  I’m also interested in documenting my choral arrangements.  Who can say for sure?  Of course the incentive to continue recording gets lower every year with file sharing, CD burning and dropping prices.  It’s getting harder and harder to recover the costs involved.  That’s one reason I’ve focused on solo recordings – no musicians to pay.

I also noticed that you are going to be providing Jazz Choral arrangements so choirs can participate when you do Jazz Worship at churches. Are you writing the arrangements? Will these be made available so others can use these arrangements at churches abroad?

Bradley:  I started writing choral arrangements so the choir would have something to do when I came to their church as a visiting artist.  A few months back, I made them available on my website and they have been selling well.  I’m interested in pursuing much more choral writing.  My pieces can’t be learned in 30 minutes on a Thursday night but its worth the extra effort when the congregation sits up and reacts to the syncopated rhythm.

 You do Jazz Workshops at churches as well. Tell us a little about that.

Bradley:  Actually the workshops are geared towards larger gatherings such as denominational conventions and regional annual meetings rather than individual churches.  My most popular workshop is “Where Two or More Are Gathered; A Workshop in Alternative Worship Strategies.”  I’ve also led sessions on “How To Organize A Jazz Worship Service.”  Every denomination has a church musician’s network.  I teach Improvisation Master Classes and a hands-on program called “Moving Beyond Classical Styles For Church Musicians” at their meetings.

Share with us your most memorable Jazz Worship service at a church and why.

Bradley:  There’s been so many.  Expectant congregations provide the perfect performance setting because they invite in the Spirit.  And when it comes, watch out!  More than once, I’ve had to dab my eye while playing or speaking.  That never happens in jazz clubs or bars.  American hymnody is such a rich tradition.  I don’t arrange hymns and spirituals because I play in churches.  I play in churches because I love the music.

Do you find a spiritual connection in playing and writing music? Some writers consider the creative process to be a gift from the Creator and feel the spiritual connection very strong while writing music. What are your thoughts concerning this?

Bradley:  I think it’s true that creativity does sometimes seem to flow through rather than come from the individual artist.  It’s a real high to be in the moment with ideas coming as faster than you can struggle to capture them.  However, for the non-creating lay person, this description of creativity is misleading.  It suggests that composers simply turn on the juice and music comes out.  Actually, it’s after the inspiration that the real work begins.  Quality music doesn’t happen by accident.  Rather, it results from applied craftsmanship and patient attention to the details.  This is as true for composing as it is for improvising in which all of the learned responses of a performer must come to play spontaneously.  I always say anybody can have great ideas.  The difference between “anybody” and the  “artist” is that artists bother to take the necessary pains to bring their ideas to fruition.

You also spend quite a bit of time as a Jazz Educator, both in schools and even recently on the National television music educational series, “ The Piano Guy”. Share with us more about your Jazz Workshop programs and more details concerning the television series.

Bradley:  I’m interested in giving young musicians the opportunity to learn from each other like when I used to jam with my family.  That’s why I started the Jazz Workshop.  On Friday nights, student musicians are coached by professional musicians in small jazz combos where every instrument counts and no one can hide.  Every now and then, we perform a concert.  I also offer a Summer Jazz, Improvisation & Theory Intensive in which students can bone up on the inner workings of music for a week in July.  More information is available at www.cmconnection.org

 The Piano Guy is new 13 part PBS series in which the host, Scott Houston picks the brains of professional pianists for tips and secrets.  I’m on the third program.  The show combines a how-to format with entertainment.  On This Old House, you watch Norm show off his craft by building a cabinet.  The Piano Guy lets you hear and see how professional pianists approach  their musical constructions.  The website is www.mjp.com

How do you promote all these great things you are doing? Do you have a booking agent?

Bradley: I do it all myself.  Sometimes I feel more like a manager than a musician.  Right now, I spend way too much time at the computer and not enough time composing or practicing.  Occasionally, I hire an assistant to handle marketing duties like stuffing envelopes or contacting presenters.

What advice can you give the Christian Jazz Artist who wants to start doing Jazz worship services, workshops, or concerts? How do they obtain engagements?

Bradley: Go to a church that is known for visionary programming or a willingness to take risks.  As the preacher to give you a shot and then deliver a real worship service.  Jazz worship can be wonderful or awful.  Someone once told me, “We had a jazz service but it felt weird to take communion while listening to “Girl From Impanema.”  That wasn’t a jazz service.  It was just somebody playing their Saturday night stuff on a Sunday morning.   Create a liturgy with an eye towards worship rather than personal acclaim, and you’ll be blessed.  Also, don’t be afraid to groove and swing.  If a piece is meditative, play it reverently.  But if it is supposed to be a celebration, let it rip! 

You recently announced that you will begin offering downloads on a “pay per song” basis on your personal web site. Do you see this method of obtaining music the future for purchasing music?

Bradley:  I do have a few free downloads available on my website but my entrance into digital distribution has been through the big players like Apple iTunes and others.  My accounts with these companies were arranged by CDBaby [www.cdbaby.com] which offers a lot of useful services to independent musicians. 

I have no idea about the future of music retail.  CDs comprise the majority of my sales perhaps because my listeners are older and too busy to surf or learn to download.  It might be different if I were playing in a rock style.

What is your favorite church hymn and why?