"Joseph Brazil" Performed at KNKX

This is the overture to A Cup of Joe Brazil, an original program of stories and music about the Detroit-born saxophonist who taught jazz history at UW. Vibraphonist Susan Pascal's husband Dave worked in one of Joe's bands. Trumpeter Jay Thomas' first jam session was with Joe Brazil.

A Cup of Joe Brazil on Playback

You can listen to A Cup of Joe Brazil for free at the Seattle Public Library Playback site: https://playback.spl.org/albums/steve-griggs-ensemble-a-cup-of-joe-brazil

Lyrics to "Joseph Brazil"

I wrote lyrics to the first track on A Cup of Joe Brazil even though they were not recorded.

"Joseph Brazil, black music will show us to live and to love, not to kill.
Joseph Brazil, teaches us still - look for the truth and the search is the thrill.
No one stops you. No one tops you.
Joseph Brazil, black music will lift us to equal the king of the hill."

Joe Brazil Listed in Credits of TV Movie

Press Release for "The Secret Life of John Chapman"

I have recently acquired an original press release from CBS that lists the cast of "The Secret Life of John Chapman." Joe Brazil plays the role of Boss.

Reggie Workman on Joe Brazil

During a panel discussion of A Love Supreme hosted by Bill T. Jones, bassist Reggie Workman told a story about Joe Brazil bringing a car full of books to a meeting on Black Culture. I plan to share more of this story soon. In the picture are (left to right) Bill T. Jones, Ashley Kahn, John Lewis, Reggie Workman. Photo by Yasuhiro Fujioka.

Free concert in Blanche Lavizzo Park

One day after Joe Brazil's 90th birthday we will celebrate with a free presentation of A Cup of Joe Brazil at 1pm August 26 in the Blanche Lavizzo Park amphitheater (2100 S. Jackson). The performance is sponsored by the Office of Arts & Culture Arts in the Parks Program.

CD Release 7:30 December 5 at the Royal Room

A Cup of Joe Brazil will be released 7:30 December 5 at the Royal Room (5000 Rainier Ave S, Seattle). Tickets available at www.strangertickets.com. The CD was recorded and mixed by Doug Haire at Jack Straw and mastered by Rick Fisher at Resonant Mastering.

Black Spokane

Dwayne Mack wrote about the black community in Spokane and the impact of soldiers at Geiger Air Field where Joe Brazil served.

Phil Lasley talks about Joe Brazil

Detroit saxophonist Phil Lasley talks about Joe Brazil at 18:25 on this podcast from Detroit Jazz Stage. http://castroller.com/podcasts/DetroitJazzstage/2789889

Kenn Cox talks about Joe Brazil

Detroit was a university without walls

"I had a rich environment, it was like a university without walls, I have to say that and we all looked and there are guys you don’t even know about who were there that we played with and were helping each other and teaching us. It was just a great exchange. It was all about the music and reaching for that level of being really good. So we had a lot of discussions about material, about songs, and I think we developed some pretty sophisticated taste, in terms of what’s good and what isn’t and how to discern the good from the mediocre. And all of that is learning, especially when you’re a teenager is invaluable. So like I say, it was like a university. So when we got to New York we really felt like we were prepared." - Kenny Burrell, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History

Sonny Red

Anders Svanoe published research of Sonny Red in The Annual Review of Jazz Studies in 2007. Like Sonny, Joe's family moved to Detroit from the south. Anders conducted many interviews with Detroit musicians. Below are mentions of Joe Brazil from Anders' research.

"I remember seeing Red a few times down at Joe Brazil's. I first started to play drums by going down to Joe Brazil's. The way I got there was Doug Watkins, the bass player, pulled me over there since Doug and I went to the same high school. Anyway, he was telling me to go sit  in, and I told him that I wasn't ready yet. But he told me to come on  by there anyway. So I went there and sat in with Barry on piano, Joe Brazil [on alto saxophone], Donald Byrd [on trumpet], and Doug Watkins on bass. They played a tempo, extremely fast, and somehow or another I kept that tempo, and that's what opened the door for me. They said that the next time they were going to give me a call, and they did." - Frank Gant

"Joe Brazil was important on the scene and a good friend of Coltrane's. That was perfect for Trane. This was a place, just free to him, to play as long as he wanted to." - Tommy Flanagan

"I remember one session that we did at Joe Brazil's place. We did a lot of jam sessions down there. Sonny was there and sometimes Barry, Ko-Ko [Kenneth "Cokie" Winfrey], the tenor player, used to live down at Joe's place, so he'd always be there for the sessions. That was around 1955 or 1956. I lived right down the street, so I was there a lot." - Kiane Zawadi

Bluebird Music Alumni

I found Joe listed as a Bluebird Music Alumni in the second Bluebird Reunion booklet. 

Joe at the Bluebird Reunion

I found a picture of Joe in the Bluebird Reunion booklet from 1995. In the picture is drummer Bert Myrick who often played with Joe in the 1950s.