Bradley Joseph Totally Explained

Everything about Bradley Joseph totally explained

Bradley Joseph (born 1965, Willmar, Minnesota) is an American composer, arranger, and producer of contemporary instrumental music. His compositions include works for orchestra, quartet, and solo piano, with his musical style ranging from "quietly pensive mood music to a rich orchestration of classical depth and breadth".
Active since 1983, he played various instruments in rock bands throughout the Midwest until 1989 when Greek composer Yanni hired him for his next tour, sight unseen, based on a tape of his own compositions. He was a featured concert keyboardist with Yanni through six major tours and appeared in the 1994 multi-platinum album and video, Yanni Live at the Acropolis. He also spent four years as musical director and lead keyboardist for Sheena Easton, including a 1995 performance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Joseph joined with Yanni in 2003 for the 60-city Ethnicity tour.
In 1994, Joseph's solo career began when he independently released Hear the Masses, featuring many of his Yanni bandmates. This debut release was followed by Rapture, an instrumental album recorded with a 50-piece orchestra, in which Joseph wrote and conducted all of the scores. It was released on the Narada label and reached NAV's "Airwaves Top 30". He has produced 15 albums, DVDs, and numerous piano books under his own record label, Robbins Island Music. Two of these albums, Christmas Around the World and One Deep Breath, also held positions on NAV’s Top 100 radio chart.

Biography

Joseph was born in 1965 and raised in Willmar, Minnesota, graduating from Willmar Senior High School in 1983. He started playing classical piano at age eight. While playing in the jazz band in junior high, he took a concert field trip where he saw Buddy Rich perform. "I sat in the first row and when Buddy's sax player stood up to take his first solo something just clicked — the world closed in around me. I felt the power of music and knew that it was something special, a gift to be shared."
Joseph played the trombone through high school and college, studying music at Moorhead State University. He recalls, "When I picked up the horn, I got a whole new perspective on music, gaining insight into all the different timbres available to me. This was invaluable to me when I started working with orchestras". He started playing in local Twin Cities rock bands when he was 19. such as in the group Ian Faith. He led some of his own bands around the area and co-founded a rock band in 1987 that toured Midwest nightclubs, Yanni received a demo tape from Joseph, accompanied by a recommendation from mutual friend, guitarist Dugan McNeill. he composed, arranged, and performed alongside Yanni for more than six years, performing in-concert with a number of notable symphony orchestras, touring throughout the U.S. and abroad as Yanni gained worldwide fame. His first show was at the Starplex in Dallas with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra filming a video project. "It was a real trial by fire for me", said Joseph. Some of these early tours included the Reflections of Passion, Revolution in Sound, Dare to Dream, Yanni Live, The Symphony Concerts 1993 and 1994 concert tours, as well as a performance in Germany that was broadcast throughout Europe and seen by 30 to 40 million viewers. and helped layer with the orchestra to create a "full-bodied, live-effect sound". He did have to adjust some parts that didn't work well in a live situation and worked extensively on programming sounds for all keyboardists.
Between tours, Joseph worked extensively in recording studios on music ranging from rock and pop to rhythm and blues and orchestration with numerous artists from RCA, Epic, Warner Brothers, and Polygram Records, in addition to performing in an elaborate national keyboard show tour with various musicians. In 2003, Joseph returned for the 60-city Ethnicity tour.

Sheena Easton

Joseph also performed with Sheena Easton for four years as her co-musical director and lead keyboardist. He went from Yanni to Sheena Easton and back to Yanni in a few years. Joseph said it was "...a shock in musical styles but a welcome change." Tour venues with Easton included Japan, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and the United States,

Solo career

In 1994, between world tours, Joseph released his debut album, Hear the Masses, a self-produced, self-published release under the More Core Records label consisting of 10 original compositions. He invited most of the Yanni band to contribute. a Virgin Records subsidiary, via the world-wide web. A representative for Narada came across his website and downloaded some music. This sparked their interest and resulted in signing Joseph to a multi-record deal, according to Peter Spellman of the Berklee College of Music. The outcome was Rapture, containing intimate piano pieces, quartets, and full orchestral works. This album was recorded at a number of different studios including Captain and Tennille's studio in Los Angeles, In addition to a core band including Charlie Adams on percussion, Charlie Bisharat on violin, and Steven Trochlil on clarinet, Joseph brought in a 50-piece orchestra, and conducted and wrote all the scores. One of Joseph's compositions, "The Glen", was written for the album Stories, a Narada Artist Collection, and is now also featured on 20 Years of Narada Piano. His works are included in other Narada compilation projects as well.
Although he said that working with Narada was a great experience music-wise, Joseph didn't like the lack of control over the end product, and asked to be released from his contract.
Later releases include Christmas Around the World reaching NAV's top 100 radio playlist; and One Deep Breath also holding a position on NAV's top 100 radio chart for over six months. Bill Binkelman writes, "One Deep Breath is an album with two distinct 'feels' to it: the more serene new age/ambient soundscapes that bookend the inner tracks and the more radio-friendly and mainstream music in-between. While I doubt fans of Liquid Mind or other mainly electronic new age music artists would wholly embrace the overt romanticism of piano-led tracks like 'Dancers Waltz' or 'Dreamer's Lullaby', there's definite appeal on the album for fans of adult contemporary piano pieces as well as for lovers of the more minimal approach to new age music." Reviewing for All Music Guide, Jim Brenholts describes One Deep Breath as a set of smooth adult contemporary pieces in which Joseph adds "world music flair and inspirational touches". "The vocal expressions by Clystie Whang and Joseph have devotional qualities that weave through the atmospheres and soundscapes smoothly."
Polta reports that he often references the past when he names his songs and his music is frequently reminiscent of his rural Minnesota roots. Rack units have included Roland JD-800, and Roland JV-1080 which he says is "great for string layers". The Alesis D4, Yamaha SY22, and Yamaha TG77 which has "some nice ethereal textures" have been utilized; working also with E-mu Systems Proteus 1, Proteus 2, and the E-5000 sampler because it's "easy to use and has a great library". Acoustic pianos vary, Yamaha and Bösendorfer were used for the 1997 album, Rapture.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

The Road Ahead (2004), Orange Music

In the Heart of Everyone (2004), Orange Music

Credits

In My Time (1993), Private Music

Yanni Live at the Acropolis (1994), Private Music

Grand Piano (Narada Anniversary Collection) (1997), Narada

Narada Smooth Jazz (1997), Narada

New Age Music & New Sounds Vol. 67 - "Liberty" (1997), Oreade

The Next Generation - Narada Sampler (1997), Narada

Stories (Narada Artist Collection) (1998), Narada

The Private Years (1999), Private Music

20 Years of Narada Piano (2001), Narada

The Weather Channel Presents Smooth Jazz II (2008), Midas Records

Further Information

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