"a sprawling near-masterpiece, especially if you like the deep mellow tones of the trombone" - Green Man Review (USA)
"highly illustrative, emotional and original music" - Babskim Uchem (PL)
"Confronting contemporary jazz with the aesthetic of 70s progressive rock" - Longplay
Biography
Jason Branscum is a composer, trombonist, and arranger.
Jason was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and developed a passion for soul, rock, and hip-hop music throughout his teen years, but was tipped over the edge when he discover the jazz and funk from the bars in Dayton. Living in the "Land of Funk," it was easy for Jason to brush shoulders on a regular basis with the people who wrote the funk tunes that were sampled in the hip-hop music with which he had grown up.
Jason has performed in Europe, eighteen states and Washington D.C. He has recorded, toured, or shared the stage with Slave, The Hughes Corporation, Mike Gordon, Dr. John, 10,000 Maniacs, J.D. Allen, Kim Deal, Jonathan Nelson, Sugarfoot and Marshall Jones of the Ohio Players, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, Gladys Knight, Rick James's Stone City Band, Al Wilson, Lewis Johnson, Umphrey's McGee, Barry Ries, Robert Walter, and Roy Hargrove. Additionally, he has shared a bill with Eric Harland, Dwele, The Rebirth Brass Band, Zapp, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Carl Carlton, Groove Collective, T.S. Monk, The Mary Jane Girls, REO Speedwagon, Tiempo Libre, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Midnight Star. See the pictures page to see Jason at work with some of these big name artists.
Under his own leadership, Jason has led a number of interesting ensembles including jazz groups that range from polished dinner music perfect for restaurants or private events to challenging avant-garde performance. Outside of this, he has also led the bands, metalbaby, Pooma, Children, and Tangatang.
Jason has taught at a number of institutions including Music Royale, Noteworthy Music, and Music and Arts, in addition to in-school presentations with a variety of ensembles. At this time, Jason teaches music appreciation courses at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
As a husband and father of three, Jason is consistently inspired by his family and their growth together. He spends his free time with friends and family either in nature, enjoying the arts, or contemplating the wonders of the created world.
Latest release
This is an album of alien fairy tales. It was recorded neither for Martians nor children, but for those held captive by the darkest enchantments of modernity; namely you and me. I crafted this music to draw us out of the mundane world in which we now live, into fantasies in lands both real and imagined, finally arriving at the magical land in which we now live. We shall begin our fantasy not in cottage or castle, but in our own abode of disillusionment, escaping to places Tolkien described as filled with, “both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords.”