By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
Contemporary jazz trumpeter Rick Braun has been in the holiday spirit since early spring 2024.
That’s when he put the majority of the finishing touches on his new 10-track holiday CD called, “It’s Christmas.”
The first single, entitled, “Deck Those Halls,” a new song Braun wrote for the album, is set to go to radio in November. The album concludes with a second Braun composition, “Christmas Eve Waltz,” on which he duets with himself on flugelhorn and piano. He also handled all the instrumentation, including the string arrangement.
It’s been 30 years since Braun’s first holiday set called, “Christmas Present.”
To get into the holiday spirit, Braun, an Allentown, Pennsylvania native, wore a Christmas sweater and lit some pine-scented candles in his home studio in Los Angeles to get into the mood.
“I had some help from the weather, which was a bit chilly and overcast,” said Braun via phone from the East Coast.
Braun first surfaced as a member of the jazz-fusion outfit Auracle, formed while he was a student at Eastman School of Music in the late 1970s.
After two albums, the group disbanded, and Braun turned to songwriting, scoring a hit with REO Speedwagon’s “Here with Me.”
In 1993, he decided to throw his hat into contemporary jazz with his solo debut, “Intimate Secrets.”
He toured with Sade in 1994 before releasing “Beat Street” in 1995 and “Body and Soul” in 1996, along with the seasonal release “Christmas Present.”
A two-time winner of the Gavin Report’s Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year award, he returned in 1998 with “South of Midnight.” He also collaborated with Boney James on the 2000 release, “Shake It Up.” “Kisses in the Rain” followed a year later.
Braun spent many years touring and recording with pop-rock royalty, including Rod Stewart, Sade, Tina Turner, Natalie Cole, Tom Petty, Glenn Frey and War.
To date, he has amassed 30 Billboard No. 1 hits as an artist and as a producer for Peter White, David Benoit, Marc Antoine, Jeff Golub and Richard Elliot, the latter with whom Braun formed RnR, which became a hit-filled album and a tight touring combo.
One of the most personable, friendly, and talented artists in the industry today, I recently interviewed Rick Braun, 69, about his self-produced Brauntosoaurus Music Christmas CD. He was in Huntington, West Virginia, watching his son play Division 1 basketball.
DD: In 1994, you had the seasonal release “Christmas Present.” That was 30 years ago. Why such a long time in between Christmas albums?
RB: Dave Koz owns the market on Christmas albums. He puts one out every year and he’s Jewish. Tell him I said that. This year he didn’t put one out. I have produced one or two of his Christmas albums. Christmas records are perennial. I should have done one sooner. I loved creating this record. The songs are original or based on traditional carols. I wanted to honor the tradition and add something of my own. I’ve been married to my wife for 27 years. The kids are all gone. I told my wife, “Let’s enjoy this moment. It’s Christmas” my darling, it’s Christmas. I had so much fun. I wrote orchestrally — brass quintet and orchestra. I still knew how to do it. I hadn’t done that since college. There are modulations and texture changes. There’s something for everyone’s Christmas.
DD: How did you decide what songs to include on the album?
RB: There was a stream of consciousness that I started with. This is how I decided what to put on it. Then I did “The Coventry Torch Song.” I wanted to take traditional carols, including “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” I modulated chord changes like John Coltrane in his “Giant Steps.”
DD: There are lots of Christmas CDs from which to choose, why should someone buy your Christmas CD?
RB: There is a broad spectrum of music on it. “The Good Kings” is done in a sexy, contemporary understated way. If you like traditional carols and a funky groove, it combines both of those. There is something for everybody.
DD: What is your favorite Christmas song? It doesn’t have to be one of yours.
RB: “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme. To me, the songs I’ve included are American classic Christmas songs. So many are written during the era of the Great American Songbook when music was complicated and writers were scared of going to complex places.
DD: Tell me about making the CD. When did you record it?
RB: Some of it I started last year. I hosted a Christmas festival at Spaghettini in Seal Beach last Thanksgiving weekend. The festival showcased Peter White (guitarist), pianist Keiko Matsui, and saxophonist Richard Elliot. Producer and keyboardist Philippe Saisse came to the house and we did the shuffle version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gents,” featuring the Pinot Noir Brass. Saisse also plays the Hammond B3 organ on the album’s first single, “Deck Those Halls” and helped arrange “The Christmas Song.” I’ve been working on this for a long time. I paid a lot of attention to this. Christmas is about creating classic music. This record is special. I put a lot of creativity into it.
DD: What other songs are on the CD?
RB: We have 10. We have “Deck Those Halls,” “The Coventry Torch Song,” “The Christmas Song,” “Do You Hear The Angels,” “The Good Kings,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gents,” featuring the Pinot Noir Brass; “White Christmas,” “It’s Christmas,” “The Santa Clause” and “Christmas Eve Waltz.”
DD: Who are you without your trumpet?
RB: I’m a family guy. I like spending time at home. I’m a homebody. I’m a do-it-yourselfer. I built my computers for my studio. I also built the decks at home. I like home improvement, puttering around, and doing plumbing. I like being a dad. My son is 22. He’s playing Division 1 basketball at Marshall. We’re hoping he gets to come to California and work on his master’s. I also have a daughter, Emma, who is 24. She’s high-functioning autistic. I have a New Year’s Eve gala every year that raises money for autism. I’ve been doing it for 15 years.
DD: If you hadn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
RB: I grew up in the center of Allentown, Pennsylvania. I’d probably be in Allentown selling insurance. My dad sold insurance at Bethlehem Steel. I grew up in the center city of Allentown.
DD: When did you first discover the trumpet?
RB: I found my brother’s trumpet in the closet. He had left it in my mom’s closet. When I was in the third grade, I was looking at the clarinet. The trumpet was waiting for me. Soon, I was off and running. I can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t discovered that trumpet. I wouldn’t have this life. The trumpet has elevated me out of a life I wouldn’t have been happy in.
DD: How many weeks a year do you travel?
RB: About half and half. I like playing. To be honest, I have never unpacked my toiletry bag.
DD: What’s the worst part of touring?
RB: It’s hard. It’s exhausting.
DD: Describe yourself in three words.
RB: Luckiest guy alive.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
