Gene Dobbs Bradford: from harmonica to symphony to jazz
By Roscoe Crenshaw
For the St. Louis American
With a new Jazz at the Bistro season newly underway (the John Pizzarelli Trio opened Sept. 21-24), let’s take a look at the tall, imposing figure of Gene Dobbs Bradford, its executive director. One is immediately struck by his polished, though unaffected, speech and his command of several subjects, whether addressing responsibilities at the Bistro or conversing casually in his office at Grand Center.
Born in Athens, Ohio, some 38 years ago, Bradford and his family migrated from his birthplace very early in his life. He grew up in Columbus, Maryland, in the nation’s first planned community, where music found him in elementary school.
“I started out playing violin, and then my hands got too big and I had to switch to viola,” he remembered.
“When my hands got too large for viola, my music instructor jumped me right over the cello to the double bass.”
As a high school student in Baltimore, he and a friend would sneak into the Jazz Closet and listen to Gary Bartz. He said their clandestine entrances were probably the least of the vices that prevailed there at the time.
Bradford was educated at the highly acclaimed Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, initially studying classical bass performance. Also in college, he began “seriously” playing the instrument with which local audiences associate him: the harmonica.
“Once I figured out how to bend notes, I was hooked,” he said.
Bradford didn’t perform the instrument live, he said, “until a chance meeting with Ian Kennedy – a classical violin student and younger fraternity brother,” who ran to get a guitar after Bradford played him a Muddy Waters record.
This evolved into a close relationship marked by sitting in on the Friday night jam session at Pooch’s Pub in Rochester. “We tore the place up,” Bradford said. A year later they started The Crawling King Snakes and were delighted to be paid in chicken wings and beer.
Following college graduation, Bradford interned with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Then he discovered his true calling: “I got into orchestra management because I enjoyed arranging and creating events that involved music even more than performing.”
After honing his presenting skills as production manager for the Honolulu Symphony from 1990 to 1993, he assumed the position of operations manager with the Saint Louis Symphony, rising to director of operations before departing in 1999 to take over at Jazz at the Bistro.
A relative unknown to the jazz community, he replaced the beloved “Jazz Mom,” Barbara Rose, who had booked legends into the club.
“Barbara was a great friend and I miss her a lot,” Bradford said. “I think that we are continuing her legacy and taking it in directions that she never dreamed, especially with the education and outreach.”
From the beginning, Bradford has scheduled superb performers for one of the nation’s premier jazz venues, with a trend toward more adventurous acts, which most have found to be fulfilling.
“We actually just finished with a strategic planning process. We are very excited about the future,” Bradford said.
“We are going to be presenting more artists and a wider range of styles. This is a great time to be at Jazz at the Bistro.”
Jazz at the Bistro’s 2005-2006 Season
Oct. 5-8 * Joshua Redman Elastic Band
Oct. 19-22 * Joey DeFrancesco, Houston Person & Marlena Shaw
Nov. 2-5 * Toots Thielemans & Kenny Werner
Nov. 11-12 * Taylor Eigsti
Nov. 16-19 * Cyrus Chestnut Trio w/Carla Cook
Nov. 25-27 * Jeremy Davenport
Nov. 30-Dec. 3 * Lou Donaldson
Dec. 14-17 * Ray Vega’s Latin Jazz Quintet
Jan. 4-7 * Fly
Jan. 18-21 * Nicholas Payton Quintet
Feb. 1-4 * Arturo Sandoval
Feb. 10-11, 14 * Valentine’s Day w/ Mardra and Reggie Thomas
Feb. 15-18 * World Saxophone Quartet
March 1-4 * Ahmad Jamal
March 10-11 * Patricia Barber
March 15-18 * Ann Hampton Callaway
March 29-April 1 * Benny Green & Russell Malone
April 12-15 * The Yellowjackets
April 26-29 * Kenny Barron Trio
May 10-13 * Kurt Elling
May 25-28 * Freddy Cole w/James Moody
Local artist spotlight
Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 * Willie Akins
Oct. 14-15 * Denise Thimes
Oct. 28-29 * Mae Wheeler
Dec. 9-10 * Carol Beth Trio
Jan. 13-14 * Montez Coleman
Jan. 27-28 * Erin Bode
March 24-25 * The Bosman Twins
April 7-8 * THF Realty All-Star Student Ensemble
May 5-6 * Erika Johnson
May 19-20 * Jazz at the Bistro Open House
