Jaimie "Breezy" Branch (June 17, 1983 – August 22, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.[1][2][3][4]

Jaimie Branch
Branch at Club W71
Branch at Club W71
Background information
Birth nameJaimie Branch
Born(1983-06-17)June 17, 1983
Huntington, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 22, 2022(2022-08-22) (aged 39)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentTrumpet
Years active2006–2022
LabelsInternational Anthem

Life and career

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Branch was born in Huntington, New York, on June 17, 1983. She started playing trumpet at age nine.[5] At age 14, she moved to Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago.[5] She attended the New England Conservatory of Music.[5]

After graduating, Branch moved back to Chicago, working as a musician, organizer, and sound engineer on the local music scene, including with Jason Ajemian (on The Art of Dying, 2006), Keefe Jackson's Project Project (on Just Like This, 2007), Tim Daisy's New Fracture Quartet (on 1000 Lights, 2008), Anton Hatwich, and Ken Vandermark. She performed in Chicago and New York with her trio Princess, Princess (with bassist Toby Summerfield and drummer Frank Rosaly) and in trios with Tim Daisy and Daniel Levin,[6] Matt Schneider and Jason Adasiewicz, and Chris Velkommen and Sam Weinberg. Together with Jason Stein, Jeb Bishop, and Jason Roebke, she founded the band Block and Tackle.[citation needed]

In 2012 Branch moved to Baltimore, where she worked toward a master's degree in Jazz performance from Towson University.[7] At this time she also founded the record label Pionic Records, which released the music of her group Bomb Shelter. After two years, she dropped out of Towson, and six months later she moved to New York to seek treatment for heroin addiction.[7]

In the spring of 2015 Branch moved to Brooklyn, where she began working with Fred Lonberg-Holm, Mike Pride, Luke Stewart, Jason Nazary, Tcheser Holmes, and many more.[2][8] In addition, she performed on albums with the independent rock groups Never Enough Hope, Local H and The Atlas Moth. As of 2016, she worked in a quartet with Chad Taylor (drums), Jason Ajemian (bass) and Tomeka Reid (cello),[9] as well as with Mike Pride, Shayna Dulberger and Weasel Walter, and with Yoni Kretzmer and Tobey Cederberg. In 2017 she released her debut solo album, Fly or Die, with Tomeka Reid, Jason Ajemian, Chad Taylor, Matt Schneider, Ben LaMar Gay, and Josh Berman.[3]

Fly or Die was chosen as one of NPR Music's Top 50 Albums of 2017.[10]

Branch cited Don Cherry, Axel Dörner, Booker Little, Miles Davis, and Evan Parker among her musical influences.[11][12]

Branch died at home in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn on August 22, 2022, at the age of 39, from an accidental drug overdose.[13][10][14]

Discography

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Albums as bandleader

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With Anteloper

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Duo with Jason Nazary[16][17]

Collaborations

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References

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  1. ^ Margasak, Peter (2007-10-23). "Branching out". ChicagoReader.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  2. ^ a b c Brady, Shaun (2017-10-26). "Jaimie Branch: Chicago State of Mind". JazzTimes.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  3. ^ a b "Jaimie Branch: one of the most thrilling new voices of the New York avant-garde: Video". JazzBluesNews.space. 2017-10-27. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  4. ^ Chinen, Nate (2022-08-24). "Lauded trumpeter and composer Jaimie Branch dies at 39". NPR. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  5. ^ a b c Moreno, Nereida (22 October 2019). "Chicago Trumpeter Jaimie Branch Delivers A Political Message On 'FLY or DIE II'". NPR. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Event note 2008". Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  7. ^ a b Margasak, Peter (26 April 2017). "Trumpeter Jaimie Branch finally spreads her wings". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ Short profile of Experimental sound studio Archived 2016-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Event notice on the site of Tomeka Reid
  10. ^ a b Chinen, Nate. "Lauded trumpeter and composer jaimie branch dies at 39". npr.org. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "Intervju i Jazz Akkurat Nå (2016)". Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  12. ^ Snapes, Laura (24 August 2022). "Jaimie Branch, jazz composer and trumpeter, dies aged 39". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  13. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (23 August 2022). "Jaimie Branch, Free Jazz-Trumpeter & Composer, Dies At 39". Stereogum. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ^ a b Edgar, Hannah (August 23, 2023). "Jazz trumpeter jaimie branch died last year. Her final album, out now, soars onward". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "International Anthem Recording Co". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  16. ^ Margasak, Peter (2018-04-20). "As Anteloper, Jaimie Branch and Jason Nazary push in a bruising, electronics-kissed direction". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  17. ^ "Jason Nazary". Discography. Discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  18. ^ "Pink Dolphins, by Anteloper". International Anthem. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
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