Rick Braun

Early life and education Braun was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1955. He attended Dieruff High School in Allentown. His mother was a self-taught pianist and banjoist. Braun played drums at Dieruff High School, and followed his brother in playing trumpet.

In the 1970s, while attending the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, he became a member of a jazz-fusion band, Auracle, along with, amongst others, keyboards player John Serry, saxophone and flute player Steve Kujala and vibes player Steve Rehbein (later Steve Raybine). The band worked with producer Teo Macero and Braun co-produced the second album City Slickers (minus John Serry and Steve Kujala).

Career In the 1980s, Braun entered the pop music world, releasing an album in Japan as a singer. He then worked as a songwriter for Lorimar, writing the song "Here with Me" with REO Speedwagon which became a top twenty hit,

He has cited as influences Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herb Alpert. He cites Herb Alpert with inspiring his album All It Takes, which includes the song "Tijuana Dance", a play on Alpert's band Tijuana Brass.

He achieved several top chartings including Kisses in the Rain (as high as number 1), R n R (as high as number 1), All It Takes (as high as number 2), and Can You Feel It (as high as number 1) along with charting at the Traditional Jazz Albums for the first time in 2011 with the vocal album Sings with Strings (as high as number 9).

Braun performs in the band BWB, with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and guitarist Norman Brown. He has performed live with known musicians such as Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Jackiem Joyner, and Peter White.

In 2005, he and saxophonist Richard Elliot co-founded ARTizen Music Group, now known as Artistry Music, and once had Rykodisc as a distributor.

Braun has twice been named Gavin Reports "Artist of the Year".

Discography

Albums Titles Year Label Notes Intimate Secrets 1992 Mesa Night Walk 1994 Mesa/Bluemoon Christmas Present: Music of Warmth and Celebration 1994 Mesa/Bluemoon reissued by Atlantic in 1997 Beat Street 1995 Mesa/Bluemoon Body and Soul 1997 Mesa/Bluemoon Full Stride 1998 Atlantic Shake It Up 2000 Warner Bros. with Boney James Kisses in the Rain 2001 Warner Bros. Esperanto 2003 Warner Bros. Yours Truly 2005 Artizen Sessions: Volume 1 2006 Artizen R n R 2007 Artizen with Richard Elliot All It Takes 2009 Artistry/Mack Avenue Sings with Strings 2011 Artistry/Mack Avenue Swingin' in the Snow 2012 Brauntosoarus/CD Baby Can You Feel It 2014 Artistry/Mack Avenue Around the Horn 2017 Shanachie Crossroads 2019 Shanachie Rick Braun 2022 Brauntosoarus

BWB (Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown) Titles Year Label Groovin' 2002 Warner Bros. Human Nature: The Songs of Michael Jackson 2013 Heads Up BWB 2016 Artistry/Mack Avenue

Compilation appearances New Age Music & New Sounds Vol. 67 – Liberty

Songs co-written "Here With Me" (with Kevin Cronin)