Geof Bradfield was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He attended the acclaimed High School for the Performing Arts. After living and working in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, he settled in Chicago in 2004. He has had the opportunity to work with many jazz legends and perform all over the United States, Europe and Russia. His critically acclaimed 2010 album African Flowers was one of the Top 10 CDs in 2010. The 10-part suite was performed by his septet in Chicago’s Millennium Park in 2011, to an audience of approximately 8,000, as part of Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz. As the artist-in residence of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Mr. Bradfield presented the suite with his ensemble at the DuSable Museum of African American Art in the fall of 2011. He has been awarded numerous commissions and awards as a composer. In 2008, Mr. Bradfield received a New Jazz Works commission by Chamber Music America. Grants and fellowships were also given to him by the City of Chicago Community Arts Partnership and the Illinois Arts Council. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Chamber Music America funded a New Jazz Works commission in 2011 that inspired his recent suite Melba!. Bradfield has extensive education experience. He has been a professor at many colleges and universities since he earned his MFA from California Institute of the Arts. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Northern Illinois University. http://www.niu.edu/music
