Cornetist Bobby Bradford plays his original compositions—bluesy, melodically dense, and rhythmically rigorous post-bop tunes—teamed with bassist Harrison Bankhead, drummer Chad Taylor, and tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson.

This date for Lampo is the free jazz veteran’s first performance here since the 1987 Chicago Jazz Festival, where he played with clarinetist John Carter.

Bobby Bradford (b.1934, Cleveland, Miss.) is an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer. In addition to his solo work, Bradford is noted for his work with John Carter, Vinny Golia and Ornette Coleman. Bradford grew up in Mississippi and moved with his family to Dallas in 1946. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 where he reunited with Coleman, whom he had previously known in Texas. Bradford subsequently joined Coleman’s ensemble but was replaced not long after by Don Cherry, when he was drafted into the U.S. Air Force. After playing in military bands for several years, he rejoined Coleman’s quartet from 1961 to 1963, a period during which the group did not record. Bradford was again replaced, this time by Freddie Hubbard, when he left to pursue further studies. Later, Bradford began a long-running association with the clarinetist John Carter. Following Carter’s death in 1991, Bradford has fronted his own ensemble known as The Mo’tet, with which he has continued to perform since. Bradford is an instructor at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California, and Pomona College in Claremont, California.

Presented in conjunction with the Empty Bottle Jazz Series