Darrell Braden is professional freelance bassist who has appeared with such acts as Freelife, Unlimited Touch, Age of Boomerangs, and a score of others. He currently is playing for the soul / r&b singing group Double Exposure and is revamping his own group Rhythmlife. He currently resides in Kansas City but, will soon be commuting back and forth to the Las Vegas area.
Влияние
I get influences from all over the music spectrum but if I had to narrow it down to bassist I would pick guys like James Jamerson Jr. , Larry Graham, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. I am also a big fan of groups like Earth, Wind and Fire, LTD, Lakeside, Tower of Power, Sly and The Family Stone, AWB, The Police, James Brown, The Temptations, Patti Labelle, Chicago, Ramsey Lewis, The Doobie Brothers. I really could go on and on.
From a very early age Darrell Braden was exposed to the music business which he would grow to love. After all it was in his blood. Carrying over from his dad Virgil Braden and uncles who had toured as a singing group during the late fifties. It was his uncle Harold Braden ,who after having success as a guitarist for the legendary Ink Spots would have the greatest affect on Darrells direction . Harold was forming his own band and asked Darrell, then a novist guitarist, and his brother Mike to fill in on bass and drums respectively. From that time on bass would be Darrells’ primary instrument.
Getting caught up in the opportunity to play profesionally at such young ages was indeed a challenge and both Darrell and Mike were told not to lose sight of profieciency on their instruments, so both enrolled in the Charlie Parker Music Academy studying along side fellow academy members Kevin Mahogany , Norman Brown, Pat Methany and under such instructors as bassist :Dahoud Williams and James Brown , guitarist :Sonny Kenner, Hurley Dennis, Willie Rice and drummer Max Roach along with exposure to a score of other jazz greats. The academy would be a big influence in that it showed its young students how to perform to their optimum and gave them insight into the history of the jazz art form which really is a good spring board to all the other music styles.
During the early seventies the Kansas City music scene was buzzing . The nightclubs were exploding with live music and promoters were not shy about casting concerts which featured talented local artist and prominent national artist. After all Kansas City born artist such as Bloodstone and The Dynamic Superiors had been successful on the national level and the stage was set to see who would break out next. It was the era of soul and a then new music genre funk. After playing with his uncles band Darrell landed a gig playing with Inferno Show Lounge house band Phase III . The band would back all the acts that club owner Willie Smith would book to perform. Artist like The Delphonics, The Chi- Lites, Vernon Garrett were among a few of the acts that young Darrell would have the opportunity to play behind. But Darrell and Mike wanted to play funk and they formed their on band to achieve this goal called Ebony Funk Patterned after seventies groups like E.W.F., Rufus , Brothers Johnson, Commodores . They criss crossed the midwest opening for some of the same acts they had patterned themselves after. But , never launched a record of their own which eventually would lead to the demise of the band as some members including Darrell wanted to branch out beyond just covering other artist matierial.
Darrells' first cousin Melvin Webb had been playing drums with a long list of artist like James Brown, Johnny Nash, Marvin Gaye and his own group The Sinceres ( Bloodstone) and had long since relocated To Los Angeles . He advised his cousins that they should give the west coast a try also. Since it looked as if things on the Kansas City scene had cooled they both eventually took the advice and the trip. This gave Darrell the opportunity to be exposed to the west coast style of music first hand which was influenced by local and other transplanted musicians ( a combination of Detoits Motown Sound , Philly Soul, Bay Area Funk, Watts Stax) all thrown together . From this would come some of the most remembered music of modern times. And Darrell was witnessing it first hand sitting in on sessions with artist such as Phillip Bailey , Wah Wah Watson, The Emotions, Grey and Hanks , Freelife. would lead to him touring with some of these same artist on the the triple A concert level and provide him with great insight into how the music industry was run.
As fate would have it Darrells tours would take him to the east coast and Florida where he hooked up with a young writer and native New Yorker by the name of Wrenny Alcino who had been involved with a then upstart record label Sugar Hill, Darrell and Wrenny would form their own group and start writing their own music, eventually appearing with groups like Unlimited Touch and Floridas own Rogers Human Body (Rodger Troutman) live. Just as things were looking up something happened. The music industry was changing and changing fast . Soon club owners and promoters would turn their backs on hiring live musicians and singers and opt to hire DJ,s and word artist after all it was a lot cheaper than hiring complete bands and so was born the Hip Hop era and a long dark period for musical artist like Darrell.
In the early 1990's after his mother had became ill in Kansas City, Darrell decided to move back there to be near her . With Gods blessings she recovered her health and eventually Darrells' thoughts would go back to his music. He was not going to give up so easy. He bacame involved in projects with local gospel artist recording three albums with Marvin Jackson (The Arrival) , Joy Unlimited (Unlimited Joy) and The Voices of Faith . Gospel Music was changing from traditional to the more contemporary style that is popular today. And it gave Darrell a pause to think, Soul and R&B was the root of modern Gospel and though secular music he felt if you had a good message what would it matter the label that was slapped on your music ? Good music is just that and he wanted to be a pert of the resurgence of the music genre that touched so many in its Hey day. So, he decided he would stay true to the genre and that he could touch more people by sticking with the style of music he knew and he knew it would make a come back.
Darrell continues that struggle today. Playing locally in Kansas City with his qwn soul- funk fusion group Rhythmlife (an outlet for his own music creations),and Nextstep a Jazz and R&B group formed with his talented cousins Greg Evans (percussions) and Denice "Niecy" Evans on vocals, appearing on events with artist like Gerald Albrieght, Brody Buster, and BETs Comic View. In addition Darrell holds down bass duties for dynamic soul group Double Exposure which recently wowed the audience at Kansas Citys 2006 Rhythm and Ribs Festival on a bill with Al Green, The Jazz All Stars and blues artist Keb Mo. Recently he has seen a resurgence of the music genre he loves (Soul) become a reality. And he is ready to meet the next challenge . A relocation to Las Vegas soon will see him embark on another adventure . But just like Soul , Funk, and R& B is soaring again . So will Darrell "The Jeep " Braden.
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Hey! I’ve got a show happening... Please come out and join me in LA, July 15th, if you're in the area.... or if you're not, let your LA friends know :) I love to meet friends, and you can't beat a live show!
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Hey There! I am sorry I haven't written in awhile, Things have been moving forward and keeping me out of trouble...For the most part!
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! You and your friends are invited to stop by MySpace and share in a little Holiday Spirit by listening to "On Christmas Eve". May all your dreams come true this Holiday Season and always!!
Lots of love!!
Dian Diaz
“0n Christmas Eve” only available for download on I-tunes.
Thanks for the friend request and listening to some of my music:):) I hope you enjoyed some of the tracks:):) Best wishes to you as well, in all that you do!!
Lots of love,
Dian Diaz
