Mark Braud
RUE CONTI
Mark Braud is one of the elite young trumpet players in New Orleans today. He carries on the rich tradition of a storied musical family, from his trumpet playing uncles Wendell and John Brunious, to his distant cousin, the great bassist Wellman Braud. His grandfather, John Brunious, Sr., was a trumpeter, pianist, and composer, and was Paul Barbarin’s trumpeter for many years, including Barbarin’s original recording of “Bourbon Street Parade.”
One can hear the full embodiment of New Orleans music in Mark’s sound - traditional jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, and straight ahead jazz. Like many modern players, Braud is as well versed in language of the Blue Note era as he is in early jazz. He received his formal training at UNO, but credits his uncle Wendell, whom we profiled earlier on this blog, as a major influence in his development. Brunious’ hard attack and timbre is certainly evident in Braud’s sound, but Braud has come into his own as a major voice in recent years.
In 2001, he joined Harry Connick, Jr.’s big band and eventually became Harry’s featured trumpet soloist when Leroy Jones left for a solo career in 2007. Mark brought his high energy and distinct tone to such numbers as “Bourbon Street Parade” and “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” staples of the New Orleans sound that require the authenticity only a native musician could provide. He also led the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from 2008-2016, taking over responsibilities from his uncle John, and continues to maintain a residency at the Palm Court Cafe when he is home in New Orleans.
A talented writer as well, Braud has several film and television composing credits to his name, notably NCIS: New Orleans. But his compositions have never been more pronounced than on his most recent album, a collection of originals from 2018 entitled, Living the Tradition.
True to the album name, all twelve tracks evoke the sound and spirit of New Orleans jazz. The solo featured today comes from the tune “Rue Conti,” a mid tempo swing number with a colorful backstory. As Braud describes, the song is about his memories as a teenager routinely running into a man on Conti Street who “dressed like a vampire and claimed to be one.” This man apparently told so many imaginative and apocryphal stories of New Orleans that Braud “decided that a song should be named in honor of the street where we met.”
We may never know the identify of this mysterious caped man, but we do know the talented personnel who join Braud to make his story timeless. Accompanying Braud are Tim Laughlin on clarinet and the late Lucien Barbarin on trombone, as well as Meghan Swartz on piano, Mark Brooks on bass, and Herlin Riley on drums. The song is an AABA form with the melody split between Braud over the A sections and clarinet on the bridge. After a combined solo chorus of clarinet and trombone, Braud takes a chorus that encompasses his melodic and rhythmic talents.
Braud is an outstanding double time player, and this tune is an excellent showcase for his superb feel at fast tempos. Here is a well executed phrase over an Eb major arpeggio with the added 6th. This is a traditional line that Braud makes all his own. He is brilliant at ghosting lower notes in a fast grouping to keep the phrasing smooth and clean:
At the start of the bridge, the rhythm section begins a three stop pattern, affording Braud the perfect opportunity to employ more double time over the breaks:
This extended phrase is a perfect blend of traditional and bebop language merged into one. We can almost hear the entire lineage of jazz trumpet as it evolves. The initial hard staccato attacks over the IV and IV - chords recall the best of Pops before Braud breaks it down into a dense bebop run over the Bb and Bb7.
This final example is another spotlight into Braud’s rhythmic variety. The extended use of triplets gives a gospel feel to the resolution of the solo, and is a staple in Braud’s vocabulary. The time remains deep in the pocket.
Braud’s tone is so malleable, he has the ability to shift from subdued to edgy as needed. There is no substitute for years of on-job training that factored into this sound. It’s his combination of authenticity and refinement that makes him special. One can hear the countless hours spent in the second lines as well as the practice room in every performance.