Owen Broder is a member of the GRAMMY® nominated Anat Cohen Tentet and has performed with internationally respected artists such as Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, Miho Hazama, the Ulysses Owens, Jr. Big Band, and YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox. He earned the title 2018 Debut Artist of the Year from NPR’s Francis Davis and was included on DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll as a Rising Star Alto Saxophonist in 2023 and 2024. His six albums as a band leader have received national recognition. An award-winning composer and arranger, Broder has received commissioned projects from the U.S. Air Force Band in Europe, the Airmen of Note, two off-Broadway shows, the Winchester Symphonic Winds, and the internationally acclaimed woodwind quintet WindSync. A resident of Portland since 2021, Broder is the Director of Jazz at Reed College, and teaches core jazz courses at Portland State University and saxophone lessons at Pacific University. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble.

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The Owen Broder Quintet features saxophonist Owen Broder and a program of compositions associated with Johnny Hodges, the alto saxophone icon. While Hodges is discussed almost wholly in relation to Duke Ellington, Broder and his quintet of collaborators on the world stage shift focus to the Rabbit (the nickname that Hodges earned early in his career) as a bandleader in his own right. Broder presents Hodges: Front and Center as “a heartfelt tribute without ever aping the object of his affection or straying too far from the path. In short, he finds a perfect balance,” (The New York Jazz Record). The repertoire culls from the Ellington canon as well as from the saxophonist’s often overlooked catalogue of small group albums.

Beyond Hodges: Front and Center, Broder is a member of the GRAMMY® nominated Anat Cohen Tentet and the Manhattan Saxophone Quartet and has performed with internationally respected artists such as Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, Miho Hazama, the Ulysses Owens, Jr. Big Band, and YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox. An award-winning composer and arranger, Broder has received commissioned projects from the U.S. Air Force Band in Europe, the Airmen of Note, two off-Broadway shows, and the Winchester Symphonic Winds. “Fans of large-ensemble music might notice the sturdy artistic thread that connects bandleaders Maria Schneider, Ryan Truesdell and Owen Broder,” (Bobby Reed, DownBeat).

Owen Broder, alto and bari saxophones • Riley Mulherkar, trumpet • Carmen Staaf, piano • Barry Stephenson III, bass • Bryan Carter, drums

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With his American Roots Project, saxophonist / composer Owen Broder explores the weft and weave of American roots music – from Appalachian folk to early blues, spirituals to bluegrass – through bold and inspired new interpretations envisioned through the perspective of another distinctly American musical tradition: jazz.

On the band’s debut album, Heritage, Broder combines several of modern jazz’s most acclaimed composers and arrangers with an outstanding ensemble of gifted musicians to create a striking blend of tradition and innovation. It is at once an inheritance and a new link in a continually growing chain. “Fans of large-ensemble music might notice the sturdy artistic thread that connects bandleaders Maria Schneider, Ryan Truesdell and Owen Broder,” [Bobby Reed, DownBeat Magazine]. A featured project on ArtistShare®, Heritage works in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum (NYC) in a multi-disciplinary collaboration, using selected related images from their permanent collection as visual companions.

Owen Broder, woodwinds • Sara Caswell, violin • Scott Wendholt, trumpet • Nick Finzer, trombone • James Shipp, vibes/percussion • Frank Kimbrough, piano • Jay Anderson, bass • Matt Wilson, drums • Wendy Gilles, Kate McGarry, Vuyo Sotashe, voices

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Cowboys & Frenchmen is a new take on instrumentation, composition, and orchestration for the jazz quintet. “The band makes a glorious sound – more like a larger ensemble at times – providing intriguing, innovative and sublime music,” [Mike Gates, UK Vibe]. The front line of two alto saxophones is the vehicle for reimagining the role of horns in a small group setting, charting new territory by exploring individuality within the same timbre.

Following the top placement on radio charts of their debut album Rodeo (2015) and the four-star review from DownBeat Magazine of Bluer Than You Think (2017), the New York City-based quintet released its inventive third recording as a video album entitled Our Highway (2021). Recorded live at SubCulture, the album weaves together footage of Cowboys & Frenchmen onstage in one of New York City’s most renowned venues with scenes from a cross-country tour. Singles from the project were premiered by JazzTimes and WBGO, and the full film premiere was hosted by Live From Our Living Rooms.

Cowboys & Frenchmen have visited over twenty cities in all regions of the country, performing at notable venues including Blues Alley (Washington, D.C.), Arts Garage (Boca Raton, FL), Art Boutiki (San Jose, CA), Herb Alpert’s Vibrato (Los Angeles, CA), Cliff Bell’s (Detroit, MI), and at the 2016 North American Saxophone Alliance Conference. With a deep commitment to jazz education, the ensemble pairs its performances with community outreach in the cities it visits, having presented masterclasses at the University of Michigan, Southern Methodist University, and Florida Atlantic University, among others.

Owen Broder, alto and bari saxophones • Ethan Helm, alto saxophone • Addison Frei, piano • Ethan O'Reilly, bass • Matt Honor, drums

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