Trumpeter Cindy Bradley has taken the smooth jazz industry by storm over the past year and continues to win awards including “best new artist” as well as “best brass player.”  She follows up her successful debut release, Bloom with a new concept album entitled Unscripted. We had a chance to sit down with this rising star to talk about the new release, life as a band director and the fun of being on the road.

Smoothviews (SV) : Hi Cindy and welcome to Smoothviews.com. We’re so glad to have you on board today. Congratulations on the new album you just finished called Unscripted that is due to hit stores June 21st.
Cindy Bradley (CB) : Well thank you. That’s right. The new album is one that I am extremely excited about because we went about recording it in a totally different way than the last CD. I still worked with producer Michael Broening
but the way we recorded it was with no plan at all. So he actually had me fly to his studio and we just wrote together for days. And he really got inside of me and things that were going on in my life and it ended up being like a deep emotional, kind of passionate type of thing for me with all the writing that I did and what the songs meant. So it’s really important CD for me for a lot of reasons.

SV: We know that it’s going to be very successful for you. A lot of people are already listening to the first single called “Massive Transit” as it continues to do quiet well. Tell us a little bit about that one.
CB: “Massive Transit” was actually the first one we worked on. And we wanted to just abandon any type of plan or stereotype as to what a smooth jazz single should be and we just had a lot of fun with it. We have like a house groove, and there’s sound effects, and it’s really, really cool New York City type moody tune. We call it “Massive Transit “because of the extreme amounts of traveling I did last year. I was constantly on red eyes and going from one job to the next. So that’s where it’s got its name, but really, really fun different track.  

SV: It’s a very upbeat tune, and we’re very glad to be hearing that tune already. I understand that there is some straight ahead jazz on the album as well. Tell us about some of that.
CB: Well basically my roots and what I grew up playing when I was a kid and when I went to college was straight ahead jazz, and be bop, a lot of hard bop and things like that. So I really wanted to do a couple standards that I’ve always liked playing and then kind of make them my own. Make them a little bit funkier a little bit different, so we did “You Don’t Know What Love Is”, which is like a funkier groove and Harmon muted trumpet thing. And we also did a cover of “Footprints” that also has its own type of flavor to it.

SV: Well it sounds like a little bit there for everyone. So tell us, do you have a favorite track yet?
CB: Wow. I have different favorites for different reasons. Usually I can't pick one track. I think one of the tracks that moves me the most, that was very emotional for me was “One Moment More” which was a cover of a Mindy Smith pop song. She actually wrote the song for her mother who was dying of cancer. Right around when I recorded the song Mike Broening wanted me to pick a song that I just couldn’t listen to without tearing up or crying. That was the one I picked and then we made that special to me because of that. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and she’s fine now. But when I was going through that it just really, really gave me deep thoughts. So it means a lot when I listen to it. So that’s probably my favorite as far as meaning.

SV: That’s the one you close the album with as well. I really like “Déjà Blue” just with the good groove and the added trombone and sax. Tell us about that one.
CB:  Yeah, “Déjà Blue” is another one if I had to pick one of the up tempo ones that’s one of my favorites too. It’s got a full horn section. There’s a really talented young saxophonist from New York City named Tim Veeder that plays tenor saxophone on that track. He’s just amazing on it. It’s like a funky different type of blues with lots and lots of horns. I’ve always loved horn sections because I grew up playing in all types of horn bands. So that’s what “Déjà Blue’s” about.  

SV: “Pink Slip” is another one that has the same type of vibe. Is it similar to that one as well?
CB: Yeah definitely another real horn heavy track. That’s also got Tim Veeder playing on it. We wrote a lot of the horn section and stuff with me and Michael Broening. That’s another fun, up tempo funky type of tune.  

SV: Is that a couple we’re going to be hearing on the road this spring?
CB: Absolutely, both of them. Yep! (laughing)

SV: Well you warm up the flugle horn a little bit with a couple of songs called “Lifted”, and “A New Day”. How fun were they to play?
CB: Really fun. See it’s so hard for me to pick a favorite or say they’re my favorites. Those are two really great flugel tunes that I wrote with Michael.  

SV: Well you break the album into parts that begins with a prelude, and also has three different interludes which makes it kind of interesting. Tell us a little bit about those and the concept there.
CB: Basically we wanted to do a concept album, but it didn’t really come together until later as we were moving through things. What we did was make the CD sort of like I’m taking a walk through New York City to clear my mind. Michael actually knew I was going through a lot so we kind of tied up all that together and you actually hear on the interludes my footsteps as I’m walking into a club and the door closes and you hear a house groove come in, and that’s when “Massive Transit”  starts. Then you hear me walk into a car and the radio dial turns and different tracks come on. So it’s supposed to be this journey you take with me as you listen to the disc.  

SV: That really sounds interesting and keeps everything together and keeps common ground for the whole project. I like the way it all flows together. Are the expectations even higher now since you have won several smooth jazz awards? Does this change your expectations as far as coming out with the new material?
CB: I always have high expectations of myself. But yeah, it kind of makes me want to definitely elevate everything as almost a way of saying thank you to all of those people that did vote for me and give me these awards, and let me come and play at their festivals when I was brand new. So, yeah, I definitely feel like I want to show them that they were investing in someone that was worth while, so the better I do things the happier I feel about it. I’m really, really grateful to all of those people.  

SV: That makes me wonder, how are things different now since the release of Bloom back in 2009? What’s different for you as far as smooth jazz is concerned?
CB:  My life has completely changed. It’s so busy. It’s busy doing a lot of things that I always dreamed about doing. I’ve been called to record on lots and lots of peoples CD’s now. The travel last year was pretty overwhelming. I was also teaching full time. So flying out on the weekends, working during the week and it was just crazy. It’s really all I do. It’s just music, and teach. But I love it. That’s what actually makes me happy. So everything has been totally different in just in a year. It’s been like a whirl wind. It’s all been great. No complaints.  

SV: Well that leads me right into my next question, and that is how is your day as a band director?  What does a typical day consist of?
CB: A typical day as a band director. I go to school around seven in the morning. I get up at 5:30 in the morning and I commute. I teach in New Jersey. I teach 4th and 5th grade band students. I teach all the instruments. I teach little groups of flute players, then a group of clarinet players, then we put them all together into a large ensemble of may be 50 to 100 kids, depending. I do that six times a week with six different large groups of kids. I teach right now about 282 students per week. It’s a really big program. When I started, there was about 30 or 40 kids in it and now there’s like 282. Extremely rewarding.

SV: Is it getting tougher to balance both careers for you?
CB: It’s definitely getting tougher, time wise and energy wise. You know, so far so good. I’m kind of lucky that I’m appreciated where I teach and I have a little bit of flexibility. So far I’ve been able to maintain both but sometimes it gets a little tough doing both.

SV: You look to be touring soon. How is life on the road when you are out?
CB: I love being on the road. That’s when I’m happiest when I’m playing live shows and working with great musicians that I get to play with. Seeing some places. I think that’s when I feel the most alive and all the hard work comes together. That’s the culmination. That’s what I’ve always loved doing. The only part I don’t like about it is flying. I have a really big flying phobia. Every time I get on a plane I’m not too happy. But once I get off of it, everything’s good.
 

SV: We know Cindy Bradley as the musician and teacher, what are some of the things you enjoy when you’re not involved with music?
CB: I really don’t have that much time to do much else. When I do get time away from things I love to ski. I like to snow ski and water skiing, although I don’t get to do that as much. Outdoor things like hiking. I’m a huge animal lover. Anyone on my Facebook page sees my goofy dog. So I spend a lot of time with him, and just family and friends, and normal things when I do get time.

SV: That’s great. You mentioned Facebook, and I know you are a fan of that, how has that changed the way that you connect with fans?
CB: Oh my gosh, it’s been one of the most powerful tools out there, if not the most, I have found. It has connected me to my record label, to people in the radio industry, and even you and I talking right now. Fans, everything. Then I get all the feed back from fans, and the e-mails. I try to answer all the e-mail that I get. It just makes me feel a lot more connected. I think it’s incredible.
 

SV: It really is. It just gets you closer to the people that are out there and the people who really care about the music and what’s going on in the industry. You mentioned Facebook, how’s Maceo (her dog) doing by the way?
CB: Maceo’s good! Maceo’s good. Maceo is my Chinese shar pei, six years old. My best buddy, my dog. But he’s a complete handful. I always have him on Facebook like destroying my house, but he’s doing really good.
 

SV: Well Cindy in closing today, is there anything you want to tell your fans as we close up today?
CB: Well I always want to say thank you to them for supporting me, and listening to my music and getting excited about the new stuff that’s coming out because it means everything to me. Thank you Harvey.

SV: Thank you Cindy, and continued success as the new album comes out.