Biography
Brantley was born in 1970 in Louisiana. He is a third generation trombonist.
Brantley earned music degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi (BM) and the University of North Texas (MM). He majored in trombone performance at both schools. His teachers have included Gerald Waguespack, Bob Schmaltz, Marta Hofacre, Raoul Jerome, Vern & Jan Kagarice, Royce Lumpkin, and Neil Slater.
He joined the chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass in 1995 and continues to tour and record with the group. He appears on many Rhythm & Brass recordings, including Ellington Explorations (1998), which was named the New York Times Album of the Week upon release, Sitting in An English Garden (2001), and Inside the Blue Suitcase (2005). He also records with the chamber group Confluences, and their self-titled debut CD appeared in 2004.
Brantley's first solo CD project, entitled Boneyard, was released on the Summit Records label. Reviews of the CD Boneyard include the Jazz Society of Oregon as well as JazzReview.com magazine. Other reviews include Bill Milkowski's in JazzTimes magazine and Ken Dryden's from the All Music Guide
The Brass Herald, the UK journal devoted to brass music, published a review of Boneyard (May 2009) as well as a feature article about Brantley (October 2009).
Brantley serves as Professor of Music at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is an occasional reviewer for many publications on topics of interest to trombonists and other brass musicians. Brantley performs on Yamaha Trombones and has offered podcasts through the Yamaha Artists series. Brantley appeared as a featured artist on the 2009 Clearwater Jazz Holiday program. He has also served as a member of the faculty for the 2007 International Trombone Festival as well as the 2011 International Trombone Festival.
Read more about this topic: Tom Brantley
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