My City July 2022

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Braun, however, was without the bike on May 11 during his debut performance on a new piano gifted to him by National Public Radio station WEMU in Ypsilanti. He has made regular appearances on nation al NPR programs like “Mountain Stage,” “All ings Considered” and “Here & Now.” “Playing outdoors, especially in a place like Ann Arbor which has always provided a great atmosphere for live music, is something I’ve always loved, but it also helped me make up for some touring dates lost during the pandemic,” Braun says. “It’s another great way to connect closely with the audience and it’s been a hit at one of the best corner spots in town with large crowds coming out on some nights. I love doing the street musician thing.” Veteran jazz string bass player, band leader, composer, arranger and teacher Paul Keller is among the many artists who have formed long-lasting creative bonds with Braun. Keller’s credentials include touring with three-time Gram my Winner, Diana Krall. “Mark and I have enjoyed performing with each other all over Michigan in a variety of concert settings for more than 30 years,”Keller says. “We love sharing musical ideas and trying to make beautiful and amazing music out of nothing – starting with silence and ‹lling a room with joy. Mr. B is an especially gifted pianist and composer and his bread and butter has always been his unique and artistic take on piano blues and boogie-woogie.” Braun was drawn to that style of music, which spread from the deep south during the 1920s and 1930s, soon

after discovering a love for playing piano in his early teens. at passion originated from his family winning an organ in a ra e (before trading it in for an upright piano and color television). “Like many of my peers, I was listening to blues-based rock albums from bands like Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers; but then, I began discovering more of the original music those songs came from by blues artists like Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters,”Braun recalls. “I went nuts for that kind of music, got really deep into it.” e teenage Braun was also inƒuenced by a Jimmy Yancey record his father gave him. e pioneering boo gie-woogie pianist was a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s ‹rst class. After graduating from Flint Southwestern High School in 1975, Braun began attending the University of Michigan. He found Ann Arbor’s thriving music scene and venues like e Blind Pig a perfect place to grow his budding music career which by then was expanding into jazz, inƒuenced by the likes of legendary jazz artists like Duke Ellington and Horace Silver. Braun continues to play e Blind Pig, e Ark and Kerrytown Concert House to this day. After three years, he left school to devote his full attention to music and was not shy about seeking the mentorship of famous, still-living musicians linked to the golden age of blues and jazz. “I was fortunate to come of age in the music busi ness just in time when a fair number of guys with ties to the ‹rst generation of that music were still around,”

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