The name George Braith might not be as widely known as other saxophonists at Blue Note, but between 1963 and 1964 the New Yorker recorded three albums for the label. 

What makes this rather unsung musician even more notable are his innovations; playing multiple horns at the same time and becoming an inventor of the double soprano/alto horn he named the Braithophone.

While Rahsaan Roland Kirk is widely regarded as the pioneer of multiple horn playing in jazz, the technique has much deeper roots. “During ancient times, double reed pipe players performed in religious ceremonies,” George Braith explained on a website devoted to the Braithophone. “Pan, himself, in Greek mythology, played a double horn.” 

George Braith signed for Blue Note in 1963 for the album “Two Souls in One” recorded with guitarist Grant Green, drummer Donald Bailey and organist Billy Gardner. Three years before, the Argo label had released “Introducing Roland Kirk”, with a striking cover photograph by William Claxton capturing the multi-horn player in full flight. For their new signing’s debut, Blue Note responded with a photograph by Francis Wolff showing Braith deep in the moment playing a soprano sax and a straight Buescher alto (AKA the Stritch) with one hand apiece. 

It was a technique the New Yorker had started to master in 1961 after witnessing the musical maelstrom of Rahsaan Roland Kirk in a Philadelphia club. But his innovations on multi-instruments can be traced back to his childhood in the Bronx when he played both the baritone sax and flutophone (a clarinet shaped recorder) in the church band of his father, a Pentecostal minister and pianist. 

When he turned to jazz at Junior School he continued to expand his innovations on multiple instruments, playing both the clarinet and alto sax before picking up the bassoon and flute while at High School. It was with an early Latin jazz band with drummer Pete La Roca that Braith earned his spurs before forming his own quintet when he was just 15 years old. Two years later he was spotted by jazz critic Nat Hentoff who introduced him to Blue Note and wrote the liner notes for his debut album.

Of the three releases Braith recorded for Blue Note, the third “Extension” is widely regarded as his best. Recorded on March 27th, 1964, the album featured Braith on soprano, tenor and alto saxophone. Accompanying him on that spring day were his regular partners Grant Green and Bill Gardener with Clarence Johnston brought in on drums. 

The session opener “Nut City” continues where his previous Blue Note albums left off, blending soul jazz and hard bop with the funky organ licks of Gardener and guitar of Grant Green offset by the hard hitting melodic lines of Braith’s horn. Elsewhere things take a more progressive turn on the post bop leaning “Out Here” and “Extensions” with Braith’s double saxophone technique pushed to the fore while Grant Green weaves intricate guitar lines. But it’s on the closing number that the double reed techniques become most exploratory, turning Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” inside out. 

After leaving Blue Note, Braith went deep into post bop and modal jazz exotica with the incredible album “Musart” for Prestige from 1967 (the same year as Blue Note released “Extension”). It would be the name Braith chose for the health food restaurant come centre for avant garde jazz in SoHo where everyone from McCoy Tyner to Max Roach performed. 

Braith would later move to Europe where he continued his experiments with multiple horns on the Braithophone he invented: “For the experienced saxophonist who has been improvising for years, the Braithophone is the next natural (non-electronic) step for further harmonic development,” he noted. “Backing away from simultaneous horn playing curtails further development of improvisation.” 

There’s a great photograph of George Braith with his Braithophone on the cover of “Turn of the Century” from 2003. It was recorded with the Braith Family Singers, one of a handful of recordings on his Excellence Records label that explore his Boptronics harmonic concepts. Still innovating around the borders of jazz as he did for Blue Note more than 50 years ago, George Braith deserves your time.


Andy Thomas is a London based writer who has contributed regularly to Straight No Chaser, Wax Poetics, We Jazz, Red Bull Music Academy, and Bandcamp Daily. He has also written liner notes for Strut, Soul Jazz and Brownswood Recordings.

Header image: George Braith. Photo: Francis Wolff / Blue Note Records.


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Colour photograph of Sonny Rollins playing the saxophone.