Carmen Bradford, Catalina Jazz July 29, 2025

Halfway through a story she was telling onstage at the Catalina Jazz Club last night, Carmen Bradford stopped, looked at her watch and asked, “Am I talking too much?” The response from the full house was an emphatic “No!” She continued telling us how she became the vocalist for the great Count Basie Orchestra. It was that kind of night, up close and personal.

I was interested to see how an artist known primarily as a big band singer would adapt to a piano vocal duo. The music was in good hands from the start, when Bradford nudged her pianist Reginald Thomas to pick up the tempo a bit on her opening number. Thomas is the right accompanist for a singer of Carmen’s musical depth. She was in command, and Thomas supported her with strong left-handed in the pocket bass lines when needed, and a beautiful, sensitive touch on ballads like “Young and Foolish,” and “Close Enough for Love.” They swung hard, too, on jazz anthems like “Mr. Paganini” and “What a Little Moonlight Can Do.”

Carmen is that rare combination of native talent, musicianship, and temperament. There is nobody like her, nobody with the depth of her musical pedigree, experience and moxie. She radiates positivity and joy and it was a delight to see her in the intimate setting of a piano/vocal duo. Did I mention the house was packed? Catalina is not a small room. The evening was a complete success.