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Stephen Braunginn

Jazz plays a large role in my life today along with being an active grandfather following many years wearing different hats in different places.

About Me

I'm a preacher's kid and the twin of another and the brother of four other siblings. My father was an Episcopal priest, while my mother worked at home raising six kids in Columbus, OH/Nashville, TN. I grew up in an active household where jazz music could be heard. I loved the music. I also listened to soul, R&B other popular music. I also enjoyed playing outdoors, hiking and swimming. What was most important to me though was civil rights. My father marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was there at the March on Washington in 1963. This inspired me in my life which carried me through the next 40 years as I pursued civil rights and activism as my goal. After graduating from high school in Nashville, TN in 1972 I followed certain paths that broadened my perspectives and provided me a rich life full of experiences. First, I attended University of Maryland then University of Maryland Baltimore County. In 1974 I wound up in Madison WI where I met the woman who was to be my wife in 1975. We married, I returned to school and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We eventually moved to the country and bought a farm in a collective, raised chickens and grew much of our own food. I also taught special education in a very small-town school district. Later I began to volunteer at WORT 89.9 FM, Madison’s community listener sponsored radio station with my jazz show Strictly Jazz. I taught school then I later stayed home with our home-birthed child so my wife could work, eventually made our way back to Madison WI where I became very involved in politics and civil rights. In the meantime, we had our second child. I became involved in presidential politics in 1984 and 1988 and successfully ran my own race for elected office. I taught school in Madison as well. After that, I became the leader of the Urban League in Madison. The radio bug bit me again following a period of illness requiring me to retire from work. I returned to jazz and WORT for the next 17 years. I co-hosted a show with a wonderful jazz pianist, Jane Reynolds. We called it Strictly Jazz Sounds. We then moved to Columbus OH to be with our granddaughter following my diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. I may have left jazz radio, but I now have a jazz podcast from my home, Strictly Jazz Sounds.

My Jazz Story

My House Concert Story

I can say yes, I have attended and hosted a jazz house concert. Both of them were in Madison, WI. The one we hosted was for our daughter's high school graduation party, featuring Hanah Jon Taylor on tenor sax (AACM-The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and a drummer from Chicago, AACM, Vincent Davis, with a pianist whose name I can no longer remember (that was in 1999). It was a remarkable event as these kids had no idea who was there in our living room. The doors and windows were flung wide open while music wafted through the air. The one I attended was less glamorous thus not worth saying much about.

My Favorite Local Jazz Venues & Festivals

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