PMJ’s Scott Bradlee Educated and Entertained March 8th.

13 March 2018

Thursday night March 8th, 2018 at Los Angeles Valley College, ASMAC members and guests were treated to a most informative talk and discussion featuring Scott Bradlee, innovative pianist, arranger, entrepreneur and founder/creator of the iconic performance ensemble Postmodern Jukebox. PMJ, as Bradlee refers to his popular and dynamic group, has a rotating cast of singers, dancers, instrumentalists and performers who are hand-picked for each video. Approximately 250 videos have been produced by Scott Bradlee and posted to YouTube, which are live performances of popular songs performed in various styles that are often creatively counter-intuitive. The overwhelmingly enthusiastic response of the public has enabled Bradlee and the large ensemble to now tour extensively worldwide, and Bradlee has recorded at least a dozen LPs with PMJ, as well as an opus or two of his own jazz, ragtime and eclectic solo piano recordings.

Scott also mentioned that his YouTube video viewings are nearing ONE Billion! That’s quite impressive, considering he just started random videotaping in his kitchen, zeroing in on his love of ragtime piano playing, he stopped worrying about what others thought he should be playing, and came up with his wild ideas of adding extras like a clown, the tap dancing, and , etc. By slowly perfecting his technique, overcoming his perfectionism/procrastination (two sides of the same coin), taking daily action, and following his heart & gut instincts, the result was PMJ’s classic ‘vintage look’ of singers & band members, and great success!

The talk was moderated by ASMAC Board member Andrew Kesler, a renowned singer, composer and arranger in his own right. Scott Bradlee, a highly accomplished musician in his own right, stressed his philosophy of being true to one’s vision, believing in one’s own talents, and trying not to take oneself so seriously that it causes a form of creative paralysis. According to Bradlee, when he stopped worrying about how others perceived him and just let his creativity express itself, he began to enjoy and realize his own success.

The audience was also treated to a surprise performance by “Tambourine Guy”, portrayed by Grammy nominated singer / songwriter / TV personality / entertainer Tim Kubart.

Watch for a video of this event to be posted on the ASMAC members only video webpage.


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