Owen Broder is a saxophonist based in New York City. He runs in a variety of musical circles, leading his own groups and participating in others. His American Roots Project’s debut album, Heritage, was praised by DownBeat Magazine as a “transcendent work of art,” and listed as #5 among the Best Music of 2018 [Francis Davis, NPR]. Broder’s quintet, Cowboys & Frenchmen, has enjoyed multiple US tours and seen success in international competitions including the DC JazzPRIX, Umbria Jazz Festival’s Conad Competition, and M-Prize. The group has received critical acclaim for its three full-length recordings, including a four-star review from DownBeat Magazine for their 2017 release, Bluer Than You Think, and singles from their recent 2021 release Our Highway premiered by WBGO and JazzTimes.
Broder is a member of the GRAMMY® nominated Anat Cohen Tentet and the Manhattan Saxophone Quartet and has performed with internationally respected artists such as Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, Trio Globo, and YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox. In musical theater, he was a member of the pit orchestras for the German tour of Grease and off-Broadway production For the Last Time, appeared with the band in David Bowie’s Lazarus and the Tony Award® winning musical Tootsie, and originated the woodwind chair in the U.S. premiere tour of The Bodyguard the Musical.
An award-winning composer and arranger, Broder writes for his own ensembles and a variety of others. His composition Goin’ Up Home earned him a 2018 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, and in 2020 he received a commission grant from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers. Other commissioned projects have come from the U.S. Air Force Band in Europe, the Airmen of Note, the off-Broadway show About Love, the Winchester Symphonic Winds, and Nancy Harrow for her album The Song Is All.
The projects Broder leads are marked by creativity and originative thinking. UNCSA’s 2021 Artpreneur of the Year Award and the 2018 Eastman/ArtistShare® New Artist program recognized his entrepreneurial ventures for their creative musical programming, innovative presentation, and meaningful impact on the community. Notably, in response to the pandemic, Broder co-founded and performed in Live From Our Living Rooms. The initiative was credited as “the first online jazz festival” (Rolling Stone) and raised over $140k in support of US-based musicians whose performance careers were halted due to COVID-19.
As an educator, Broder has visited collegiate music programs and performing arts high schools in over twenty cities in all regions of the country. His masterclasses based in performance, as well as music entrepreneurship, prepare students for successful careers in various avenues of the music industry. Programs he has visited include the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, University of Michigan, Southern Methodist University, Lawrence University, University of Denver, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Baltimore School of the Arts, Contra Costa School for the Performing Arts, and Orange Country School of the Arts.
Broder grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and also has hometown ties to Detroit, MI, and Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music.