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Rick Braun (born July 6, 1955) is an American smooth jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards player, vocalist, composer, and record producer.
In the 1970s, while attending the Eastman School of Music, he became a member of a jazz-fusion band, Auracle, along with, amongst others, keyboards player John Serry, saxophone and flute player Steve Kujala and vibes player Steve Rehbein (later Steve Raybine). The band worked with producer Teo Macero and Braun co-produced the second album City Slickers (minus John Serry and Steve Kujala).
In 1992, he released his debut solo album, Intimate Secrets (Mesa), followed in 1994 by two solo albums, Night Walk and Christmas Present. The former featured him playing just muted trumpet and flugelhorn. His popularity increased enough by 1995, when he released Beat Street, that he was persuaded to pursue a solo career.
He has cited as influences Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herb Alpert. He cites Herb Alpert with inspiring his album All It Takes, which includes the song "Tijuana Dance", a play on Alpert's band Tijuana Brass. One of his influences was Freddie Hubbard, and Braun composed a song, "Freddie Was Here" in 2008, which he recorded on his album, All it Takes, in tribute to Hubbard, who died that year.
He achieved several top chartings including Kisses in the Rain (as high as number 1), R n R (as high as number 1), All It Takes (as high as number 2), and Can You Feel It (as high as number 1) along with charting at the Traditional Jazz Albums for the first time in 2011 with the vocal album Sings with Strings (as high as number 9).
Braun performs in the band BWB, with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and guitarist Norman Brown. He has performed live with known musicians such as Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Jackiem Joyner, and Peter White.
In 2005, he and saxophonist Richard Elliot co-founded ARTizen Music Group, now known as Artistry Music, and once had Rykodisc as a distributor.
Braun has twice been named Gavin Reports "Artist of the Year".
| Intimate Secrets | 1992 | Mesa | |
| Night Walk | 1994 | Mesa/Bluemoon | |
| Christmas Present: Music of Warmth and Celebration | 1994 | Mesa/Bluemoon | reissued by Atlantic in 1997 |
| Beat Street | 1995 | Mesa/Bluemoon | |
| Body and Soul | 1997 | Mesa/Bluemoon | |
| Full Stride | 1998 | Atlantic | |
| Shake It Up | 2000 | Warner Bros. | with Boney James |
| Kisses in the Rain | 2001 | Warner Bros. | |
| Esperanto | 2003 | Warner Bros. | |
| Yours Truly | 2005 | Artistry Music | |
| Sessions: Volume 1 | 2006 | Artizen | |
| R n R | 2007 | Artizen | with Richard Elliot |
| All It Takes | 2009 | Artistry/Mack Avenue | |
| Sings with Strings | 2011 | Artistry/Mack Avenue | |
| Swingin' in the Snow | 2012 | Brauntosoarus/CD Baby | |
| Can You Feel It | 2014 | Artistry/Mack Avenue | |
| Around the Horn | 2017 | Shanachie | |
| Crossroads | 2019 | Shanachie | |
| Rick Braun | 2022 | Brauntosoarus |
| Groovin' | 2002 | Warner Bros. |
| Human Nature: The Songs of Michael Jackson | 2013 | Heads Up |
| BWB | 2016 | Artistry/Mack Avenue |
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