“I’m not the traditional jazz or solo jazz artist. My father taught me how to play the trombone. There is no music school, college, or institution that can take credit for anything that I’ve accomplished with this instrument,” he says.

His first experience in mainstream music came in 1994. Bradshaw began to meet musicians, singers, and producers on the Philly scene that went on to become the architect of the neo-soul revolution: Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Tariq ‘Black Thought’ Trotter of the Roots, James Poyser, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and many others.

A few years later, Bradshaw was invited by his dear friend, Jill Scott, to take part in the recording of her first album and to tour with her after its breakthrough release. This connection led opportunity to meet with Hidden Beach Recordings CEO Steve McKeever, who afforded Jeff the opportunity to record his first album as a solo artist in 2003,
“Bone Deep.”

“Jill was with Hidden Beach Records at the time and told Steve McKeever about me and to check out the music I was working on. I didn’t want to seem too anxious, so a week later I sent him 3 or 4 songs. He really liked them and asked for more, so I sent him two more songs, the last of which was a song he asked me about that was an instrumental and I had told him that Jill was going to sing on that song. After a month or so, he hit me back, and I met him at Jill’s video shoot in Long Island, New York. He wanted to tell me in person that he thinks I have something groundbreaking and that he’s not afraid to sign a trombone player. He shook my hand and told me
welcome to Hidden Beach,” he says.

Since the release of Jeff Bradshaw’s debut album, he has had 20 years of valuable experiences that have shaped him into the veteran multi-instrumentalist, producer, and writer that listeners know and love today. Jeff’s raw talent and ability to connect with other artists have led him to work with the likes of Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Mary J Blige, Erykah Badu, Kirk Franklin, Earth Wind & Fire, Musiq Soulchild, and more.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bradshaw does have new music out. He continues to indulge in the celebration of the 20th Anniversary since the release of his first studio album. He recently gave fans a taste of "Jeff Bradshaw:20", with the release of two official singles from the project. The first offering was the smooth jazz-infused, "Carrie's Bread Puddin'," The second single, is the Eric Roberson featured song, "Make Some Time." “The song is inspired by people who hustle wanting to date people who hustle. 

 Here's a previous Check the Rhymes interview I did with Jeff in 2020: