Randall Bramblett | |
---|---|
Randall Bramblett on keyboards at The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ, on September 14, 2013.
|
|
Background information | |
Born | 1948 |
Origin | Jesup, Georgia, United States |
Genres | Folk, pop/rock, acoustic, adult alternative |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Singing, keyboards, saxophone |
Website | randallbramblett |
Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek Symphony, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Bramlett, B.J. Thomas, Widespread Panic, and Roger Glover. He plays keyboards, saxophones, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, and his songwriting is influenced by blues, folk, and gospel music.
Born in Jesup, Georgia, Bramblett studied religion and psychology at the University of North Carolina, with the objective of entering the seminary. However, finding inspiration in the music of James Taylor, Carole King, and Bob Dylan, he abandoned his theological studies and pursued songwriting, soon moving to Athens, Georgia.
After establishing himself as a session musician in the early 1970s, recording with artists like Gregg Allman and Elvin Bishop, Bramblett toured with bands such as the Gregg Allman Band, Sea Level, Widespread Panic, and Traffic. Bramblett, along with Chuck Leavell, has been credited with giving Sea Level, described as "a jazz-influenced spinoff from the Allman Brothers Band," a new, unique direction. Bramblett has been described as an outstanding lyricist and vocalist. The songs he wrote during his time with Sea Level have been described as "philosophical, despairing soul and funk tunes and rockers."