Brad Cox
Kansas City, MO
composer, arranger, musician
Brad Cox is co-artistic director of Owen/Cox Dance Group, a group he formed with dancer/choreographer Jennifer Owen in order to perform their original music and dance collaborations. He is also founder and contributing composer for The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, a musicians’ collective dedicated to the performance of new large ensemble jazz music. Cox’s musical influences range from liturgical chant and traditional folkloric music to rock and free jazz, with particular interest in the communal aspects of music making and creating unity from seemingly disparate elements. He has dedicated the last 15 years to forming creative collaborative relationships with musicians and to writing music for those musicians. Cox has created a large body of work, including over 30 large ensemble jazz pieces, over 20 chamber music and choral works and numerous highly personal arrangements. He has written compositions and arrangements for the Argentine tango group, Tango Lorca, Sony classical recording artist Nathan Granner, and the Kansas City Symphony.
This bio/description was originally published in 2009 and updated in 2013. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).