Brad Riesau has been working as a music publicist since 1997 after running Rolling Thunder Records, a brick-and-mortar retail record shop in Wilmington DE for ten years. His background in music retail as well as his work as a freelance writer whose music reviews, columns and/or profiles have appeared in Jazziz, Dupree’s Diamond News, The American Book Review among others, was uniquely suited for the publicist’s role he found himself taking on. As a record producer (BZB; Tim Ries’ Rolling Stones Project; Butch Zito; Leslie Carey, Porch Chops), production assistant (Marian McPartland), recording artist and singer/songwriter (his own band, Porch Chops have been together going on 23 years and released 15+ albums), a published poet, concert booker/promoter (in San Diego in the 70s/80s and in DE from 1987 to present), and label head (rtRecords), Brad has a unique perspective running the gamut across many disciplines in the music business.
As a principal publicist, researcher and writer with DL Media from 1997-2009, he has been head publicist responsible for pr duties for artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, Derek Trucks Band, Bruce Hornsby, Marian McPartland, Ravi Coltrane, Hank Jones, Pat Martino, Greg Osby, David Murray, Charles Lloyd, Chick Corea, Mingus Big Band, Mingus Orchestra, Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Michel Petrucciani, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Jason Moran, Bill Charlap, Roy Haynes, Charlie Hunter, McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kurt Elling, Miles From India, Jazz Is Dead, Brian Blade, Oteil Burbridge & The Peacemakers, Miguel Zenon, among them.
Brad has been part of the PR team for clients such as Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Cassandra Wilson, Al Green, Harry Connick Jr., Andrew Hill, World Saxophone Quartet, Josef Zawinul, Dianne Reeves, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Tony Williams, Milton Nascimento, Billy Bang, John Scofield, Christian McBride, Eddie Palmieri and hundreds of others. He has overseen tour press campaigns for Keith Jarrett, The Blue Note 7, The Wood Bros, Mose Allison, Wayne Shorter, New Directions, Egberto Gismonti, and hundreds more. He has also worked press campaigns for boxed set, catalog and reissue projects of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Ken Burns’ Jazz, Monterey Jazz Festival Records, and others too numerous to list here. He is proud to have worked pr campaigns for well over 100 Grammy nominated projects.
Brad has also served as part of the publicity team for jazz festivals, clubs and events such as Marian McPartland’s 85th & 90th Birthday Celebrations, Piano Jazz 30th Birthday Concert, Jazz Journalists Association Annual Jazz Awards, Philadelphia Mellon Jazz Festival, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, Aspen Snow Mass Jazz Festival, Knitting Factory Jazz Festival, Alice Coltrane Celebration of Ascension, Blue Note Records 60th & 70th Anniversary campaign, as well as the launch campaigns for major jazz clubs such as The Jazz Standard, and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and the launch of jazz labels such as Marsalis Music, and Resonance Records.
Beginning his own ROLLING THUNDER PR firm late 2008 while continuing freelance work for DL MEDIA, Riesau worked with up-and-coming West Coast singer Shea Breaux Wells, prolific jazz vocalist Judi Silvano, and continued work with sax innovator Greg Osby helping launch the new label Inner Circle Music with initial releases from Osby, Michael Pinto, Sara Serpa, Jacob Yoffee, Lauren Severin, Meliana Gillard, Logan RIchardson.
Since going full-time with Rolling Thunder in 2010, Riesau has been honored to work press for esteemed singer/songwriter J.D. Souther, activist/saxophonist/bandleader Fred Ho, saxophonist Shauli Einav and continues as frontline publicist for Inner Circle including releases from guitarist Andre Matos and contrabassist Juan 'Snow Owl' Garcia-Herreras. Brad also serves on the board of the RAMJAM Festival in Elkton, MD, continues 28+ years as a volunteer at Philadelphia Folk Festival and currently is producing sessions for jam/rock acts DE-based Mad-Sweet Pangs and Bay Area band, Stackabones (featuring Howard Wales).
The contacts made during Brad’s 13+ years as a music publicist, and his intensive knowledge of music across stylistic boundaries has served him well on PR campaigns for labels such as Blue Note, Columbia, ECM, RCA Victor, Inner Circle Music, JLS Records, rtRecords, Mosaic, Marsalis Music, Concord Jazz, Zebra, Justin Time, Dreyfus Records, Slow Curve Records, Cryptogramaphone, Artists House, Legends of Jazz, Mack Avenue Records, Resonance Records, Stretch, Warner Brothers, Polygram, Times Square, Atlantic, Evidence, RMM, Garigista, Island, Freefalls/Pedernales Records, Savoy, Artistry Music Group and many more.
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