Mr. B’s Birthday Bounce

Featuring pianist Mark Lincoln Braun

with special guest, multi-instrumentalist Chris Tabaczynski

Sunday, February 19th – 4:00 pm

“…the future of blues piano is in good hands with Mr. B.”

-Jazz News International

“(Mr. B) had the audience from the moment he started playing…” — Jeff Daniels

The black and white keys of the piano sound beautiful when played with love, and few people truly love KCH’s Hamburg Steinway piano as much as jazz, blues and boogie-woogie pianist Mark Lincoln Braun, who will be performing his annual “Mr. B’s Birthday Bounce” at KCH on his actual birthday this year!

Born in Flint and a true Michigan institution, pianist Mark Lincoln Braun (Mr. B), has become one of the premiere purveyors of a vanishing art. Having learned his craft from the early masters (Little Brother Montgomery, Boogie Woogie Red, and Blind John Davis), Mr. B’s passion for showcasing and extending the tradition makes him a major exponent of an essential form of American music.

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Mark Lincoln Braun
Christopher Tabaczynski
Mark Lincoln Braun

Having learned his craft first-hand from the early masters, Mark Lincoln Braun (Mr. B) is a rare living link to the first generation of blues and boogie pianists. Steeped in the rich legacy of this tremendously exciting music, Mr. B learned directly from blues and boogie legends like Little Brother Montgomery, Boogie Woogie Red, and Blind John Davis. In demand for both educational programs and concert performances, he has performed coast to coast and throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, and South America. In 2002 he was a guest artist at the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. He is also the organizer of the annual Mr. B’s Blues and Boogie Piano Celebration which attracts major figures in the blues and jazz piano world to Ann Arbor for collaborative performances with Mr. B.

Mark Lincoln Braun was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. He gravitated to Ann Arbor in the 70s where the Blind Pig was an important venue for boogie and blues piano. While absorbing the tradition and developing his own approach, Mr. B was also listening to a variety of jazz pianists, especially those with strong blues roots such as Ray Bryant and Horace Silver. This broad range of interests enables him to feel equally at home playing boogie-woogie classics with authentic fervor and expanding the tradition into lively new settings, including jazz orchestra. Today he further promotes his art and breaks down stylistic barriers by frequently collaborating with such world-renowned mainstream jazz pianists as Monty Alexander, Henry Butler, Benny Green, Ray Bryant, Sir Charles Thompson, and Junior Mance. He has appeared on numerous National Public Radio broadcasts, including “Mountain Stage,” “Good Evening,” “Our Front Porch,” “The Flea Market,” “At the Bride,” and “All Things Considered.” and once even on screen for an upcoming (undisclosed) Netflix series.

Christopher Tabaczynski

Christopher Tabaczynski is a multi-instrumentalist from the metro Detroit area specializing in early New Orleans/Blues/Traditional/Swing music. He is a member of Phil Ogilvie’s Rhythm Kings (P.O.R.K.) and the Planet D Nonet (PD9). He is a devotee of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Dodds, Duke Ellington, Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Adrian Rollini, in addition to many others.