Bradley Joseph

Joseph also spent five years as musical director and lead keyboardist for Sheena Easton, including a 1995 performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

A number of subsequent recordings, including Christmas Around the World and One Deep Breath, also held positions on ZMR's Top 100 radio chart, with the most recent being Paint the Sky, which debuted on April 4, 2013.

"[11] He told Jane Fredericksen of the St. Croix Valley Press that "It was a big jump, you don't really realize it at the time, but there's no in-between — going from playing nightclubs to arenas.

[8] He assisted with the task of managing the 30 or more synthesizers onstage[15] and helped layer with the orchestra to create a "full-bodied, live-effect sound".

[4] Tour venues with her included Japan, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and the United States,[6] as well as routine appearances in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

[8] Joseph's music is backed by 15 talented musicians, some playing three or more different instruments, that make up a symphony of sounds ranging from quietly pensive mood music to a rich orchestration of classical depth and breadth.Joseph's style attracted the attention of Narada Productions,[25] a Virgin Records subsidiary, via the World Wide Web.

[8] Although Joseph said that working with Narada was a great experience music-wise, he did not like the lack of control over the end product and asked to be released from his contract.

[33]Joseph returned as a featured instrumentalist during Yanni's 2003 Ethnicity world tour,[34] and wrote his sixth album on stage after sound checks.

On these albums, Joseph arranges piano, orchestra, and soft rhythms to cover melodies such as "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (Burt Bacharach), "Fields of Gold" (Sting), and "Ave Maria" (Schubert).

[38] In April 2013, Joseph released his first album of original compositions in 10 years entitled Paint the Sky which debuted at #15 on ZMR's Top 100 Radio Chart.

[39] He received requests from listeners to do another CD with original compositions that incorporate lush orchestration along with the piano, similar to Hear The Masses and Rapture.

[29] Joseph's music has been heard in regular rotation in the United States and Canada by more than 160 major radio networks including XM and Sirius satellite radio, DMX; in the United Kingdom including RTÉ lyric fm; as well as airwaves in Japan, Spain, China, South-East Asia, Thailand, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia.

[2] Having experienced both avenues of recording on a major label and later choosing to be an independent artist, a combination of musicianship with business know-how has helped give Joseph staying power in the notoriously competitive world of music.

[21] "Wind Farmer" was inspired by childhood visits to a relative's farm near Olivia, and his company, Robbins Island Music, is named after a city park in Willmar.

"[41] Joseph's recordings can offer full orchestrations such as in Hear the Masses and Rapture that combine smooth jazz with contemporary instrumental themes.

"The arrangements are structured so that the trumpet can lead a line out on 'Be Still' signaling an introspective sort of mood; yet the strings swell on 'The Passage' engulfing the listener in an ocean of sound."

"[47] For the 2002 album One Deep Breath, Joseph combines "structured melodic pieces and free-form ambient compositions",[48] which "departs dramatically from the previous more explosive and dynamic music on his first two recordings, Hear the Masses and Rapture".

[51] Then the album closes with its title track, "One Deep Breath", that "floats and meanders for more than ten minutes, bringing in ocean sounds.

"[30] While discussing Classic Christmas, Gerry Grzyb, chairman of the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh sociology department, states that Joseph's usual approach is to play the carol straight, and then add his own twists.

"[54] In another review of Paint the Sky, Bill Binkelman of Wind and Wire says that "Joseph is one of the very best artists when it comes to crafting piano instrumentals augmented by the spot-on application of an assortment of keyboard embellishments, from standard orchestral accompaniment to more textural/new age elements".

"[55] About this album, Binkelman describes the song "Inside the Stars" as "an uptempo, joyous lead piano melody accented by bouncy rhythms played on kit drums, thumping bass, and tambourine plus superlative orchestral strings".

[56] In an in-depth analysis of the composition "In Dreams Awake", Binkelman opines that this song bears a strong contemporary classical influence and that some people might even hear strains of Philip Glass' music.

He says there is an exultant feel to the melody, but because Joseph maintains absolute control of nuance and shading the song never descends into overblown melodrama or bombast.

[53] Parsons characterizes this same song as "a concept piece that begins with an intense and intriguing theme for cello or viola and strings.

From there, the piece becomes dreamy and ambient, "floating effortlessly" on keyboard sounds until the original strings re-enter, increasing to the intensity of the first theme".

[53] Similarly, Debbage states that this song brings to mind the musical opening theme of that old western television show The Big Valley.

[56] In reference to the song "Secrets of the Sun", Binkelman describes "lush strings and gorgeous new age synths with the piano melody here brimming with a blend of the ethereal and the romantic with a dash of wistfulness besides".

Back track to 'Secrets Of The Sun' that gently sways in the piano and string arrangements with similar results found on 'The Edge Of My Heart'.

"[57] "The music is cinematic, filled with introspective piano solos, swelling violins, and a hypnotic song pacing that allows the listener to daydream.

[56] Cicily Janus remarks that, "Although Bradley has been, at times, pigeon holed into an offshoot of jazz, his message through his music is universal in its appeal and soothing qualities.