Braxton Cook Releases His New Full-Length Album ‘Not Everyone Can Go’; Headline Tour On Sale Now

Today, award-winning, Juilliard-trained singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Braxton Cook is proud to release his new album, Not Everyone Can Go, via Nettwerk. The fourteen-song odyssey is a visionary statement on conflict, resolution, and renewed love. It was conceived in a moment of transition and reflects the tensions after a year of balancing a busy touring schedule with family life. The album’s arc stretches from uncertainty to gratitude, as Braxton doubles down on his family, letting go of what no longer serves him. 

Braxton explains: “There’s a lot to be up in arms about, a lot to be stressed about, a lot to be scared about. But this particular record is a reminder to myself and others to take stock in what it is you have and be grateful for the breath in your lungs. It’s like, ‘Man, I’m alive.’ I got up today. I have two beautiful kids. And it’s going to be alright.”

As his most collaborative effort yet, Braxton draws from all parts of Black American music, expanding the definition of what jazz can be. Notable features include Elijah Fox, Nate Smith, Joshua Crumbly, Marie Dahlstrom, NAVVY, and more. Standout singles like “Zodiac,” “My Everything,” and “We’ve Come So Far” debuted on his  NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance earlier this year. As NPR producer Ashley Pointer stated, Braxton Cook is ready to take “center stage” with his most dynamic release to date. 

Braxton will bring his new material on the road with a string of Fall headline tour dates, including the Black Radio Experience in Napa, alongside Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding, and others. He’ll also appear at the long-awaited Blue Note Los Angeles, performing two nights on September 9th and 10th to help kick off the venue’s opening month., Braxton will travel to Europe and the UK in November to make his return. Find the complete list of tour dates below, and for more information, visit www.braxtoncook.com.

LISTEN & SHARE BRAXTON COOK “I JUST WANT YOU” HERE:
https://youtu.be/LNt3c-iD5nk

When artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Braxton Cook started working on the album that would become Not Everyone Can Go, his life was going through many transitions that he just couldn’t ignore. After a whirlwind year touring across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Cook reflected on the difficulties of juggling his career with family life. “It was a lot to manage,” he says. He noticed a theme emerging and came to the conclusion: It was OK to let go of things that weren’t serving him any longer. Transitions were natural as he stepped into fatherhood. “It was only pushing me more in that direction of understanding,” he continued. “There’s grief that comes along with having to let certain things go to make time for the things I truly value.”

One can hear Cook breaking through on Not Everyone Can Go, a mix of jazz and R&B that feels indebted to similar hybrids of yesteryear. Musically, the album conjures images of bright evening sunshine, when the temperature begins to cool. Not quite Quiet Storm, instead, Not Everyone Can Go dabbles between the margins, which won’t surprise those who’ve followed Cook to this point. Across albums like Somewhere In Between, No Doubt, and Who Are You When No One Is Watching?, he’s made a career of blurring the lines between genres, landing on a sound that isn’t one thing, in particular. While that’s made his music tough to pin down, that also makes it all the more intriguing. That you can’t label it just R&B or just jazz lends to the music’s attraction.

Lyrically, Not Everyone Can Go follows the trek of conflict, from where a romantic relationship faces challenges to when the couple makes it to the other side. The album soundtracks that journey without placing blame on one person or the other. Instead, Cook assesses his own role in the disconnect, as if doing the necessary self-work to show up fully for his significant other. The album’s second half incorporates love songs about the rediscovery of affection, taking sonic cues from late-‘90s R&B, with its slow, body-rolling pace and lush electric keys. “The last part of the album is the action for me,” Cook said. “It’s the act of rebuilding these relationships the way that I want and the way that I see them, and that’s what those love songs are about. ‘Bad’ is very much about taking my wife back out on a date. As if we were just courting each other all over again.”

Ultimately, Not Everyone Can Go is about embracing change, that when seasons arrive where moves are inevitable, you have to lean into them. “This particular record is a reminder to myself and others to take stock in what it is you have and be grateful for the breath in your lungs.”