Braxton Cook - Not Everyone Can Go (2025)

Braxton Cook is one of this generation's most exciting voices. An NAACP Image Award nominee, he has also earned attention from NPR's Tiny Desk, Forbes, The New Yorker, Fader and The Washington Post. A uniquely talented vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer, Cook blends jazz, soul, and alt-R&B into a fresh new sound all his own. While a student at Juilliard, Braxton toured with Grammy Award-nominated trumpeter Christian Scott and has since moved onto headline tours in the US, UK and Europe, graced the stages of internationally renowned jazz festivals and toured and performed with Christian McBride Big Band, Jon Batiste, Tom Misch, and Masego, among others. This album is about embracing change, that when seasons arrive where moves are inevitable, you have to lean into them. "Be who you are, obviously," Cook said. "But with that, some things will shift and it's okay. "This song and title track of the album "Not Everyone Can Go" sets the tone for what the album is about. It's about letting go of what no longer serves me during this stage of life; friends, relationships, partnerships, behaviors conscious and unconscious that I need to break free from in order to go to this next phase." "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, it's a reminder to myself and others to take stock in what it is you do have and be grateful for breath in your lungs. It's like, 'Man, I'm alive.' I got breath in my lungs. I got up today. I have two beautiful kids. And I'm like, it's going to be alright.".