(Photo courtesy of William Piskie, Rozsa Center) Jazz multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, this year’s guest artist at the Don Keranen Jazz Festival at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Braxton Cook, takes the stage and addresses the crowd in front of the Jazz Lab Band.

HOUGHTON — The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts welcomed jazz multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Braxton Cook backstage last weekend for the Don Keranen Jazz Festival. He played with Michigan Technological University student jazz groups including R&D Jazz Band and Jazz Lab Band.

Cook, 35, grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and attended Georgetown University before transferring to Juilliard Conservatory in New York City. He says working in the East Coast shaped his musical perspective but since moving to California his tastes have shifted.

“I went to Georgetown for like two years, then transferred to music school, went into Juilliard and I lived in New York then for like nine years,” he said. “And then the pandemic hit and (I) made my move.”

Before 2020, Cook put out three records, “Braxton Cook Meets Butcher Brown,” “Somewhere in Between” and “No Doubt” — mixes of smooth jazz and fresh ideas. In 2020, before the move out west, Cook released “Fire Sign,” one of Cook’s official forays into his now signature sound of smooth neo-soul vocals infused with his pre-pandemic instrumentation.

In 2025, Cook released his sixth record — and second on the Nettwerk label — “Not Everyone Can Go.” A sentimental record, culminating in low-key yet triumphant jazz compositions. The subtle drumming and steady saxophone improvisation carry the record, alongside the other marvelous synths, vibraphones and plenty of otherworldly inclusions.

Cook spoke about the process of getting involved at the Rozsa this year and how instrumental Director of Jazz Studies at MTU, Adam Meckler, was in the process.

“He’s the guy. He’s an incredible trumpet player who I’v known of, and you know, we got a lot of mutual friends,” he said. “It took a few years to lock this in but I’m so glad I did.”

In a statement from Meckler in the Jazz Festival’s digital program, he states his gratitude not only towards Cook for coming to Houghton to lend his experience to the students, but to jazz music’s rift-healing potential in the broader, cultural sense.

“I am grateful to Braxton Cook for his music, his expertise and his time spent with our students,” Meckler said. “There’s a lot happening in the world right now. A lot that is unpleasant. A lot that is meant to divide regular people. To pit us against one another… Our shared love of music, this space, this time together, proves that we are more alike than different.”

Cook spent last Thursday morning and afternoon with MTU Jazz students, working in a masterclass with them and a rehearsal with all of the student bands who played his music during the festival. He expressed his gratitude and awe over the students’ work ethic and their drive.

“I’m surprised, elated, inspired — all the things,” Cook said. “When I do these performances at schools that aren’t music conservatories, I don’t know how it’s going to go. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far with the kids’ passion, commitment — I know they are already juggling so much … it’s really, really cool and I do not take it lightly.”

To watch the full, two-day sets of the Don Keranen Jazz Festival, featuring guest artist Braxton Cook, visit the Rozsa Center’s YouTube page.