Snider Student to Play Carnegie Hall, Just Like His Aunt

By Dirk Rowley

Braxton Headley, 16, is young enough not to have heard the well-worn joke about the tourist who asks a New York City musician how to get to Carnegie Hall.

“Practice,” he’s told.

“That’s true,” nodded Headley, “that’s true.”

Headley has spent much of his summer vacation getting ready for NYO Jazz, which assembles 23 “extraordinary young musicians” ages 16 to 19 from across the country to learn from world-class jazz masters, perform at Carnegie Hall and then embark on a whirlwind tour of Latin America.

“Every other day we’re flying out to a different city,” he added.

Headley, one of two bass players in the group, auditioned online for the spot.

Two months later, he learned he had been selected when his family and friends surprised him with the news in the Snider High School band room.

Headley is part of Snider’s jazz band and said he plays gigs around town, too, including the recent opening of the new location of Hideout 125.

He hopes to incorporate music into his future career as a teacher, not a player, which he notes offers a more steady stream of income.

It won’t be his first time in NYC; he saw his Grammy and Tony Award winning aunt, Heather Headley, sing at Carnegie Hall.

He thinks she will be there to watch him.

Either way, “it would be cool to play with her one day,” he thought. And he knows how to get there.