Stuart Broomer

Stuart Broomer
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Music critic, editor, pianist, writer, jazz historian, composer
Employer	Coach House Books, George Brown College
Known for	Music criticism, Time and Anthony Braxton (2009), CODA magazine editor
Education	The Royal Conservatory of Music
Children	1

Stuart Broomer is a Canadian music critic, editor, pianist, writer, jazz historian, and composer whose work has shaped the critical discourse around free jazz and improvised music for several decades. Based in Toronto, Broomer has contributed music criticism and reviews to a wide range of publications, including The Globe and Mail, Down Beat, Musicworks, Cadence Magazine, Signal to Noise, ParisTransatlantic, and Toronto Life, as well as writing for online platforms such as Amazon.com and The Free Jazz Collective. He served as an editor at CODA magazine, one of the longest-running jazz periodicals in Canada, and has worked as an editor at Coach House Books, a prominent independent Canadian publishing house. As a performer, Broomer is known for his work as a pianist in the jazz trio Broomer, Mars & Smith during the 1970s and the duo Stuart Broomer & John Mars in the 1980s. His book Time and Anthony Braxton, a critical study of the American composer and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, was published by The Mercury Press in 2009. Broomer is also a member of the music faculty at George Brown College in Toronto and has authored more than sixty liner essays for musicians internationally.

Early Life

Stuart Broomer grew up in Canada and developed an early interest in music. Details of his precise birth date and birthplace have not been widely documented in public sources. He pursued formal musical training at The Royal Conservatory of Music, where he studied music composition and piano under Samuel Dolin, a Canadian composer and educator who was a significant figure in Canadian contemporary music pedagogy. This training provided Broomer with a foundation in both classical composition and performance that would inform his later work as a pianist in jazz and improvised music contexts, as well as his analytical approach to music criticism.

Education

Broomer is a graduate of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where his studies focused on music composition and piano performance. His principal teacher was Samuel Dolin, a composer and pedagogue associated with the Conservatory for many years. The rigorous compositional and theoretical training Broomer received at the Conservatory influenced both his performing career and his later work as a music critic and historian, equipping him with the technical vocabulary and analytical framework that characterize his writing on jazz and improvised music.

Career

Performance

As a pianist, Broomer was active in the Canadian improvised and jazz music scene beginning in the 1970s. He is known for performing in the jazz trio Broomer, Mars & Smith, which was active during the 1970s and featured compositions by Broomer in its repertoire. The trio included drummer John Mars, who would remain Broomer's long-term musical collaborator. During the 1980s, Broomer continued performing in the duo Stuart Broomer & John Mars, which also incorporated Broomer's original compositions. The duo released an album, Annihilated Surprise, in 1983 on Ugly Dog Records. Broomer's performing work situated him within the broader landscape of Canadian creative and improvised music, a scene that included collaborations and cross-pollinations between jazz, free improvisation, and contemporary composition.

Editing and Publishing

Broomer served as an editor at CODA magazine, a Canadian jazz publication that was one of the most respected jazz journals in the world during its decades of publication. CODA was known for its in-depth coverage of jazz and improvised music, and Broomer's editorial tenure contributed to the magazine's reputation for serious critical engagement with the art form.

Following his work at CODA, Broomer took on the role of editor at Coach House Books, an independent literary publisher based in Toronto known for publishing experimental and innovative Canadian literature and nonfiction. His work at Coach House Books represents a parallel strand in his career as a literary and editorial professional, complementing his activities as a music critic and historian.

Music Criticism

Broomer has been one of the most prolific and widely published music critics working in the field of jazz and improvised music in Canada. His criticism has appeared in a broad array of publications, spanning both print and digital media. In Canada, he has written for The Globe and Mail, the country's newspaper of record, where he contributed music criticism and reviews. He has also contributed to Toronto Life magazine and Musicworks, a Canadian publication dedicated to sound and music exploration.

Internationally, Broomer has written for several prominent music publications, including Down Beat, the long-running American jazz magazine. His work has also appeared in Cadence Magazine, Signal to Noise, and ParisTransatlantic, publications that specialize in coverage of jazz, free improvisation, and experimental music.

In more recent years, Broomer has been a regular contributor to The Free Jazz Collective, an online publication dedicated to the review and discussion of free jazz and improvised music. His reviews for the site have covered a wide range of recordings and artists, reflecting his deep and ongoing engagement with contemporary developments in the field. Among his contributions, Broomer has written reviews of recordings by artists such as Bobby Naughton, Wadada Leo Smith, and Perry Robinson, covering a 1976 session released by Lithuania's No Business label. He has also reviewed albums by Rodrigo Amado's The Bridge ensemble, featuring Alexander von Schlippenbach, Gerry Hemingway, and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten.

In 2024 and 2025, Broomer continued to publish reviews with The Free Jazz Collective, including pieces on recordings by Carlos Bica and Burkhard Beins. He also authored a longer essay titled "The Free Saxophone and the Hated Music: Die Like a Dog, Live with God, etc." published in June 2025, which demonstrated his continued engagement with the histories and aesthetics of free improvisation. He participated in The Free Jazz Collective's annual top-ten lists, including the 2020 edition, contributing his selections alongside other critics.

Liner Notes

In addition to his published criticism, Broomer has authored more than sixty liner essays for recordings by musicians internationally. Liner notes represent a distinct form of music writing that combines critical analysis, historical context, and interpretive commentary, and Broomer's prolific output in this area has made him a sought-after writer among recording artists and labels working in jazz and improvised music.

Book: Time and Anthony Braxton

Broomer's most substantial published work is Time and Anthony Braxton, a book-length critical study of the American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and theorist Anthony Braxton. The book was published by The Mercury Press in 2009 (ISBN 978-1551281445). Braxton is one of the most significant figures in post-1960s American experimental music, known for his vast and complex body of compositions and his philosophical systems for organizing and conceptualizing music. Broomer's study offers a sustained critical engagement with Braxton's work, examining the temporal dimensions and structural innovations that define his musical output. The book represents one of relatively few monograph-length studies of Braxton's music and career, contributing to the growing body of scholarly and critical literature on this important figure.

Teaching

Broomer is a member of the music faculty at George Brown College in Toronto, where he contributes to the education of music students. His teaching career represents another dimension of his engagement with music, allowing him to share his extensive knowledge of jazz history, improvised music, and music criticism with emerging musicians and scholars.

Personal Life

Stuart Broomer is based in Toronto, Canada. He is the father of Stephen Broomer, a video essayist and experimental filmmaker.

Legacy

Stuart Broomer's career, spanning several decades of activity as a critic, editor, performer, and educator, has made him a notable figure in the documentation and critical interpretation of jazz and improvised music in Canada and internationally. Through his editorial work at CODA magazine, he contributed to one of the most significant jazz periodicals in the world, helping to shape the critical conversation around creative music during a formative period. His ongoing criticism, published across a wide range of print and online outlets from The Globe and Mail to Down Beat to The Free Jazz Collective, has provided sustained and informed commentary on the evolving landscape of free jazz and improvised music.

His book Time and Anthony Braxton stands as a significant contribution to the critical literature on one of the most complex and prolific figures in contemporary music. By engaging with Anthony Braxton's work at book length, Broomer provided a resource for scholars, musicians, and listeners seeking to understand Braxton's musical innovations and philosophical frameworks.

As a performer, Broomer's work with John Mars in the 1970s and 1980s placed him within the network of Canadian musicians exploring free and improvised approaches to jazz, contributing original compositions to a scene that has produced a number of internationally recognized artists. His more than sixty liner essays have provided contextual and analytical writing that has accompanied recordings by musicians around the world, further extending his influence as a critical voice in the field.

His teaching at George Brown College has allowed him to transmit his knowledge and critical perspective to new generations of musicians. The breadth of Broomer's activities — as performer, critic, editor, author, liner note writer, and educator — reflects a career dedicated to the documentation, interpretation, and advancement of jazz and improvised music.