Who is Mister Bain?

A Brooklyn born vocal storyteller that sings the American tradition from Jazz, Pop and Soul and in a nod to his Caribbean Heritage, the rarely heard folk genre of Calypso music. He also writes original music with a vintage flavor.

Above Photo by Kolin Mendez Photography.

Brandon Bain is a writer, vocalist and visual storyteller. 

Popularly welcome at all of New York’s major Jazz clubs, Bain was a staple at the legendary Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem and has performed at the Apollo Music Cafe, Birdland, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer’s Night Swing, the Havana Jazz Festival in Cuba and the All My Friends Are Stars Music Festival in Sweden. He has hosted a week-long celebration of Caribbean-American Heritage performing Jazz, Pop and Calypso standards at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. 

As a visual artist Bain found his niche as a videographer on the New York City Jazz scene focusing on younger talent. He specializes in stylized short-form documentaries, legacy projects and capturing performances for under sung musicians in traditional genres like Jazz, the Blues and spoken word. 

Bain won $2,600 in the New York State Lottery and used the funds to buy a Canon Mark II 5D camera. By 2012, he founded the Capsulocity Network, a self-funded web series for up and coming talent and experienced legends. 

His series has documented nearly 200 artists at the beginning of their careers and won a 2015 Jazz Journalists Association Award for “Best Short-Form Video.”  NPR succinctly profiled his award-winning series as “unscripted magic.”

Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn he developed a passion for storytelling after interviewing his late-grandmother about her life. He was personally hired by Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to build the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youtube Channel and was a director for its “A Night in the Life” series documenting seasoned jazz veterans like Vocalist Jon Hendricks (Lambert, Hendricks and Ross), Singer Marilyn Maye and trumpeter Clark Terry among others. 

He studied at Brooklyn College and created his own Bachelor of Science degree in T.V. Radio and Journalism and also studied abroad at the University of London and Nanjing Normal University in China. As a writer, he has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, AM New York, SCRATCH Magazine, Teen People and more. His videos have appeared on Tidal. He also writes poetry and short stories on his spare time.

He is currently producing a new series, #ArtWithIntention where New York artists will perform original works and discuss why they create the things they do and is building his own podcast, The Chill Pill both on the Capsulocity Network. Bain also created a t-shirt and sweater line, “Reclaiming My Royalty” to encourage self love as a mantra for creators.