 Bradlee grew up in the Pattenburg section of Union Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey where he fell in love with jazz at the age of 12 after hearing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" for the first time.He attended North Hunterdon High School and later the University of Hartford.Bradlee became a successful performer in the New York jazz scene, and served as music director for an interactive, off-Broadway theater experience called "Sleep No More".