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John Brown

John V. Brown, Jr., leader of the John Brown Quintet and double bass player, is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. John began studying the bass with Susan Ellington when he was nine years old and has been performing professionally since his teens.

“I was always surrounded by music when I was young, and I especially loved my mother’s playing,” John says from his home in Durham, North Carolina. His mother plays the piano, and he remembers being inspired to take up the bass after watching the Duke Ellington Orchestra perform on television. Beginning with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra at thirteen, he filled the role of Principal Bass with that orchestra while still in high school. John studied with Craig Brown and John Cubbage of the North Carolina Symphony and with Daniel Swaim and Pam Andrews at Brevard Music Center in the summer of 1987. At UNC-Greensboro he studied with Jack Budrow, and while still an undergraduate, he began performing with the North Carolina Symphony. In college, John developed a great love for jazz and began pursuing careers in both jazz and classical music. He honed his skills over the next dozen years, performing the world over, and in 2004 formed the John Brown Quintet.

Terms of Art: A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers is the 2007 John Brown Quintet debut CD release, quickly followed by Merry Christmas, Baby just in time for the holidays. Two more CD releases are planned for 2008.

John has performed in the United States and abroad with artists Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Elvin Jones, Diahann Carroll, Nell Carter, Rosemary Clooney, Lou Donaldson, Frank Foster, David "Fathead" Newman, Nicholas Payton, Cedar Walton, Fred Wesley, Mark Whitfield and Nnenna Freelon, and he boasts a Grammy nomination for his performance and cowriting on Nnenna Freelon's 1996 Concord release, Shaking Free. His extensive experience includes performances at notable venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as major jazz festivals including the Playboy Jazz Festival, the JVC Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Jazz à Vienne.

Equally gifted in other areas of performance, John has acted in major theater productions, among them the Japan tour of Blues in the Night with Roz Ryan and Freda Payne, shows at the National Black Theater Festival, the Broadway Series South and off-Broadway performances. John made his acting debut in 1991 when he costarred in the role of Jimmy Powers (rewritten for John as a bassist) in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill at the Broach Theatre and performed in the same show (as the performing bassist) with Jackee Harry. On the big screen, John appeared in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Stompin' at the Savoy, Radioland Murders, Hellraiser III and Bolden, due out in theaters in 2008. Among John's recording credits is the soundtrack for Moon over Miami for ABC, done with Delfeayo Marsalis.

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1
Album Review

John Brown: Quiet Time

Read "Quiet Time" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


"Le donne odiavano il jazz, non si capisce il motivo" cantava Paolo Conte in un celebre tema, ricordando l'Italia degli anni cinquanta. Oggi il quadro è mutato ma se avete qualche amica o amico (non esiste una specificità femminile in questo) che giudica il jazz “poco melodico" regalategli Quiet Time e cambierà idea. In questo disco dal titolo emblematico, il contrabbassista John Brown guida un classico quintetto jazz in un repertorio di sole ballad, esaltandone al massimo ...

5
Album Review

John Brown: Quiet Time

Read "Quiet Time" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Bassist and bandleader John Brown was last heard backing Nneena Freelon on her Christmas (Brown Boulevard Records, 2013) release leading one of his decidedly larger ensembles. Quiet Time finds the bassist pared down to a classic trumpet-saxophone quintet size for a recital of after-hours tunes. Brown's fronting horns are trumpeter Ray Codrington and saxophonist Brian Miller. The disc is opened with a Miller spotlight, “Come Live With Me," presented haltedly reminiscent of the classic Saturday Night Live closing theme “ ...

149
Album Review

John Brown Trio: Dancing With Duke: An Homage To Duke Ellington

Read "Dancing With Duke: An Homage To Duke Ellington" reviewed by Edward Blanco


The history of jazz would not be complete without an understanding of just how influential Duke Ellington was to its development. North Carolina bassist John Brown appreciates the impact Edward Kennedy Ellington has had on American music, especially jazz, and offers his own tribute to the icon on Dancing with Duke: An Homage to Duke Ellington. Along with New Orleans drumming sensation Adonis Rose and the incomparable pianist Cyrus Chestnut, the John Brown Trio delves deeply into the Ellington song ...

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Festival

Fourth Annual Ocean City Beach (NC) Jazz Festival

Fourth Annual Ocean City Beach (NC) Jazz Festival

Source: Larry Reni Thomas

The 4th Annual Ocean City Beach (NC) Jazz Festival will be held on Saturday, July 6, from 5 pm until 8 pm. Scheduled performers will include vocalist Kim Pacheo with Richard Harris White, Jr., The John Brown Quintet and The Stanley Baird Group. Doors open at 4 pm. The event will be held in the courtyard of the Ocean City Beach Community Center, 2649 Island Drive, North Topsail Beach, NC 28460 (behind the Wade Chestnut Memorial Chapel). Ocean City Beach, ...

Recording

John Brown's Body New Release And Tour

John Brown's Body New Release And Tour

Source: Curtis Bergesen

“JBB IN DUB" OUT SEPTEMBER 18 ON EASY STAR RECORDS It's been four years since groundbreaking reggae band John Brown's Body last put out a record, 2008's “Amplify," which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Reggae Chart. The wait for new music is over, as the octet will release an EP of mostly instrumental dub, “JBB In Dub," on September 18th. Two days later the band kicks off their fall U.S. tour at One Pelham East in Newport, RI. The four-week ...

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Performance / Tour

John Brown's Body East Coast Tour

John Brown's Body East Coast Tour

Source: Curtis Bergesen

On May 10th, progressive reggae band John Brown's Body kicks off a ten-date east coast tour. The octet will be releasing new studio material later this spring. In the past three years, John Brown's Body has completed first-ever tours of New Zealand, the UK, and Europe. Their latest album, “Amplify," debuted at #1 on Billboard's Reggae Chart. Quote from drummer Tommy Benedetti: “We have a bunch of new music in the works... five dubs and an unreleased fan favorite are ...

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Recording

John Brown's Body:Amplify

John Brown's Body:Amplify

Source: JamBase

By: B. Getz

There have been many changes since we last heard a studio offering from John Brown's Body. In three years, we've seen several new members join the group, along with the departure of two founding members, guitarist/vocalist Kevin Kinsella and the late bassist Scott Palmer (RIP). The new record, Amplify (Mri), is the first record that Elliot Martin has taken control of, and the new collection adds his unique flame and righteous steez to the music. Amplify is ...

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Recording

A New Jazz Twist to the Holiday Classics: The John Brown Quintet Releases "Merry Christmas, Baby"

A New Jazz Twist to the Holiday Classics: The John Brown Quintet Releases "Merry Christmas, Baby"

Source: Mantra Public Relations

New York, NY -- Christmas classics are reimagined in the capable hands of straight-ahead jazz masters on Merry Christmas, Baby, the latest CD from the Durham-based John Brown Quintet. The upbeat rhythms and winding improv solos glide in and around trumpeter Ray Codrington's smooth vocals on a CD that would enliven any tree-trimming party. “Frosty, the Snowman," “Let It Snow, “I'll Be Home for Christmas" and nine other tunes evoke the traditional Christmas season and spirit. “I Saw Mommy Kissing ...

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Recording

The John Brown Quintet Shakes up Hard Bop for a New Generation with "Terms of Art: A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers"

The John Brown Quintet Shakes up Hard Bop for a New Generation with "Terms of Art: A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers"

Source: Mantra Public Relations

New York, NY -- True to the groove rhythms of hard bop made famous by drummer and bandleader Art Blakey, the John Brown Quintet is releasing its debut CD, Terms of Art: A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, on November 6, 2007. The disc promises to delight jazz fans and to spur a renewed appreciation for the legend it honors. “Art Blakey's music is home," Brown says from his office at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Quiet Time

Brown Boulevard Records
2014

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Quiet Time

Brown Boulevard Records
2012

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