Home » Jazz Musicians » Alex Brown

Alex Brown

GRAMMY Award winning pianist and composer Alex Brown is at the forefront of a new generation of artists.  The New York Times says he plays “with a crystalline touch and a worldly approach.”  Brown frequently performs with his own group, and Downbeat Magazine described his 2010 album Pianist as “a really fine record that leaves you wanting more.”  In 2021, he released his second album as a leader, The Dark Fire Sessions.  Brown has been a member of Paquito D’Rivera’s ensemble since 2007, performing on and contributing arrangements to their Latin GRAMMY award-winning album Jazz Meets the Classics.  In 2021, he received a GRAMMY nomination as a part of Dafnis Prieto’s album Transparency.  In 2019, he was the pianist on trumpeter Brian Lynch’s GRAMMY award-winning album The Omni-American Book Club.  Brown also collaborates frequently with artists that include Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Christian McBride, Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, Miho Hazama, Cho-Liang Lin, David Shifrin, and has performed with Chris Thile on the American variety show Live From Here (formally known as Prairie Home Companion).  In 2016, he performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as a soloist with the Orquesta Symphonica de Mineria led by conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto in Mexico City.  Brown has performed in many of the world’s greatest venues and festivals including the Kennedy Center, Newport Jazz Festival, and the Hollywood Bowl.  As an arranger and orchestrator, he has had music performed by premier groups that include the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Brown has also produced and composed music for commercial campaigns for Orbitz, Zimmermann, Omega, and Vogue.  In 2023, he wrote the string quartet parts for Kendrick Scott’s composition Unearthed featuring Harlem Quartet. Brown has collaborated with SF-based rapper Andre Nickatina in a project reimagining Nickatina’s music for orchestra.  Brown earned his Bachelor of Music degree in jazz performance at the New England Conservatory and his Master of Music degree in studio jazz composition at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.  From 2018-2019, Brown served as a Visiting Artist in Jazz Studies at the Peabody Institute, part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  In the fall of 2022, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.  Brown is a YAMAHA artist.


Tags

18
Album Review

Alex Brown: The Dark Fire Sessions

Read "The Dark Fire Sessions" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Pianist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Alex Brown delivers his second solo album and follow up to his amazing debut album, Pianist (Sunny Side, 2010), with the audacious The Dark Fire Sessions comprised of nine superb original compositions of all rhythm-based music without horns or brass. The album contains a delicious taste of the Latin, Afro-Cuban and south American rhythms Brown has come to appreciate strongly, though it is not an entirely Latin recording, as evidenced by the various mainstream sounds on ...

10
Album Review

Dafnis Prieto Sextet: Transparency

Read "Transparency" reviewed by John Chacona


In Cuban music, emotional grandeur and extravagant virtuosity is built on a foundation of inexhaustible rhythm. So, it's no surprise to find an abundance of juicy melodies and breathtaking drumming on Transparency from drummer and MacArthur “Genius" Fellow Dafnis Prieto. Yet for all the astonishing things he does behind the kit, what stands out on Transparency is the dazzling formal sophistication of Prieto's compositions. Eight of the nine composer credits are his and the outlier, an arrangement of ...

116
Album Review

Alex Brown: Pianist

Read "Pianist" reviewed by Edward Blanco


With a little help from Cuban-born saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera the jazz world heralds the entrance of 22 year-old Alex Brown, capturing but a glimpse of his talents on a monster recording debut simply entitled Pianist. It was actually D'Rivera's bassist, Oscar Stagnaro,who began to gig with pianist around the Boston area, ultimately introducing Brown to D'Rivera, and the rest is history. Taken with Brown's skills on the instrument and his understanding of Latin music beyond Afro-Cuban rhythms, D'Rivera took him ...

238
Album Review

Alex Brown: Pianist

Read "Pianist" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


Even for a pianist with as prodigious a talent as Alex Brown, having a heavyweight in the music pantheon such as Paquito D'Rivera produce the debut album, must have largely been a dream. However, to pull off a debut as fine as this is a feat in itself. As a pianist, Brown has remarkable technique. Although he may still be searching for his true voice and that may take time, he appears to be closer than most. He is truly ...

Read more articles
Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

New York City

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Dark Fire Sessions

Self Produced
2022

buy

Chronicle

Self Produced
2020

buy

Transparency

Dafnison Music
2020

buy

Pianist

Sunnyside Records
2010

buy

Baths

From: Chronicle
By Alex Brown

Beyond Convergence

From: Chronicle
By Alex Brown

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.