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Otis Brown III

Hackensack, N.J. native, drummer and composer Otis Brown III was destined for success in his field. Born not far from Rudy Van Gelder's legendary recording studio, Otis' mother was working as a vocal music teacher/choir director and his father a percussionist at the time of his birth. Hearing music from conception in this fertile, music rich, environment would prove to be invaluable for his future.

Since his birth in NJ, Otis has traveled a path that has led to him being one of the most in demand, and well respected musicians in the world of music today. Expressing an early interest in music, Otis began his musical studies at the fertile age of 7. By age 12 he was playing lead alto saxophone in the school bands while playing the drums in the Baptist church.

After moving to Newark, N.J., home of legendary musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Sarah Vaughn, Larry Young and many others, he continued performing double duty in his school bands playing snare drum in marching band, and alto saxophone in the jazz and concert ensembles all of which were directed by his father Otis Brown Jr.

Otis decided to pursue his musical education in college at Delaware State University. It was there where he truly began to develop as a musician. It was also there where he would meet legendary trumpeter Donald Byrd, an encounter that would change his life. He spent countless hours under the wings of Dr. Byrd grasping all that he could. Realizing the potential of the young musician, Donald Byrd suggested that Otis continue his studies in New York, the jazz center of the world. After completing his studies in Delaware he did just that. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious New School University.

While at the New School he had the opportunity to study with musicians such as Larry Goldings, Sam Yahel, John Riley, Carl Allen, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Lenny White, TS Monk Jr., Buster Williams, Reggie Workman, Lewis Nash and many others.

The New School proved to be the launching pad that his career took off from. Not long after enrolling there his classmates began to take notice and started hiring him. Many of those classmates, along with Otis himself, are some of the top musicians in the world today. Musicians like recent Blue Note recording artist Robert Glasper, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, Interscope recording artist Bilal, recording artist Tiombe Lockhart, London's Grand Central vocalist Niko, and saxophonist John Ellis.

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Album Review

Matthew Whitaker: Connections

Read "Connections" reviewed by La-Faithia White


Multi-instrumentalist Matthew Whitaker opens up and shares some personal moments on Connections. The journey begins with the light, suave “Journey Uptown." The tune grabs attention right away with an energetic upbeat feel which takes one on a magical journey of percussion and piano. “Bye-Ya" features Jon Batiste on piano. Written by Thelonious Monk, Batiste and Whitaker display their talents on piano and other keyboards. The sound is theatrical and has an Art Tatumish feel. “Stop Fighting" has ...

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Album Review

Anne Mette Iversen Quartet + 1: Racing a Butterfly

Read "Racing a Butterfly" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


A working collective since 2002, Anne Mette Iversen's quartet—saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Danny Grissett, drummer Otis Brown III and Iversen herself on bass—has developed a unique musical language, which transcends typical stigmas of the genre and demonstrates a special sense of light-footedness in navigating through the different bars and meters, all the while evading the self-indulgent. Augmented to a quintet with the addition of trombonist Peter Dahlgren, Racing A Butterfly sees Iverson building on concepts introduced on past outings Milo ...

8
Album Review

Anne Mette Iversen: Racing a Butterfly

Read "Racing a Butterfly" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Many can surely recall the sunny, childlike fervor and bounce chasing a butterfly. Whether it was the park behind the projects or a rolling, rural vista, a feeling of wonder and wander settled into our core memory, only to be summoned in up from the subconscious to displace the current. Even if but for a moment. Even if but for the forty-eight or so minutes of Racing a Butterfly's capering wit. No one is afraid to follow a ...

7
Live Review

Otis Brown III + Revive Big Band at Central Park Summerstage

Read "Otis Brown III + Revive Big Band at Central Park Summerstage" reviewed by Ernest Barteldes


Otis Brown III + Revive Big Band Blue Note Records 75th Anniversary at Central Park Summerstage August 3, 2014 New York, NY On an evening dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records (now a subsidiary of Universal Music), drummer Otis Brown III began the proceedings by leading his quintet through hard-bopping original material, opening with “The Way to the Light," a rumba-based tune with a simple structure that became fodder ...

381
Album Review

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

Read "Esperanza" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins


From a guest appearance on Stanley Clarke's The Toys of Men (Heads Up, 2007) to her self-titled debut, Esperanza Spalding is turning heads, and opening lots of ears. After an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the host called the 23-year-old vocalist/bassist/composer “the coolest guest" he'd ever had. Spalding is indeed cool, having enrolled at Berklee College of Music at 16, and ultimately becoming the institution's youngest professor in its history. She landed gigs with Patti ...

299
Album Review

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

Read "Esperanza" reviewed by Ernest Barteldes


On this major label debut, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding demonstrates plenty of eclecticism, taking on styles ranging from samba, hard-driving jazz and R&B, a risky combination in less confident hands. However, Spalding revels in the multiple directions without ever sounding pretentious. The Berklee College alum opens the disc singing in fluent Portuguese, with a small hint of an accent, on “Ponta de Areia," a Milton Nascimento/Fernando Brandt composition originally featured on Wayne Shorter's Native Dancer and often covered ...

407
Album Review

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

Read "Esperanza" reviewed by Jeff Winbush


For the purist who wants to know what all the excitement is about Esperanza Spalding, they can skip directly to track 11--"If That's True"--of her sophomore album Esperanza, where she works out on the acoustic bass in an all-out jam with Donald Harrison on alto saxophone and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. It flat-out smokes, and showcases the Berklee-trained bassist as potentially one of the more promising young talents in jazz. First though, she's going to have to ...

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Primary Instrument

Drums

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Connections

Resilience Music
2021

buy

Racing a Butterfly

Bjurecords
2020

buy

The Thought of You

Blue Note Records
2014

buy

Esperanza

Heads Up International
2008

buy

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