Alison Brown Albums (10)
What The Critics Say
Jazz banjo virtuoso Alison Brown has carved out a unique musical niche for herself by combining a number of conventional elements in a personal way: her style of jazz is quite straight-ahead without sounding either old-fashioned or even really traditional, and her compositions are richly complex without ever sounding avant-garde or even self-consciously progressive. Perhaps most impressive of all, she never seems defensive about the fact that she's using a five-string banjo to play jazz -- her jazziest material sounds effortless and natural, but she also has no compunction whatsoever about bringing bluegrass and Celtic elements into her sound. On The Company You Keep she is playing and writing at the peak of her powers: "Crazy Ivan" opens the program in a minor key and a complex meter; "Forky on the Water" is a traditional fiddle tune arranged with a lovely Caribbean lilt; ":The Clean Plate Club" is strutting country-jazz that would sound at home on an old Bob Wills recording. "The Road West" is an adaptation of a tune by Irish accordionist Martin O'Connor, one that allows Brown to demonstrate her unique genius, which is to put chromatic sophistication completely in service to melodic beauty. The program closes with "Waltz for Mr. B," a sweet and quietly joyful tune written for Brown's infant son. "Drawing Down the Moon" is a slightly overlong slow number that tends to meander a bit, but it's the closest thing there is to a misstep on this excellent album. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Banjoist Alison Brown isn't an innovator along the lines of, say, Béla Fleck -- she doesn't play a tricked-out electric instrument or go off on electro-jazz fusion excursions. What she plays is mostly fairly straight-ahead modern jazz with elements of traditional American and British Isles music threaded through it. What makes her playing unique is its blend of chromatic sophistication and melodic inventiveness. When jazz players take on a Christmas music project, they too frequently use the familiar tunes as launching pads for longwinded, self-indulgent noodling; Brown, on the other hand, uses them as opportunities to create glisteningly lovely new arrangements -- some straight and faithful to the original compositions, others more adventurous. Her solos (and those of her band, along with guest fiddler/mandolinist Joe Craven) are creative and interesting, but never devolve into mere showmanship: the rather strange pairing of the Turlough O'Carolan composition "O'Carolan's Farewell" with the Dr. Seuss classic "Welcome Christmas" seems bizarre in concept but sounds great in practice; the same goes for Brown's mash-up of "Carol of the Bells" and "We Three Kings." This disc also features an unusual and very lovely 4/4 arrangement of "Silver Bells," which is normally a waltz, and a solidly swinging take on "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" The band finally stretches out with some extended soloing on a samba arrangement of "The Little Drummer Boy," which is followed at the end of the program by a hidden children's vocal arrangement of "Christmas Don't Be Late" (popularized by Alvin & the Chipmunks). No one who likes Christmas music will be able to resist the charms of this album. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Gifted, genre-hopping, and endlessly creative, Alison Brown has been endlessly compared to her male equivalent, Béla Fleck. While she shares the same broad view of bluegrass as well as the bottomless pit of talent, her warm, plucky, and distinctly melodic style of banjo playing is far more reminiscent of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band legend John McEuen. On Stolen Moments, the Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist dishes up 11 slices of Celtic, jazz, and newgrass that effortlessly blend the rural with the contemporary. Brown may rely on numerous guests this time around (including Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan), but it's longtime collaborator John Burr's piano that she sounds most comfortable around -- the two converse with such fluidity on some of the jazzier numbers that they may as well have combined both instruments into one. Highlights include the Celtic-tinged "Magnificent Seven" and "Carrowkeel" (the latter features some fine low whistle playing from Seamus Egan), a refreshingly earnest cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" (sung by Indigo Girls' Amy Ray and Emily Saliers), and a smoky rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel" (sung by labelmate Beth Nielsen Chapman). However, the most alluring piece appears at the end of Stolen Moments; the self-penned mandolin, conga, and banjo-driven "Musette for a Palindrome" is so unlike anything else on the record that one can only hope that it's merely a teaser for the next. More like this please. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While Alison Brown has received credit for her banjo innovations, she's often been crowded out by hotshot picker Bela Fleck. That's unfortunate, because there's more than enough room for two pioneering banjo players, and besides, both players have different gifts to offer. First of all, the Alison Brown Quartet approaches acoustic jazz from a different, perhaps more traditional, standpoint than Fleck & the Flecktones. Brown's banjo vies with John R. Burr's piano for fancy lead work, while both are superbly backed by bassist Garry West and drummer Kendrick Freeman. While the band doesn't mind playing lighter pieces like "The Wonderful Sea Voyage" and "My Favorite Marsha," they can also kick out the bluegrass jams on a cut like "Late on Arrival." This makes the unit more muscular than the Flecktones. Burr's piano also adds lots of energy, whether bopping along on "Etouffee Brutus?" or laying down bluesy ragtime on "Shoot the Dog." West and Freeman's ability to conquer every style from good old mountain music to Brazilian rhythms assures that the band moves forward with one voice. The band also displays a healthy sense of humor on "Spiderman Theme," a tune that'll have the listener climbing the walls, while a more serious side takes over on "Without Anastasia," a piece resembling a Bach fugue. It would be remiss to not mention "Daytime TV" and "The Inspector," two pieces jumping with spontaneous energy and featuring some great guitar work by Brown. One may not be able to please all of the fans all of the time, but Replay should please most of Alison Brown's fans most of the time. The Alison Brown Quartet distinguish themselves from competitors by building a solid musical framework and taking flight from there. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, whose primary group is a jazz quartet, returns to her bluegrass roots on this beautiful and exhilarating album. Well, sort of. The instrumental format is certainly bluegrass, given guest artists like Stuart Duncan and Darol Anger on fiddles, guitarists Mike Marshall and Tony Rice, and mandolinist Sam Bush, and with Brown's fiery five-string picking front and center. But much of this is bluegrass music of a type that Bill Monroe might not recognize; while "Late on Arrival" is a good old-fashioned Scruggs-style banjo showcase and "Fair Weather" a modern bluegrass song with all the standard accouterments, the twin mandolins and easy-swinging rhythm of "Poe's Pickin' Party" sound kind of like an old-time string band playing turn-of-the-century salon music. And then there are the cover tunes, which include a gently winning rendition of the old Elvis Costello hit "Everyday I Write the Book." The album's most thrilling moments come on the complex and exhilarating "Leaving Cottondale," which is both one of the prettiest and one of the most technically impressive of Brown's compositions. Here she's joined by fellow banjo maverick Bela Fleck for one of the most jaw-dropping passages of twin-banjo counterpoint ever put on tape. Call it bluegrass, call it newgrass, call it jazzgrass, whatever. This is one of the best albums of 2000 in any genre. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's a long trip down the career path from a top investment banker to a bluegrass banjo picker. But that's the path this very talented lady chose to take. To be honest, she has kind of traveled that path backwards, and more than once. Even before her teens, Alison Brown was winning contests for her skills on the banjo. One of those landed her a chance to perform on The Grand Ole Opry. She even did some recording before heading off to college -- to Harvard, no less. After finishing her schooling and spending a couple of years in the corporate world, she turned back to her music. Since then she has recorded a number of solo albums, including this 1998 one, Out of the Blue. Brown has won a number of much-deserved awards since the rebirth of her music career, such as the International Bluegrass Music Association's Banjo Player of the Year Award and even a nomination for a Grammy. The music on this album is bluegrass flavored with a little jazz. Fans won't notice anything untried or bold here from Alison Brown, but there are a number of good songs on this album, including "Mood Ring," "Rebel's Bolero," and "Four for Launch." ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide
'Alison Brown Quartet'
Release Date 1/1/1996
Tracks 10
Label Vanguard
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Alison Brown, believe it or not, is a five-string banjo player. The rest of her quartet is a standard jazz ensemble consisting of piano, bass, and drums, and you can be confident that there's nary a bluegrass lick anywhere on this album. Like her compadre Béla Fleck (to whom she must be absolutely sick of being compared), Brown figured out some time ago that the banjo is a fully chromatic instrument with every bit as much melodic flexibility as a guitar, and that its clear, crisp tone is perfectly suited to jazz. It works especially well as a bebop instrument, which Brown demonstrates on this album's opening track, the rollicking, Charlie Parker-ish "G Bop." It also works pretty well as a cool jazz instrument, which Brown demonstrates on the album's second track, the loping, Bill Evans-ish "Red Balloon." This sort of stylistic variety is grist for Brown's mill, but it doesn't always work in her favor: "My Favorite Marsha" (one of several tracks on which she switches to guitar) is nice but borders on new acoustic sappiness -- her guitar playing is good but not exceptional. However, "Without Anastasia" draws nicely on classical influences without sounding pedantic, and "Banjo Mambo (Revisited)" is a very fun Latin romp. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Five-string banjoist Alison Brown deftly incorporates Cajun, Celtic, Caribbean, and Native American music into her progressive bluegrass sound, making for a cleanly played set that's as crisp as white sheets on a springtime clothesline. "View From Above" is a shuffling, lightly jazzed number that plays Brown's banjo off of steel pans, while the title track glides along on a cloud that's more substantive than adult contemporary, but still palatable to that audience with its tasteful soprano sax. Look Left was written as an experiment, bringing the banjo into new musical environments, so Brown's whimsical style hurdling isn't really out of place. On the contrary, it's handled with an unforced grace by all the musicians involved, so nothing ever seems like a bad fit. Wood flute adds real atmosphere to "The Red Earth," while accordion, fiddle, and even a didgeridoo all weave their way into the album's modernistic sound. Seamus Egan's uilleann pipes work particularly well on "Cara's Way/[The Little People]," which crosses a traditional reel with jammy bluegrass for something truly unique. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Produced by Mike Marshall, Brown moves in several new directions, showing off the breadth of her talent while keeping the composition at the center of her playing. Jazzier, yet also more relaxed, than her debut. Maura O'Connell provides vocals on a traditional Irish song. ~ Michael McCall, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Her all-instrumental debut instantly earned respect among progressive acoustic music fans. Produced by David Grisman, and feauturing guests Mike Marshall and Alison Krauss, Brown weaves cello, flute and congas into her hybrid string sound, and she maintains an innate elegance amid the tricky arranging. ~ Michael McCall, All Music Guide
