Rob Brown | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Rob Brown |
Born | February 27, 1962 |
Origin | Hampton, Virginia, United States |
Genres | Jazz free jazz avant-garde jazz free improvisation |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Alto sax |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | Aum Fidelity, Clean Feed Records, No More, Not Two, Marge Records, RogueArt, Riti |
Website | Official Website |
Rob Brown (born February 27, 1962) [1] is an American free jazz saxophonist and composer.
Brown was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States. [1] He started playing saxophone at the age of 12. [2] His first gigs were with a local Virginia swing band. He eventually studied at Berklee College for two years, [1] and worked privately with both Joe Viola and John LaPorta. [3] After a year on the west coast, Brown relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he met pianist Matthew Shipp. [1] He moved to New York in 1985, [1] where he enrolled at New York University, earned a music degree, and studied with saxophone masters such as Lee Konitz, but the teacher who had more influence on Brown conceptually was Philadelphian Dennis Sandole. [1] Brown travelled to Philadelphia by rail once a week to study with him for a year and a half. [2]
His first issued recording was the duet with Shipp Sonic Explorations (1988), [1] and since then has been actively leading groups or working as a sideman with Shipp, William Parker, [1] Whit Dickey, Joe Morris and Steve Swell.
He is a 2001 CalArts/Alpert/Ucross Residency Prize winner and has received many Meet The Composer Fund grants. In 2006, Brown was awarded a Chamber Music America New Works grant. [4]
Release year | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Sonic Explorations | Cadence Jazz | Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano) |
1990 | Breath Rhyme | Silkheart | Trio with William Parker (bass), Denis Charles (drums) |
1992 | Youniverse | Riti | Trio with Joe Morris (guitar), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1995 | Illuminate | Leo | Quartet co-led by Joe Morris (guitar), with William Parker (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) |
1996 | High Wire | Soul Note | Trio with William Parker (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) |
1997 | Blink of an Eye | No More | Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano) |
1997 | Orbit | Music & Arts | Collaborative trio with Guerino Mazzola (piano), Heinz Geisser (percussion) |
1998 | Scratching the Surface | CIMP | Quartet co-led by Lou Grassi (drums), with Assif Tsahar (tenor sax), Chris Lightcap (bass) |
2000 | Visage | Marge | Trio with Wilber Morris (bass), Lou Grassi (drums, percussion) |
2000 | Jumping Off the Page | No More | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet), Chris Lightcap (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) |
2002 | Round the Bend | Bleu Regard | Trio with William Parker (bass), Warren Smith (drums) |
2003 | Likewise | Riti | As part of the band Stone House; trio with Luther Gray (drums), Joe Morris (bass) |
2004 | The Big Picture | Marge | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet, flugelhorn), William Parker (bass), Hamid Drake (drums) |
2005 | Radiant Pools | RogueArt | Quartet with Steve Swell (trombone), Joe Morris (bass), Luther Gray (drums) |
2006 | We Are Not Obstinate Islands | Clean Feed | As part of the band The Diplomats; trio with Steve Swell (trombone), Harris Eisenstadt (drums) |
2007 | Sounds | Clean Feed | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) |
2008 | Right Hemisphere | RogueArt | As part of the band Right Hemisphere; quartet with Matthew Shipp (piano), Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2008 | Live in Chicago | Ruby Red | Duo with Andrew Barker (drums, percussion) |
2008 | Crown Trunk Root Funk | AUM Fidelity | Quartet with Craig Taborn (piano, electronics), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) |
2009 | Live at Firehouse 12 | Not Two | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) |
2010 | Natural Disorder | Not Two | Duo with Daniel Levin (cello) |
2011 | Unexplained Phenomena | Marge | Quartet with Matt Moran (vibraphone), Chris Lightcap (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) |
2011 | Unknown Skies | RogueArt | Trio with Craig Taborn (piano), Nasheet Waits (drums) |
2014 | Day in the Life of a City | Multikulti | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Jacek Mazurkiewicz (bass) |
2015 | Divergent Paths | Cipsela | Duo with Daniel Levin (cello) |
Release year | Leader | Title | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Whit Dickey | Transonic | AUM Fidelity |
2000 | Whit Dickey | Big Top | Wobbly Rail |
2001 | Whit Dickey | Life Cycle | AUM Fidelity |
2001 | Alan Silva | Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra | Eremite |
2002 | Whit Dickey | Prophet Moon | Riti |
2004 | Whit Dickey | Coalescence | Clean Feed |
2005 | Whit Dickey | In a Heartbeat | Clean Feed |
2006 | Whit Dickey | Sacred Ground | Clean Feed |
1999 | Joe Morris | Many Rings | Knitting Factory |
1994 | William Parker | Flowers Grow in My Room | Centering |
1995 | William Parker | In Order to Survive | Black Saint |
1996 | William Parker | Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy | Homestead |
1997 | William Parker | Sunrise in the Tone World | AUM Fidelity |
1998 | William Parker | The Peach Orchard | AUM Fidelity |
1999 | William Parker | Posium Pendasem | FMP |
2000 | William Parker | O'Neal's Porch | Centering |
2000 | William Parker | Mayor of Punkville | AUM Fidelity |
2002 | William Parker | Raincoat in the River | Eremite |
2002 | William Parker | Raining on the Moon | Thirsty Ear |
2002 | William Parker | Spontaneous | Splasc(h) |
2003 | William Parker | Mass for the Healing of the World | Black Saint |
2005 | William Parker | Sound Unity | AUM Fidelity |
2005 | William Parker | For Percy Heath | Victo |
2007 | William Parker | Corn Meal Dance | AUM Fidelity |
2007 | William Parker | Alphaville Suite | RogueArt |
2007 | William Parker | Double Sunrise Over Neptune | AUM Fidelity |
2008 | William Parker | Petit Oiseau | AUM Fidelity |
2012 | William Parker | Essence of Ellington | Centering |
2013 | William Parker | Wood Flute Songs | AUM Fidelity |
1992 | Matthew Shipp | Points | Silkheart |
1999 | Matthew Shipp | Magnetism | Bleu Regard |
2009 | Steve Swell | Planet Dream | Clean Feed |
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