Alex Brown: Press

• “Alex Brown represents a very bright light - glowing in the midst of those who are yet finding their way towards his level of excellence. His discipline precedes a high level of artistry that rarely is found at his young age."
Cecil McBee, bassist

• “Alex Brown is the most gifted young performer I have seen in some time. His versatility is reflected in his high degree of skill on both violin and piano. I have no doubt he will be a major voice in jazz in the years to come.”
John McNeil, trumpeter

• “I'm really knocked out by 'Montrose Towing.' It really exhibits volumes."
Eric Reed, pianist

• "Alex Brown, blessed with virtuosic ability, is becoming a mature and serious pianist/composer. It is quickly apparent to the serious listener that Alex holds this music we call jazz in high regards. He will carry on this art form with an eloquent voice on the piano and a creative mind as a composer."
Allison Miller, drummer

• "I consider Alex the future of music; he's amazing, particularly for such a young musician, he has real soul."
Dave Valentin, flutist

• “Alex is playing at both a musical and technical level beyond his years. He is well on his way to developing his own personal approach to the music and will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come”
Ingrid Jensen, trumpeter

• "Whether it's composing, piano, or violin, Alex's warm personality and unbridled energy always shines through. I think he's a remarkably talented guy."
Fred Sturm
Director of Jazz and Improvisational Music
Lawrence University Conservatory of Music
Appleton, Wisconsin

• “Alex had demonstrated a remarkable level of musical maturity and creativity at his young age when winning the inaugural VCU High School Jazz Composition Competition. From the breadth and depth of his writing and his multi-instrumental playing, it's already clear just how serious he is about seeking his voice in the jazz community. He continues to gain insights from every available resource, and I look forward to hearing his future creations as a composer/performer.”
Antonio J. Garcia, Director of Jazz Studies
Virginia Commonwealth University

• "I've had the pleasure of witnessing Alex's impressive artistic growth over the years. He has always taken full advantage of the opportunities to play with some of the finest jazz artists in the world and it shows. He's a special individual and I know he's headed for a great music career."
Paul Machado
Executive Director
Telluride Jazz Celebration

Paquito D'Rivera Quintet; The Count Basie Orchestra; Nnenna Freelon
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Verizon Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
September 28, 2007


The first concert in the series of Mellon Jazz Fridays at the Kimmel Center kicked off in the midst of Phillies “fever,” with our local baseball team vying to hold first place in the Eastern conference, so the concert was interspersed with updates of the scores of the Phils and the Mets games by Anne Ewers, the new Kimmel CEO, and Mervon Mehta, seasoned Vice President for Programming. There was also an announcement that Mellon Bank had recently merged with the Bank of New York but thankfully would continue its sponsorship of this outstanding and popular jazz series.


However, the audience’s attention was quickly diverted to the anticipation of music as Paquito D’Rivera and his group came on to perform. It was clear even from the first few bars that this was a group of virtuosi making the finest quality Latin-based jazz instead of the pop-jazz mix all too typical of the genres comprising the world of latin pop. Diego Urcola’s up-tempo valve trombone solo on the first piece, “What About That?” from D’Rivera’s new CD, Funk Tango (Sunnyside Records, 2007), was done with carefully measured artistry reminiscent of the great Bob Brookmeyer, and Urcola’s full and rich timbre was a pleasure to the ear. Urcula's arresting tones, moreover, set the stage for what was literally a series of complex compositions, rather than just “tunes,” by a group manifesting exceptional musical sensibilities.


Bassist Oscar Stagnaro’s composition, “Mariela’s Dream,” also from the new CD, featured solos by the versatile Urcola on muted trumpet, D’Rivera on saxophone, and Stagnoro on his guitar-style bass, which he used to great advantage throughout. Starting out with the flavor of a “Dizzy” bebop tune (Dizzy Gillespie was D’Rivera’s mentor and colleague in the early days), the piece evolved through various movements, developing each while undergoing several transfigurations, ultimately culminating in a powerful tango-style rhythm. Such transformations can only be executed by the most proficient players and accomplished improvisationally by the very best of jazz musicians. A nod must be given to Gillespie here, because he was one of the pioneers, along with Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Gil Evans among others, in the coming of age of jazz as a full musical form--not exclusively an improvising soloist's idiom but an extemporaneous-sounding compositional expression influenced by the spontaneity of the individual player.


In keeping with the theme of the new CD, a tango composition by the great Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzola, revealed still further complexities in the capable hands of D’Rivera, who incorporated shifting moods, tempos, and intensities, as if his performance were a deconstructive and reconstructive study of Piazzola’s melody and erotic rhythmic pulsations. D’Rivera showed himself to be in total possession of the music both as instrumentalist and leader. Pianist Alex Brown, a twenty-year old boy wonder, played an astonishing solo both in terms of technique and musical expression. Brown is simply a budding genius of jazz piano (think Art Tatum and Bud Powell) and is likely to lay claim to some spectacular achievements in the future.


“Fiddle Dreams,” originally written by D’Rivera for violinist Regina Carter, proved to be a rich, elaborate work starting out in a bebop mode and developing a feeling of the gang “rumble” from West Side Story. Taking the notion of musical composition to still further heights, this piece literally included several “movements” in sonata form.


The set ended on a spectacular note, with an upbeat bossa nova. Super-rapid soloing by Stagnaro and a cool cornet solo by Urcola with shades of Art Farmer, led to an extended section with a Bach-like theme and variations suggestive of the “Well-Tempered Clavier,” including solos by all the members of the group. It reminded me of a mind-blowing recording of a jazz version of a Bach fugue by the transplanted French pianist Bernard Peiffer, an unsung hero of jazz who influenced Michel Legrande. You’ve got to be very confident in yourself as a complete musician to pull off something like this, and the D’Rivera Quintet certainly met the challenge with flying colors. All in all, they provided a magnificent set of serious music combined with the “lightness of being” which Mr. D’Rivera brings with him wherever he goes.


I wondered if the Count Basie Orchestra might prove anticlimactic after such a stellar performance, but there is something about the Basie sound that immediately grabs you, and this show was no exception. Percussion is crucial to the Basie idiom, and drummer Brian Grice drove the group with that remarkable combination of power and grace that Sonny Payne gave to the Basie band in its salad days. Coincidentally, Mr. Grice looks like you might imagine a Basie drummer in a movie, a big guy who moves around the drums like he’s got shock absorbers under his seat! Of the various standards performed by the group in the first half of the set, especially welcome was Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone” as arranged by the great Basie saxophonist and arranger Frank Foster, who also served as music director immediately after Basie's demise. Equally enjoyable was Foster’s arrangement of “Disconnection,” with a fine trumpet solo by Mark Williams, and a piece entitled “IQ,” dedicated to the legendary saxophonist, Ike Quebec.

The first half of the set was brought to a climax by two Basie classics, “One O’Clock Jump” and “April in Paris,” representing respectively what have been called the “Old Testament” and “New Testament” and incarnations of the band. The group was in top form throughout and magically evoked the sensational feeling of those heady days when Basie would make his short “clinks” on the piano (recapitulated now by Tony Suggs) and the whole ensemble would break out into unsurpassed swinging ecstasy. (Basie, always a master of understatement and brevity, was once asked to define jazz, and simply replied, “Tap your feet.”)


Hughes then introduced singer Nnenna Freelon and her music director (as well as arranger and, like Hughes, a trombonist), Dennis Wilson. Mr. Wilson admirably took over the podium, conducting the band in a controlled and nuanced way typical of the recording studio, in sharp contrast to Mr. Hughes’ minimalist and trusting Basie-like leadership. Wilson hunched over the band, using his entire body--hands, arms, shoulders, and trunk--to get all the details right. The group responded with a virtually airtight ensemble effect, backing Ms. Freelon to a “T.” Freelon started out with a swinging version of “Shiny Stockings,” then, mostly with the support of the rhythm section, did a lovely ballad called “I Have Waited So Long,” written by Sarah Vaughan. She dedicated “You’ve Changed” to Billie Holiday, in keeping with her CD devoted to “Lady Day.” On this number, Doug Lawrence peformed a lyrical tenor sax solo that would have pleased Lester Young and Johnny Hodges. This number was followed by superb arrangements of Gershwin's “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” Garner's “Misty,” and the Jerry Bock standard “Too Close for Comfort.” Freelon was fully up to the task of singing with the Basie band. Her timing and rhythm were impeccable, and she swung the music firmly but lightly with shades of both Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as well as her own unique “diva” style.


The set concluded with a standing ovation and an encore, a classic blues finale with Bill Hughes conducting and Freelon singing scat. At that point, the dynamic between Hughes and Freelon appeared a trifle strained to me, and mirrored a vague concern I had about the atmospheric shift caused by the abrupt change of band leaders and arrangement styles when Ms. Freelon and Mr. Wilson took the stage. Perhaps Bill Hughes could have handled the segue differently, but my misgivings were more than likely associated with the anticipation of a change in the band’s identity if and when Hughes steps down from the music directorship after his splendid tour of duty. It would be a shame were the Basie band--the foremost personification of the swing era itself--reduced to secondary status as somebody's back-up band.


Stellar vocalists like Rushing, Williams, Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Bennett, Vaughan, more recently Liz Wright, and a host of others who have thirsted for the opportunity, then realized their dream to sing with this great band, always stayed in the more humble role of guest singer, while Ms. Freelon brought on her own leader and arrangements, taking over the reins from Hughes and the group. (As I recall, Sinatra brought some of his own arrangements--by Quincy Jones in particular--when working with Basie but never a music director, which would have been an insult to Basie, whom he admired and trusted.) In all fairness, everything Freelon and Wilson did was top notch and faithful to the Basie sound; yet clearly the difficult nature of the big band business is no less a concern to the last and arguably greatest of the big bands. The Count Basie Orchestra is an American institution going back to its earliest days in Kansas City in the 1930s, and I sincerely hope it never loses its inimitable sound and continuity with a tradition of over 75 years. This band belongs to America and not to any single guest performer or impressario, however talented he or she may be.


Paquito D’Rivera Quintet:
Paquito D'Rivera: saxophone/clarinet; Diego Urcola: trumpet, valve trombone: Oscar Stagnaro: bass; Alex Brown: piano; Eric Doob: drums

Count Basie Orichestra:
Bill Hughes: conductor and trombone; trumpets: Michael P. Williams, William “Scotty” Barnhart, Endre Rice, Freddie Hendrix; trombones: Clarence Banks, Alvin Walker, David Keim, Barry Cooper; saxophones: John Williams, baritone; Doug Miller, tenor; Doug Lawrence, tenor; John Kelson, lead alto; Marshall McDonald, alto; rhythm: Brian Grice: drums, James Leary: bass, Will Matthews: guitar, Tony Suggs: piano.

Nnenna Freelon: vocals; Dennis Wilson, conductor, trombone, and music director for Ms. Freelon along with the aforementioned members of the Basie Band.

The Third Annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival formally opened last night with a gala concert at the Inter-American Development Bank. Emceed by WJLA’s Leon Harris, it included short sets by three acts.

Native Washingtonian Davey Yarborough is a premier jazz educator: he’s a founder of the Washington Jazz Arts Institute, the Ellington School’s Jazz Studies program, and the Smithsonian’s Jazz Evenings for Young Professionals lecture series. He’s also an accomplished saxophonist, as shown in the straight-ahead New Washingtonians quintet. Concentrating on tenor for the three-song set, his fluid, ornate sound was best demonstrated in a thrilling bebop version of Ellington’s “Cottontail.” Yarborough channeled original soloist Ben Webster while tearing up the stage in his own improv.

The quintet’s other highlight was pianist John Ozment, who’s also an educator (he’s a professor at the University of Maryland). Though he used more flourish in the one ballad, Ozment played economically and rhythmically on the upbeat tunes, and displayed his absorption of piano tradition when he broke into a rollicking ’30s swing on “Cottontail.”

Yarborough didn’t talk much to the audience, but clarinet and alto-sax legend Paquito D’Rivera was full of entertaining banter. The festival’s artistic director presented a trio of himself, pianist Alex Brown, and cellist Dana Leong. He was funny: Introducing his “Fiddle Dreams,” D’Rivera explained that it was commissioned by the Library of Congress for jazz violin and piano, “but I’m playing it on clarinet because my violin is in the pawn shop.” The set was comprised of jaunty, bustling Latin jazz in various rhythms, including a rumba arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia.” (”Celebrating Dizzy” is the 2007 Festival’s theme, as this would have been the seminal trumpeter’s 90th year.)

While every musician was more than talented, I caught two who were phenomenally brilliant. One was D’Rivera’s 20-year-old pianist, Alex Brown, already a seasoned veteran who’s taught master classes at the University of Panama. D’Rivera noted that Brown had first seen the group’s confounding arrangements two days before, and mastered them all. Festival organizer Charles Fishman indicated that Brown has two more performances during the festival, accompanying Oscar Feldman at Bohemian Caverns Friday night and leading his own trio at Johnny’s Half Shell Saturday. See one of them: This kid’s got more talent than anyone has a right to.

The other prodigy was headliner Nnenna Freelon. Experiencing her is unique, and difficult to describe. Whereas Yarborough reached out with his music and D’Rivera worked the crowd with his wit, Freelon had us in the palm of her hand the instant she stepped onstage. Frankly, she looked a little crazy: hair slightly tousled, smile and gaze intense, and loose leopard-print dress continually falling off both shoulders. Nonetheless, she had a presense for which the word “regal” is inadequate; no royalty ever had such hypnotic command. Freelon was more like a high priestess.

Her voice, simultaneously clear and sandy, cast a spell through five songs, offering pathos and impeccably tasteful scatting. The concert’s highlight had D’Rivera joining her for Gillespie’s “Birk’s Works,” his clarinet accenting her (somehow) romantic scat with the only genuinely bluesy solo of the night. Also memorable was her intimate performance of “Stella by Starlight,” accompanied only by pianist Brandon McHugh. “This song has become an old friend,” Freelon said in introducing it, then evidenced that statement with the sensitivity of her vocal.

Charlie Fishman’s goal with the festival, besides celebrating Ellington’s legacy, is to elevate D.C. to a world-class jazz outpost. If last night’s gala is any indication, Fishman is damn close to that achieving that goal.