Jazz
Donald Brown - Piano
Alan Dawson - Drums
Charnett Moffett - Bass
Steve Nelson - Vibraphone
Pianist Donald Brown hails from Memphis, TN., home of many great jazz pianists including Phineas Newborn, Harold Mabern, and James Williams. Upon Williams' recommendation, Brown replaced Williams in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, one of jazz's most popular bands. This is the second of Brown's CDs as a leader, and he is accompanied by vibist Steve Nelson, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Alan Dawson. An excellent effort by a greatly under-rated player and composer.
David Baker - Engineer
Michael Bloom - Liner Notes
Jerry Gordon - Producer
Yoshiaki Masuo - Producer
Greg Calbi - Mastering
R. Andrew Lepley - Photography
Donald Brown has had a fairly low-profile career despite his talents, settling in Tennessee as a teacher after a period playing with the Jazz Messengers and teaching at Berklee. This lesser-known effort, cut for the JazzCity label and reissued a decade later by Evidence, matches the pianist with bassist Charnett Moffett, drummer Alan Dawson, and (on four of the 11 songs) vibraphonist Steve Nelson. Brown contributed three of the originals and digs into such standards as "I Should Care," "Woody N' You," and Ahmad Jamal's "Night Mist Blues," uplifting such later pop tunes as "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "Betcha By Golly Wow." An excellent effort by a greatly underrated player and composer.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Donald Brown
Active Decades: '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Mar 28, 1954 in Hernando, MS
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Hard Bop
A fine pianist and educator, Donald Brown has also been a prolific composer. He grew up in Memphis and actually started out on drums and trumpet. By the time he attended Memphis State University (1972-1975), he was playing jazz piano. After years of local work, Brown replaced James Williams with the Jazz Messengers (1981-1982). He went on to teach at Berklee (1983-1985) and the University of Tennessee (starting in 1988), recorded albums as a leader for Sunnyside and Muse, and had his compositions performed and recorded by a wide variety of top modern jazz players.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
