Donald Brown

PAART is proud to present highly acclaimed pianist, composer, educator, band leader and recording artist Donald Brown at the Palace Theatre on Main Street in Crossville.  The performance will take place on Friday, April 30 at 7 pm and is the final event in PAART’s celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.    

Donald Brown’s lyrical, original music has found favor among many masterful contemporary players.  Mr. Brown became widely known for his Grammy-nominated composition "The Insane Asylum" first heard on Wynton Marsalis J Mood.   Art Blakey, Billy Pierce, Jon Faddis, Javon Jackson, Elvin Jones, TS Monk, Ralph Moore, Ralph Peterson, Renee Rosnes, Mulgrew Miller, James Williams and many others have recorded his compositions.   In fact, Donald Brown has already composed and arranged over 200 tunes.

Born in Hernando, Mississipi, he began his career as a drummer, received a scholarship to Memphis State University as a trumpet player and didn't study piano until college. Brown has performed since the 1970's, often as a bassist, with R&B stars such as Al Green, BB King and Denise Lasalle, top 40 bands, and as a studio musician. Throughout his illustrious career, Brown has been associated with a seemingly unending list of mainstays of the music industry including Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Roy Hargrove, Toots Thielman, Diane Reeves, Wallace Rooney, Donald Byrd, and Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Brown has recorded and toured on projects for Stax and Hi records, was a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and is currently touring with his own group. He is a skilled pianist and composer and is one of the most sought-after educators in the country. Brown has taught at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville since 1988, and he has also taught at Berklee, the Julliard School of Music, and the Brubeck Jazz Colony, as well as at many other colleges and universities.

Donald Brown first played rhythm'n'blues, which is still recognizable in is playing.  He is without doubt one of the most original and versed piano players of his generation.  In his highly inspired solos one can discover the entire history of jazz from Stride to New Thing and his highly individual and orchestral arrangements on all time standards.  The pianist has been lauded by critics for his "awesome technique", as a "powerful soloist" and "gifted composer".

Tickets for this incredible evening are $10 adults/$5 students and can be purchased in advance with a credit card by calling the Cumberland County Playhouse box office at 931-484-5000 or online at www.ccplayhouse.com (a small ticketing fee will apply).  Or, as always, may be purchased with cash/check at Crossville’s beautiful, historic Palace Theatre, 72 South Main Street. 

http://www.myspace.com/donaldbrown

For a sample take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VKz1w881s

With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in New York City 1982 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5bJN-hA39w