Brian Brown (musician)
Encyclopedia
Brian Brown OAM
, (born December 29, 1933, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Jazz musician and educator. He plays the soprano and tenor saxophone
s, flute
s, synthesizers (including the WX5 Wind Synthesizer), panpipes and a leather bowhorn designed by the late Garry Greenwood, .
In early 1956 Brown returned to Melbourne from Europe and formed a new Hard Bop
band with like-minded players - drummer Stewie Speer
, trumpeter Keith Hounslow, schoolboy pianist Dave Martin and bassist Barry Buckley. The Brian Brown Quintet were regulars at Horst Liepolt's influential Jazz Centre 44 in St Kilda
, which operated from 1955 to 1960. The band were enthusiastic ambassadors for bop, introducing Melburnians to a musical style which was still largely unheard in Australia.
Brown made eight albums over an 18-year period heading various groups. He toured Europe with his Australian Jazz Ensemble in 1978, and also led groups doing experimental and original classical pieces from '80 - '86. He founded the Improvisation Studies course a the Victorian College of the Arts
where he taught from 1978 until his retirement in 1998. He appreared at the World Saxophone Congress
in Tokyo in 1988, with Tony Gould
, and in 1993 was awarded the Order of Australia
for services to the performing arts as a Jazz performer, educator and composer.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, (born December 29, 1933, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Jazz musician and educator. He plays the soprano and tenor saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, synthesizers (including the WX5 Wind Synthesizer), panpipes and a leather bowhorn designed by the late Garry Greenwood, .
Biography
Brown has performed as a soloist and with his own ensembles since the mid 1950s throughout Australia and in Scandinavia, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Brunei and Germany. He plays only original music. A self-taught player who emerged in the '50s as a leading figure in Australia and remained prominent through the '80s. According to Allmusic "Brown was one of first Australian musicians to develop a reputation for highly personal, individualistic style that was intense, lyrical and not simple imitation of an American great."In early 1956 Brown returned to Melbourne from Europe and formed a new Hard Bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
band with like-minded players - drummer Stewie Speer
Stewie Speer
Stewie Speer was an Australian jazz and rock drummer who is best known as a member of the 1960s-70s Australian group Max Merritt & The Meteors....
, trumpeter Keith Hounslow, schoolboy pianist Dave Martin and bassist Barry Buckley. The Brian Brown Quintet were regulars at Horst Liepolt's influential Jazz Centre 44 in St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, which operated from 1955 to 1960. The band were enthusiastic ambassadors for bop, introducing Melburnians to a musical style which was still largely unheard in Australia.
Brown made eight albums over an 18-year period heading various groups. He toured Europe with his Australian Jazz Ensemble in 1978, and also led groups doing experimental and original classical pieces from '80 - '86. He founded the Improvisation Studies course a the Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
where he taught from 1978 until his retirement in 1998. He appreared at the World Saxophone Congress
World Saxophone Congress
The World Saxophone Congress is a festival gathering approximately 1000 saxophonists and other musicians from all over the world. It is currently held every three years at a different congress centre in a different country and focuses primarily on the performance of classical saxophone music.The...
in Tokyo in 1988, with Tony Gould
Tony Gould
Tony Gould is an Australian jazz musician, pianist, composer and educator.Gould's many recordings and performances reveal his harmonic view of music and his love of music from both African-American and European jazz traditions, as well as the classical works of Bach, Mahler, Stravinsky and...
, and in 1993 was awarded the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for services to the performing arts as a Jazz performer, educator and composer.
Discography
- 1972 Brian Brown Quintet 1958
- 1976 Moomba Jazz '76 Vol. 2 (live LP Galapagos DuckGalapagos DuckGalapagos Duck is a popular Australian jazz band. Formed in 1969, they have an extensive history of international touring, including:*Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland*Jazz Yatra Festival, Bombay, India*American Musexpo...
/Brian Brown Quintet) - 1978 Brian Brown Quartet in Concert
- 1979 Bells Make me Sing
- 1972 Carlton Streets
- 1984 Wildflowers
- 1985 The Planets
- 1987 Winged Messenger
- 1990 Spirit of the Rainbow - Brian Brown and Tony Gould (Move records)
- 1997 Flight
- 1998 Last day on Earth
- 2001 Jupiter Moon
- 2003 Images
- 2004 Time will tell
- 2004 Circles
- 2004 Midnight
- 2005 Last Dance
- 2005 Inner Spirit
- 2005 Inner Light
- 2006 Mystic Sky
- 2006 Long Ago
- 2006 Another Time
- 2006 Texture of Light
- 2007 Seasons
- 2007 Magic
- 2007 Cosmic Light
- 2007 Contact
- 2007 Venus Moon
- 2007 Bells in the Night