Brownman Ali
Brownman Akoustic 4-tet - Christmas Concert (Kitchener) feat. Nick Maclean
TWH Social
1 King St W
Dec 21, 2019
8:00 PM EST
I Was There
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About this concert
Holiday Classics performed with a modern jazz twist by "Canada's preeminient jazz trumpet player" (New York Village Voice) and his hard-swinging mainstream jazz quartet! After 6 weeks of national tour dates, 2x National Jazz Award winning trumpet player BROWNMAN ALI returns to Kitchener's TWH Social bringing in his straight-ahead hard-swinging acoustic quartet -- featuring 26-year rising star pianist NICK MACLEAN on piano (fresh off of touring Canada with his own quartet) -- for some Christmas mirth. A yearly tradition during the holiday season, Brownman re-orchestrates many of the quintessential seasonal archetypes with his own unique musical visions.
Imagine:
-- "Frosty the Snowman" with a Cuban twist
-- "We Three Kings" as a hip-hop track
-- "Rudolph" as a hard-swinging tune
-- "Jingle Bells" in 7/8
-- "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" as a Brazilian Samba
-- "Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" like a 50's Miles tunes
-- "Do You Hear What I Hear" as down-tempo soul
-- "Silent Night" as a funk ballad
All these and more!
Holiday cheer interpreted and re-imagined by one of the nation's
modern jazz iconoclasts.
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BROWNMAN AKOUSTIC 4-TET -- HOLIDAY CONCERT!!!
www.AkousticTrio.Brownman.com
:: Brownman Ali - trumpet (www.Brownman.com)
:: Nick Maclean - piano (www.NicholasMaclean.com)
:: Nick Arseneau - bass (www.NickArseneau.com)
:: David Steinmetz - drums (www.DavidsteinmetzMusic.com)
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Sat-Dec-21, 8pm
@ TWH Social
1 King St. West, Kitchener, ON
(519) 745-8478
www.twhsocial.com
$20 door
$15 advance (via eventbrite)
$10 student w. ID (via eventbrite)
Buy Tickets: www.eventbrite.ca/e/85226748499
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"Equally at home in the tradition of the Great American Jazz Songbook, or pushing the boundaries of the artform as this iconoclastic trumpet player is most known for, the BROWNMAN AKOUSTIC TRIO never fails to surprise and delight with the journeys they are capable of taking you on"
-- NOW Magazine
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About BROWNMAN | www.Brownman.com
==========================================
Heralded as “Canada’s preeminent Jazz trumpeter” by NYC’s Village Voice, Brownman Ali - born on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad, & schooled in NYC - is a multiple award-winning NYC-schooled protégé to his teacher, Grammy-winning trumpet legend, Randy Brecker. He tirelessly leads 7 unique ensembles of his own including the internationally acclaimed Miles Davis influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO, and the award-winning CRUZAO latin-jazz quintet. All these ensembles record under Brownman's own much lauded BROWNTASAURAS RECORDS label, established in 2009. In high demand in the studio world with over 300 CD appearances to date, Brownman delivers stylistically authentic horn playing over a wide range of styles from bebop to hiphop having worked with the likes of Guru's Jazzmatazz (replacing Donald Byrd in that primordial ensemble), Mos Def, KRS-1, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Jay-z, Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gary Bartz, Chucho Valdes & far too many more to name here. He is considered to be one of the most unique and provocative improvising trumpet players in the nation today and is widely regarded as a vanguard for the evolution of Jazz in Canada.
"One of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers"
- Randy Brecker, multi-Grammy winning trumpet legend
A highly decorated player, his awards & accolades include 2 National Jazz Awards (with 11 nominations over the years), Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz" award, a CBC Galaxie Rising Star award, a SOCAN composers award, an International Independent Music Award for "Album of the Year", 3 Toronto Independent Music Awards "jazz artist of the year" (12 nominations), 6 Global Music Awards, a Black Canadian Award nomination for "Jazz Musician of the Year", an induction into the WHO'S WHO IN BLACK CANADA, a BRAVO! channel documentary on his life, NOW magazine naming him "Toronto's Best Jazz Musician", CBC Radio Canada named him "one of the most recorded trumpet players in Canadian history", NPR in New York calls him "the new standard in electric jazz", the Trinidad & Tobago Consulate General awarded him with a citation for being a "Distinguished National of Trinidad" and has been listed by Air Canada as one of the "Top 10 reasons to visit Toronto".
“Awards are nice, naturally, but to dig what Brownman is doing, you’ve got to see him live. I had a chance to do just that over the summer when Brownman fronted his killer trio ... I came away with a blown mind. This guy’s got chops galore, soul to match, and a sense of phrasing that recalls many of the greats, but suggests itself to be his own.”
- Buffalo News
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About NICK MACLEAN
www.NicholasMaclean.com
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Born in Ottawa, NICK MACLEAN is “one of the most gifted young Toronto pianists to come along in the last few years ” (Adrean Farrugia, Juno winning jazz pianist) and has quickly become one of the most in demand 20-something piano players in that city’s bustling jazz scene. Nick holds a Bachelors of Music from Humber College and a Masters of Jazz Performance from the University of Toronto where he studied with some of Canada's leading jazz musicians including David Restivo, Bernie Senensky, Nancy Walker, David Occhipinti, Andrew Downing, Chris Donnelly, and David Braid. Among his list of mentors Nick has studied and performed with "Canada's pre-eminent jazz trumpet player" (NYC Village Voice), the highly decorated BROWNMAN ALI who signed Maclean to his Brooklyn-based jazz label BROWNTASAURAS RECORDS in 2016 and later brought him on board as a label manager. Nick leads two multi award-winning ensembles, the hard-swinging NYC-style jazz ensemble the NICK MACLEAN QUARTET - a foursome that delivers jazz between the two poles of thoughtful introspection and powerhouse conveyance, taking influences from Herbie Hancock’s primordial 1960’s Blue Note era recordings - and the groove-based, electric jazz project SNAGGLE - a fearlessly muscular yet introspective group likened to a cross between 'electric-era Miles Davis' and 'Rage Against The Machine'. From Miles Davis & Herbie Hancock to Weather Report & Snarky Puppy, Maclean’s musical influences are diverse. Maclean is hard at work on a solo piano record taking influences from his two divergent ensembles as well as some of the greatest jazz piano players in history - Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Brad Mehldau.
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Brownman Ali Biography
Born on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad, schooled in New York City under Randy Brecker's watchful eye and now heralded as "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpeter" by New York City's Village Voice magazine, the ever dynamic Brownman tirelessly leading no less than 8 highly respected ensembles of his own spanning genres from be-bop to hip-hop. He is best known for his work as the leader of Canada's premiere latin-jazz ensemble CRUZAO (winners of the 2001 Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix du Jazz award" & 5-time nominee at the National Jazz Awards for "Electric Group of the Year") and his electrified Miles Davis' influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO (2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year" are amongst the many other accolades the group has received). He has garnered 11 nominations over the years at the National Jazz Awards (including 2 wins); Toronto's leading independent weekly NOW Magazine featured him as the cover story in 2003, naming him "Toronto's Best Jazz Musician" in 2006 and "Toronto's Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" in 2007. Despite the demands of leading 7 ensembles & international touring he is still one of the most called upon trumpet players in the studio scene; his long list of recording credits, more than 300 to date over a staggering range of styles, make him "one of the most recorded trumpet players in Canadian history", according to CBC Radio Canada.
From 2006 to 2010, Brownman was the featured soloist with the legendary New York City jazz-hip-hop artist Guru (of Gangstarr fame) for his Jazzmatazz ensemble (replacing Donald Byrd in that group) and catalyzing his appearing on the cover of CODA magazine, Canada's most acclaimed jazz publication. In December 2009 Brownman launched his own independent record label Browntasauras Records, with Brownman Electryc Trio's debut recording of Juggernaut as its flagship release, along with re-issues of his entire back-catalog from other groups he leads.
Known for his incredibly hectic schedule and diversity in addition to his playing prowess, Brownman leads a variety of other ensembles besides Brownman Electryc Trio including: Cruzao (Canada's premiere latin-jazz ensemble, Cruzao Grupo Monstruoso (15-man latin-jazz urban orchestra), Gruvasylum (hip-hop quartet with a jazz ideology), Marron Matizado (12-man salsa band) and the Brownman Akoustic Trio (mainstream jazz a la Miles, Coltrane, Duke & Basie).
He is also called upon frequently to serve as musical director with international touring bands including Chiva (Colombian latin-jazz), Permutacaos (Brazilian-jazz), Hendrik Muerkens (Brazilian-jazz), Strange Attractors (all-star collective of award-winning jazz composers) and Ali Bros (jazz-funk group co-led by Brownman's brother Marcus Ali). Additionally, Brownman has been mounting several large scale productions in recent years including his much lauded Five Weeks For Miles Tribute Show (now in it's 7th year) - a month-long extravaganza whereby Brownman, over 5 fridays, leads 5 different bands through 5 different eras of Miles Davis luminous career.
As evidenced by almost 700,000 visits to his website, Brownman has evolved from Canadian jazz icon to worldwide phenomenon -- catapulted by 3.5 years of touring the globe as the featured soloist with the legendary rapper Guru and his seminal jazz-hiphop band Jazzmatazz (until the great man’s tragic passing in April 2010). Driven by the desire to push and expand the boundaries of jazz composition and musicianship -- and the perceptions people have of what jazz music is and can be -- Brownman is a proud torchbearer to the tradition of fearless exploration represented by immortals such as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, his own mentor Randy Brecker, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter.
Brownman also holds a degree in physics and a minor in philosophy, writes the brass column for Canadian Musician Magazine and is an often called upon lecturer and clinician internationally on such topics as Advanced Jazz Harmony, Hip-hop and the Modern Jazz Improviser & Latin Rhythms for the Jazz Improviser.
Please visit http://www.Brownman.com for more information on this critically acclaimed young artist.
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AWARDS:
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2010 Toronto Independent Music Award nominee for "Jazz Group of the Year"
2010 Artvoice Magazine's "Jazz Artists of the Year" nominee
2009 Named "favourite touring soloist" by London, UK's Jazz After Dark
2008 National Jazz Award nominee for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 A staggering 5 nominations at the National Jazz Awards
2006 National Jazz Award nominee for "Latin-jazz artist of the Year"
2005 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Artist of the Year".
2004 Brownman & CRUZAO - Independant Music Award nominee
2003 MARRON MATIZADO - "Best Toronto Salsa Band" (SalsaSPOT)
2002 Canadian "Jazz Composer of the Year" (National Jazz Award)
2002 National Jazz Award nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2001 winner of the Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz Award".
2001 CRUZAO awarded the CBC Galaxie "Rising Star" Award
3 time nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" (NJA).
CRUZAO - 3 time nominee for "Electric Group of the Year" (NJA).
--------
QUOTES:
--------
"Canada's preeminent jazz trumpet player"
- NYC's Village Voice
"... the most versatile hornman in Canada"
- Chicago Tribune
"... virtuostic, energized and in the spirit of Miles Davis"
- Toronto's NOW Magazine.
"One of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers"
- Randy Brecker, multi-grammy winning legendary trumpeter
"Brownman... Remarkable writing and burning energy"
- John Scofield, jazz guitar giant
"... a truly gifted improviser with an original creative voice..."
- Gary Bartz, saxophonist with Miles Davis
"... uniquely creative and fearless - like a young Miles Davis"
- Guru, legendary hip-hop icon from Gangstarr/Jazzmatazz fame
"Brownman & CRUZAO... deliciously quirky & invigorating... seethes with energy, particularly showing off the skills of trumpeter Brownman Ali and his brother Marcus on alto sax".
- Toronto Star
"Brownman & CRUZAO... the finest latin-jazz group Canada's ever produced"
- LatinJazzNet.com
"Brownman & CRUZAO breaks down the boundaries between latin, jazz and urban music in the most innovative way I've seen yet. We may be looking at the evolution of latin-jazz here."
- Memo Acevedo, NY University professor of Latin-jazz
"Brownman Ali... a warm, personable soloist displaying an engaging mix of quirks and lyricism."
- Toronto's Globe and Mail
"Brownman... Ali... Marrón... this young trumpet player has as many names as he has skills"
- Canada Picante Xpress Latin Magazine
"Energy is never in short supply in Brownman Ali's world. This Toronto/Trinidadian trumpeter loves skipping from style to style almost as much as he digs mixing it up with the jazz elite"
- CBC Radio Canada
--------
Please visit the Browntasauras Records
www.Browntasauras.com
Read MoreFrom 2006 to 2010, Brownman was the featured soloist with the legendary New York City jazz-hip-hop artist Guru (of Gangstarr fame) for his Jazzmatazz ensemble (replacing Donald Byrd in that group) and catalyzing his appearing on the cover of CODA magazine, Canada's most acclaimed jazz publication. In December 2009 Brownman launched his own independent record label Browntasauras Records, with Brownman Electryc Trio's debut recording of Juggernaut as its flagship release, along with re-issues of his entire back-catalog from other groups he leads.
Known for his incredibly hectic schedule and diversity in addition to his playing prowess, Brownman leads a variety of other ensembles besides Brownman Electryc Trio including: Cruzao (Canada's premiere latin-jazz ensemble, Cruzao Grupo Monstruoso (15-man latin-jazz urban orchestra), Gruvasylum (hip-hop quartet with a jazz ideology), Marron Matizado (12-man salsa band) and the Brownman Akoustic Trio (mainstream jazz a la Miles, Coltrane, Duke & Basie).
He is also called upon frequently to serve as musical director with international touring bands including Chiva (Colombian latin-jazz), Permutacaos (Brazilian-jazz), Hendrik Muerkens (Brazilian-jazz), Strange Attractors (all-star collective of award-winning jazz composers) and Ali Bros (jazz-funk group co-led by Brownman's brother Marcus Ali). Additionally, Brownman has been mounting several large scale productions in recent years including his much lauded Five Weeks For Miles Tribute Show (now in it's 7th year) - a month-long extravaganza whereby Brownman, over 5 fridays, leads 5 different bands through 5 different eras of Miles Davis luminous career.
As evidenced by almost 700,000 visits to his website, Brownman has evolved from Canadian jazz icon to worldwide phenomenon -- catapulted by 3.5 years of touring the globe as the featured soloist with the legendary rapper Guru and his seminal jazz-hiphop band Jazzmatazz (until the great man’s tragic passing in April 2010). Driven by the desire to push and expand the boundaries of jazz composition and musicianship -- and the perceptions people have of what jazz music is and can be -- Brownman is a proud torchbearer to the tradition of fearless exploration represented by immortals such as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, his own mentor Randy Brecker, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter.
Brownman also holds a degree in physics and a minor in philosophy, writes the brass column for Canadian Musician Magazine and is an often called upon lecturer and clinician internationally on such topics as Advanced Jazz Harmony, Hip-hop and the Modern Jazz Improviser & Latin Rhythms for the Jazz Improviser.
Please visit http://www.Brownman.com for more information on this critically acclaimed young artist.
--------
AWARDS:
--------
2010 Toronto Independent Music Award nominee for "Jazz Group of the Year"
2010 Artvoice Magazine's "Jazz Artists of the Year" nominee
2009 Named "favourite touring soloist" by London, UK's Jazz After Dark
2008 National Jazz Award nominee for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 A staggering 5 nominations at the National Jazz Awards
2006 National Jazz Award nominee for "Latin-jazz artist of the Year"
2005 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Artist of the Year".
2004 Brownman & CRUZAO - Independant Music Award nominee
2003 MARRON MATIZADO - "Best Toronto Salsa Band" (SalsaSPOT)
2002 Canadian "Jazz Composer of the Year" (National Jazz Award)
2002 National Jazz Award nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2001 winner of the Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz Award".
2001 CRUZAO awarded the CBC Galaxie "Rising Star" Award
3 time nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" (NJA).
CRUZAO - 3 time nominee for "Electric Group of the Year" (NJA).
--------
QUOTES:
--------
"Canada's preeminent jazz trumpet player"
- NYC's Village Voice
"... the most versatile hornman in Canada"
- Chicago Tribune
"... virtuostic, energized and in the spirit of Miles Davis"
- Toronto's NOW Magazine.
"One of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers"
- Randy Brecker, multi-grammy winning legendary trumpeter
"Brownman... Remarkable writing and burning energy"
- John Scofield, jazz guitar giant
"... a truly gifted improviser with an original creative voice..."
- Gary Bartz, saxophonist with Miles Davis
"... uniquely creative and fearless - like a young Miles Davis"
- Guru, legendary hip-hop icon from Gangstarr/Jazzmatazz fame
"Brownman & CRUZAO... deliciously quirky & invigorating... seethes with energy, particularly showing off the skills of trumpeter Brownman Ali and his brother Marcus on alto sax".
- Toronto Star
"Brownman & CRUZAO... the finest latin-jazz group Canada's ever produced"
- LatinJazzNet.com
"Brownman & CRUZAO breaks down the boundaries between latin, jazz and urban music in the most innovative way I've seen yet. We may be looking at the evolution of latin-jazz here."
- Memo Acevedo, NY University professor of Latin-jazz
"Brownman Ali... a warm, personable soloist displaying an engaging mix of quirks and lyricism."
- Toronto's Globe and Mail
"Brownman... Ali... Marrón... this young trumpet player has as many names as he has skills"
- Canada Picante Xpress Latin Magazine
"Energy is never in short supply in Brownman Ali's world. This Toronto/Trinidadian trumpeter loves skipping from style to style almost as much as he digs mixing it up with the jazz elite"
- CBC Radio Canada
--------
Please visit the Browntasauras Records
www.Browntasauras.com
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