Rob Brown (born February 27, 1962) is an American

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

saxophonist and composer.

Life and career

Brown was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

on February 27, 1962. He started playing saxophone at the age of 12. His first gigs were with a local Virginia swing band. He eventually studied at Berklee College for two years, and worked privately with both Joe Viola and John LaPorta. After a year on the west coast, Brown relocated to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where he met pianist

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

. He moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1985, where he enrolled at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, earned a music degree, and studied with saxophone masters such as

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

, but the teacher who had more influence on Brown conceptually was Philadelphian

Dennis Sandole Dennis Sandole (29 September 1913 — 30 September 2000) born Dionigi Sandoli, was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and music educator from Philadelphia. Biography Sandole was John Coltrane's mentor from 1946 until the early 1950s, introduc ...

. Brown travelled to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

by rail once a week to study with him for a year and a half. His first issued recording was the duet with Shipp '' Sonic Explorations'' (1988), and since then has been actively leading groups or working as a sideman with Shipp, William Parker,

Whit Dickey Whit Dickey (born May 28, 1954) is an American drummer. He has recorded albums with David S. Ware and Matthew Shipp. Biography His first album as a leader was ''Transonic (album), Transonic'', in 1998. Two years later, Wobbly Rail issued his '' ...

, Joe Morris and Steve Swell. He is a 2001 CalArts/Alpert/Ucross Residency Prize winner and has received many Meet The Composer Fund grants. In 2006, Brown was awarded a Chamber Music America New Works grant.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

References

External links

Official siteRob Brown: No More "Mr. Avant Garde" by John Sharpe
at

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rob 1962 births Living people American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Avant-garde jazz musicians Musicians from Hampton, Virginia Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Berklee College of Music alumni 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Virginia 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Clean Feed Records artists AUM Fidelity artists RogueArt artists