RICHMOND, CA (PRWEB)
January 26, 2022

Guitarist-composer James Brown returns from a 13-year recording hiatus with “Song Within the Story,” slated for a March 18 release on NGP Records. Brown’s fourth album, and his first since 2009’s “Sevendaze,” finds him fronting his Toronto-based working trio of bassist Clark Johnston and drummer Anthony Michelli. Respected tenor saxophonist Mike Murley joins the band on three of the album’s 10 tracks, eight of which are original compositions that document Brown’s ongoing intermarriage between jazz and classical music, while two covers explore the rich heritage Canadian folk rock.

Brown is deeply immersed in jazz-classical fusion; he wrote his master’s thesis on the Third Stream movement (the early 1960s effort to merge the two genres) and last year premiered ‘The Mosley Street Suite’, a concert work in that style. “Song in History”, however, offers no hint of the bombast or seriousness often associated with classical music. It’s a thoroughly swinging affair, filled with inventive, often searing melodies and improvisations from Brown and the band.

“I’m so happy with how the trio has developed,” says the guitarist. “We’ve been working regularly at clubs like the Rex Jazz Bar in Toronto for three or four years, and we’ve played a lot of stuff on this CD.

Their hard work shows on unconventional tracks like the 7/4 groover “Alystair and I” and the harmonic “The Circle”, which they approach with apparent ease and aplomb. They do no less, however, on the bluesy “Igor” or the (outwardly) delicate “All Rivers Lead”. The latter is one of three showcases for guest player Murley, whose thoughtful yet unyielding solo offers a glimpse of the intensity that lies beneath the surface of the melody.

“Igor” is named after and inspired by the great composer Igor Stravinsky, a nod to Brown’s classic pursuits. The title track of the album contains echoes of Pat Metheny. But the influences exhibited throughout “Song Within the Story” are not a jazz-classical binomial. “Mbira Kids”, as its title suggests, directly evokes the musical traditions of southern Africa (in particular that of the Shona people of Zimbabwe). Meanwhile, the trio passionately perform ballads by Neil Young (“The Needle and the Damage Done”) and Joni Mitchell (“A Case of You”), perhaps Canada’s two most revered singer-songwriters. from the rock era.

“I’m not afraid to get into folk or rock,” Brown says of his musical concept. “I like when there’s something a little more going on.” On “Song Within the Story” there’s a lot more going on, and it resonates through every note of the album.

James Brown was born in 1967 in Oakville, Ontario and grew up in the city of Burlington. His maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather were Quebec musicians, and James followed in their footsteps at age 13 when he started taking guitar lessons. These led him a few years later to study classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

At first his ambitions were to become “the next Segovia or John Williams” – but while studying at the University of Toronto he found a new role model in Ed Bickert. Often hailed as Canada’s finest jazz guitarist, Bickert hailed from Toronto; Brown began frequenting his appearances at area clubs, delighted with his tone.

While continuing her classic curriculum, Brown also began attending informal jam sessions, slowly recalibrating her creative trajectory. (He ended up doing the same with his studies, focusing on Gunther Schuller’s Third Stream music for his master’s degree.) By 1998, his immersion in jazz was deep enough to record his debut album, “First Dance,” with famous Toronto musicians Ernie Tollar. (saxophones), Andrew Downing (bass) and John Obercian (drums).

Brown recorded two additional albums in 2002 (The Home Fields) and 2009 (Sevendaze), but slowed his approach in the 2010s as he and his wife Lisa – to whom “All Rivers Lead” is dedicated – raised the six children of their blended family. . But a few years ago, feeling ripe for a comeback, he formed a trio with Clark Johnston on bass and Anthony Michelli on drums, working steadily to shape the empathetic, tightly knit sound they exude today.

Brown also remained committed to classical music and the possibilities of jazz as a contributor to that tradition. His 2021 chamber piece, “The Mosley Street Suite,” featured among its moves several tunes that also made their way onto “Song Within the Story.”

The James Brown Quartet will perform at the following venues, with additional dates to be announced: Sat. 3/26 The Jazz Room, Waterloo, ON (8:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.); Thu. 4/21 Paradise Theatre, Toronto, ON (8:00 p.m.).

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