| Rob Brown | |
| Birth Name: | Rob Brown |
| Birth Date: | February 27, 1962 |
| Origin: | Hampton, Virginia, United States |
| Instrument: | Alto sax |
| Genre: | Jazz free jazz avant-garde jazz free improvisation |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Years Active: | 1987–present |
| Label: | Aum Fidelity, Clean Feed Records, No More, Not Two, Marge Records, RogueArt, Riti |
| Website: | Official Website |
Rob Brown (born February 27, 1962)[1] is an American free jazz saxophonist and composer.
Brown was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States.[1] He started playing saxophone at the age of 12.[2] His first gigs were with a local Virginia swing band. He eventually studied at Berklee College for two years,[1] and worked privately with both Joe Viola and John LaPorta.[3] After a year on the west coast, Brown relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he met pianist Matthew Shipp.[1] He moved to New York in 1985,[1] where he enrolled at New York University, earned a music degree, and studied with saxophone masters such as Lee Konitz, but the teacher who had more influence on Brown conceptually was Philadelphian Dennis Sandole.[1] Brown travelled to Philadelphia by rail once a week to study with him for a year and a half.[2]
His first issued recording was the duet with Shipp Sonic Explorations (1988),[1] and since then has been actively leading groups or working as a sideman with Shipp, William Parker,[1] Whit Dickey, 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.[4]
| Release year | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Sonic Explorations | Cadence Jazz | Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano) | |
| 1990 | Breath Rhyme | Silkheart | Trio with William Parker (bass), Denis Charles (drums) | |
| 1992 | Youniverse | Riti | Trio with Joe Morris (guitar), Whit Dickey (drums) | |
| 1995 | Illuminate | Leo | Quartet co-led by Joe Morris (guitar), with William Parker (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) | |
| 1996 | High Wire | Soul Note | Trio with William Parker (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) | |
| 1997 | Blink of an Eye | No More | Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano) | |
| 1997 | Orbit | Music & Arts | Collaborative trio with Guerino Mazzola (piano), Heinz Geisser (percussion) | |
| 1998 | Scratching the Surface | CIMP | Quartet co-led by Lou Grassi (drums), with Assif Tsahar (tenor sax), Chris Lightcap (bass) | |
| 2000 | Visage | Marge | Trio with Wilber Morris (bass), Lou Grassi (drums, percussion) | |
| 2000 | Jumping Off the Page | No More | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet), Chris Lightcap (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) | |
| 2002 | Round the Bend | Bleu Regard | Trio with William Parker (bass), Warren Smith (drums) | |
| 2003 | Likewise | Riti | As part of the band Stone House; trio with Luther Gray (drums), Joe Morris (bass) | |
| 2004 | The Big Picture | Marge | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet, flugelhorn), William Parker (bass), Hamid Drake (drums) | |
| 2005 | Radiant Pools | RogueArt | Quartet with Steve Swell (trombone), Joe Morris (bass), Luther Gray (drums) | |
| 2006 | We Are Not Obstinate Islands | Clean Feed | As part of the band The Diplomats; trio with Steve Swell (trombone), Harris Eisenstadt (drums) | |
| 2007 | Sounds | Clean Feed | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) | |
| 2008 | Right Hemisphere | RogueArt | As part of the band Right Hemisphere; quartet with Matthew Shipp (piano), Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) | |
| 2008 | Live in Chicago | Ruby Red | Duo with Andrew Barker (drums, percussion) | |
| 2008 | Crown Trunk Root Funk | AUM Fidelity | Quartet with Craig Taborn (piano, electronics), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) | |
| 2009 | Live at Firehouse 12 | Not Two | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) | |
| 2010 | Natural Disorder | Not Two | Duo with Daniel Levin (cello) | |
| 2011 | Unexplained Phenomena | Marge | Quartet with Matt Moran (vibraphone), Chris Lightcap (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) | |
| 2011 | Unknown Skies | RogueArt | Trio with Craig Taborn (piano), Nasheet Waits (drums) | |
| 2014 | Day in the Life of a City | Multikulti | Trio with Daniel Levin (cello), Jacek Mazurkiewicz (bass) | |
| 2015 | Divergent Paths | Cipsela | Duo with Daniel Levin (cello) |
| Release year | Leader | Title | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Transonic | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2000 | Big Top | Wobbly Rail | ||
| 2001 | Life Cycle | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2001 | Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra | Eremite | ||
| 2002 | Prophet Moon | Riti | ||
| 2004 | Coalescence | Clean Feed | ||
| 2005 | In a Heartbeat | Clean Feed | ||
| 2006 | Sacred Ground | Clean Feed | ||
| 1999 | Many Rings | Knitting Factory | ||
| 1994 | Flowers Grow in My Room | Centering | ||
| 1995 | In Order to Survive | Black Saint | ||
| 1996 | Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy | Homestead | ||
| 1997 | Sunrise in the Tone World | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 1998 | The Peach Orchard | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 1999 | Posium Pendasem | FMP | ||
| 2000 | O'Neal's Porch | Centering | ||
| 2000 | Mayor of Punkville | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2002 | Raincoat in the River | Eremite | ||
| 2002 | Raining on the Moon | Thirsty Ear | ||
| 2002 | Spontaneous | Splasc(h) | ||
| 2003 | Mass for the Healing of the World | Black Saint | ||
| 2005 | Sound Unity | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2005 | For Percy Heath | Victo | ||
| 2007 | Corn Meal Dance | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2007 | Alphaville Suite | RogueArt | ||
| 2007 | Double Sunrise Over Neptune | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2008 | Petit Oiseau | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 2012 | Essence of Ellington | Centering | ||
| 2013 | Wood Flute Songs | AUM Fidelity | ||
| 1992 | Points | Silkheart | ||
| 1999 | Magnetism | Bleu Regard | ||
| 2009 | Planet Dream | Clean Feed |