Brown Brothers Recordings

Once there was a way,

to get back home again.

Once there was a way,

to get back home.

Sleep, pretty darling do not cry,

and I will sing a lullaby.

When a loved one dies, where do you put all that love you previously expressed in words and actions?  It doesn’t end but there is no sentient being on whom or which to lavish it.  This Memorial Day weekend we at Brown Brothers Recordings remember the ones we’ve lost, cherish the ones we still have and remind ourselves that everybody hurts, and music can heal, even for just a short time.

the local food craze continues to hit new heights in popularity.  we at brown bros. have been on this bandwagon with fervor, for many, many years.  why you may ask?

heavily processed and fake foods have been around for a while now – they too, have been growing in popularity.  the average American is overweight and a large % of our pop is obese.  exercise for most has gone the way of the dodo, and the sheer addictiveness of even the worst types of foods (fast and processed foods primarily) has made us fat.

these thoughts have been well chronicled over the years, so why are we bothering you with them?  not really sure actually, but next time you have a chance to visit your local farm stand or green market – take it.  take it to the fucking bank.  produce dug by hand with some dirt on it, just harvested fruit, fresh caught and killed animals (sorry for all you vegs out there), crazy ass honey and maple syrup, and so much more.  a cornucopia of perfection.  can you taste the difference? oh 110% you can.

this stuff is expensive as well.  super expensive.  but think about the cost of that $1 food item you can be eating at the fast fooders – how do they kill a chicken, ship it, and then dress it up on a burger, all for $1?  the economics do not work.

some will say that people are living longer than ever, they are indeed.  big pharma can keep us alive despite our best efforts to kill ourselves.  sedentary and obese and smoking them cigs – rolling around in an electric cart, etc.  big pharma’s great talent is to push survival.

here’s to hoping that this post doesn’t come across as too grim.  we really set out to add some green market inspiration to yer day – then wound up spewing bile.  just visit the green market today/tomorrow/this weekend.  shop till you drop.  then drop us a line and tell us how it was.

much love and stay close to the earth y’all,

brown brother universe

we have love for music,

we have love for visual art,

but most of all we have love for each other,

way down in our heart

That heart was beating fast yesterday as we completed the first Brown Brothers Recordings visual installation on the corner of Roebling and Broadway at the Brooklyn exit from the Williamsburg bridge. Check it out and marvel at the handiwork of Mike Anderson, collage artist par excellence and proud member of Brown Brothers Recordings since the early days.

Did you ever wonder why the best musicians in the world perform live mostly in noisy clubs with service-people flitting about and taking food and drink orders while other, less musically demanding forms of music are typically performed on luxurious stages focused primarily on the acts?  Us too. We’re looking to break that silly rule. Watch this site for updates on how we intend to do it.

Why is top class jazz mostly played live in noisy clubs while rock, pop and other live music gets performed in beautiful theaters?  Watch this space for updates as regards how BBR plans to change this insipid practice.

Herman Brood was a Dutch rock n’ roller and painter sometimes called the only rock star born in the Netherlands.  He was also a drug addict who killed himself by jumping off The Amsterdam Hilton.  At his best he was very good. So good he inspired artists like U2 and Black Francis, whose excellent tribute album to Brood, Bluefinger, is our favorite rock album of the ‘aughts.

One of the most beautiful things about vinyl Lps is that they allow space for great visual art. Think of a great potential mate.  You may be compatible in every way but if he or she has no face would you be attracted enough to investigate?  Digital music has no face.  As for the sound quality, we’ll leave that discussion for another day but for now here is the diptych collage created by BBR visual guru Mike Anderson. Mike used the above to create the lp art for The Co-Op.  Stare at the above photo for a few minutes. Bewitching, no?

Once upon a time a jazz record label thought so highly of its records and consumers it made a beautiful case to hold them. We want to get back to that time. We’re working to make our discography case-worthy.  Please listen to The Co-Op and the forthcoming BBR and JMI lps and let us know if you would buy a case from us.

BBR piano week goes to church with today’s entry, none other than the Nutman himself, Baltimore’s own Cyrus Chestnut.  Since the late 1980s Cyrus has been spreading musical magic around the world from behind his pianos. His style seamlessly mixes blues, gospel, soul and be-bop and his recordings and performances radiate warmth, empathy and plain old love. Little known fact: he wants to play Yankee Stadium.  Self-aggrandizing fact: his performance on our Gold Sounds album is our favorite example of his brilliance among many others. Congrats Cyrus, you’re the penultimate star of piano week.

Jeremy Pelt has elevated himself into history’s ranks of great trumpeters with a healthy dose of talent, hard work and an unswerving belief in the power of music.  His one-release-every January pace of the last few years is admirable and his work on our The Co-Op lp sublime. He’s also a helluva nice guy. You made it Jeremy-you’re today’s BBR trumpet-week featured player.