Brown Brothers Recordings

It has been suggested in the Brown Brothers echo chamber of power that our dated, daily posts don’t attract enough clicks, the lifeblood of website survival.  The author of such titular non-titillation countered that consumers are smart enough to appreciate the daily content with understanding and enjoyment but best of all appreciation that a record label cares enough to consistently inject a shot of diversion into dreary days.  Indeed this struggle, which mirrors the zeitgeist, is another skirmish in the perpetual war of style versus substance. We trust you visitors to this site to think about things like dates-as-titles, songs of the day and their relation to posts’ pics.  We trust you not to pass us by for lack of catchy text titles. In turn we ask you to trust us that we are giving you authentic content from our soul.  Such content is all of a piece and ranges from our products for sale –conveniently linked above and made with a figurative mixture of blood, sweat, tears and passion–to our website posts, to our coming series of “Brown Brothers Presents” live shows.  To paraphrase a Brown Brothers leading lyrical inspiration:

some posts are better than other posts

some months of posts are better than other months of posts

Keep coming back and we will keep trying our best, each and every day.

with love, thought and music,

the Brothers brown.

She’s Powerful and Majestic, an eternal reminder of the absolute dominion of Mother Nature over mere mortals like ourselves.  The Falls of Niagara would wipe out the world’s strongest man, annihilate the most powerful army, she takes no prisoners…

For the adventurous traveler, the Falls are not the only highlight of the region; for sure they’re the money shot of the Niagara River, but venture out a bit and find some natural greatness.  The Upper Niagara River looks like some prehistoric perfection, and feeds the falls as it rushes downstream.  The output of the Falls creates the Niagara Whirlpool along the Lower Niagara River.  From the NY side you must visit Whirlpool State Park and observe the unbridled speed and destructive power of the Whirlpool Rapids.  Legend has it that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the “daredevils of the rapids” challenged these raging waters by swimming, riding in barrels and navigating in boats – many paid for their bravado with their lives….

Today’s Niagara Falls tourist scene is decidedly bent towards the Canadian side of the Falls – more touristy, louder, and more obnoxious than the somewhat subdued NY side, it’s still worth a visit to experience the endless kitsch built up around the beautiful Falls, but as always, we recommend exploring deeper than most tourists ultimately do…

Go deep y’all….

 

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If the world doesn’t end before January 22-24, 2018, there will be a series of shows unlike any other at NYC’s famed Blue Note Club on West 3rd Street in Manhattan, NYC, USA, Earth. On those days, across two sets per night, every musician who has recorded for us and sister label J.M.I. Recordings are invited to contribute to bringing both labels’ catalogs to life. Even at this early date The Co-Op‘s master vibist Warren Wolf, Jr, is confirmed to produce the proceedings together with J.M.I. linchpin and keyboard deity Ray Angry.  Ali Jackson and James Carter from Gold Sounds, Jeremy Pelt from The Co-Op, Willie Jones III and Ben Williams from J.M.I. label debut Steve Wilson Sit Back, Relax & Unwind and Myron Walden from J.M.I.’s forthcoming Ray Angry One lp are also confirmed.  Return to this site for updates and offers surrounding these shows. That is if we all survive until then.

Today at BBR we hail erstwhile label collaborator Wycliffe Gordon on his 50th birthday.

Wycliffe didn’t record on our Gold Sounds project but he may as well have been the 5th member of the quartet that did, popping up more than once to play live with Mssrs. Carter, Chestnut, Veal and Jackson.  Not only is Wycliffe the best trombone player in the world for our money, but a super nice guy.  Once at a concert at Columbia’s Miller Theater he told a roomful of people about a short encounter with a Brother which made our day. His playing, deeply steeped in New Orleans first line feeling, never fails to move us. His technique is so masterful he can coax sounds from his horn that alternatively sound like a bird chirping or a willow wailing. One of the proudest moments in label history was when 5 tracks of trombone coalesced into The Co-Op closer “Okay”. Wycliffe, in his characteristic modesty, didn’t highlight the genius of that composition and let us name the tune, which we did with oxymoronic humor. Wherever you are today Wycliffe, Brown Brothers Recordings can only hope they are celebrating your half century mark with all the people and things you love and deserve.  We can’t wait to hear you play live again, we can’t wait to hug you again.  Love,

The Brown Brothers.

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.