Search - Alison Brown :: Stolen Moments

Proficient & aqueous banjo ... pleasurable aural experience

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 06/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 50:35 -- Individualism in music is a goal for many musicians who enjoy the challenge of pushing their technical skills into realms of innovation and adventure. The impressively virtuosic Alison Brown has a broad base of experience to draw upon. Her travels have taken her from Connecticut to California to Tennessee. From her earliest bands (The Stringbenders, Gold Rush), the 1991 IBMA Banjo Player of the Year went on to play, record or tour with the likes of Northern Lights, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Michelle Shocked, New Grange, and others. She owns her own record company (Compass Records), and in 1996 formed her Alison Brown Quartet. A bit of trivia is that her tune, "Girl's Breakdown" (from her Grammy-nominated "Fair Weather" album) was used in early 2000 as the official wake up music for the crew of the U.S. Space Shuttle Destiny on their mission to the International Space Station. So what next for someone whose music has reached the depths of outer space?



"Stolen Moments" is an astounding display of melodic invention that continues to characterize this one-of-a-kind player. Her expressive musicality incorporates elements of many genres from Celtic (her own "Carrowkeel") to pop (Jimi Henrix's "Angel" or Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" or Jim Rooney/Bill Keith's "One Morning in May"). These pop numbers include some superb vocals that make the album whole (courtesy of folks like Amy Ray, Emily Saliers, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Andrea Zonn). Mary Chapin Carpenter also appears. While credits aren't clear, I assume that she's one of the four singing "Boomchicks" (Thighdalia, Aureola, Ovaria, and Fallopia) who appear on "Prayer Wheel." Instrumental new acoustic jazz is well represented in cuts like "The Sound of Summer Running" and "The Magnificent Seven" (written with John Doyle) that has a seven-beat meter in the tune's head.



With the exception of "One Morning in May," arranged without banjo, the 5-string finds itself laying just right into the greater ensemble mix while piano, bass, guitar, fiddle, drums, and even a little mandolin create the kaleidoscope of sound. Some of the luminaries picking along include Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Sam Bush and Mike Marshall (mandolin). Mike seems right in his element on Brown's playful "Musette for a Palindrome." Seamus Egan plays an emotive low whistle on one track, "Carrowkell," while the similarly Cletic-flavored "(I'm Naked and I'm) Going to Glasgow" includes Solas guitarist John Doyle. John R. Burr's gives us some superior, jaw-dropping piano accompaniment that evokes a more smooth jazz sound. As much as I dislike drums in acoustic music, Kenny Malone's percussion is downright tasty in this particular context. Alison's husband, Garry West, plays bass.



Alison Brown is a confident musician who continues to make creative and courageous statements with her music. She's a daring stalwart whose proficient and aqueous banjo playing leaves us with pleasurable aural experiences that know few borders. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

"

Groundbreaking Blend Of Banjo, Jazz & Celtic Folk - Surperb

Jana L. Perskie | New York, NY USA | 06/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Alison Brown's progressive bluegrass banjo sound! It's a sophisticated mix of jazz, pop, classical, Celtic folk music, bluegrass, new-grass and Latin. Ms. Brown is a jazz-influenced, highly creative composer whose intricate playing demonstrates virtuoso ability. This Harvard University grad, (with an MBA from UCLA), has been named Banjo Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and has recorded six solo albums, including the 2001 Grammy winner "Fair Weather" and Grammy-nominated "Simple Pleasures." She has just come out with, what I think, is her best album to date, "Stolen Moments."



This 11 track CD, a combination of instrumentals and vocals, includes such diverse tracks as: "The Magnificent Seven," a Celtic medley, with Sam Bush on mandolin and Andrea Zonn on fiddle. The "seven" in the title refers to the seven-beat meter of the main theme; "Carrowkeel," which was based on a Gregorian chant, and includes both Seamus Egan's Irish-sounding pennywhistle, as well as the distinct sound of John R. Burr's piano; "Prayer Wheel," is highlighted by Mary Chapin Carpenter's extraordinary contralto; the cover of Jimi Hendrix's 1960's "Angel," with Beth Nielson Chapman on lead vocal, is simply gorgeous; and Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound, features the Indigo Girls singing harmony. Fiddler/vocalist Andrea Zonn sings with Alison Brown on the lovely folk ballad "One Morning In May." "Musette For A Palindrome," the self-penned conga/mandolin/banjo piece, is one of the albums most special tracks, as is the medley "I'm Naked and I'm Going to Glasgow," which begins with the traditional jig then goes off into three original reels.



Accompanying musicians include: Sam Bush (mandolin), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Mike Marshall (mandolin), as well as John Doyle (guitar) and Seamus Egan (flute), ex-Pretenders and Paul McCartney Band guitarist Robbie McIntosh, and long time band mate John R. Burr (piano), as well as Nashville legend Kenny Malone (drums).



This is a wonderful CD, which I predict will be a big hit and, quite possibly, win a Grammy!

JANA"

Their Best Yet

San Diego fan | 06/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The previous two reviewers have covered everything much better than I can, so I just wanted to say that I believe the material on this album is the ABQ's best to date. The instrumentals are still very melodic and catchy yet more sophisticated with more intricate arrangements. The vocal tunes are as good, if not better than, those on the Grammy winning "Fair Weather" album.



Also, see ABQ live if you get a chance because it really showcases the musicians and songs better than any recording."