The Alison Brown Quartet at MWPAI

As so often happens with the live acoustic music scene in Central NY we go weeks with nothing on the calender, then a weekend comes along with too many good choices.   This weekend was one of those - all the options were good, and I was sorry to miss some of my music friends gigs.   Alison and the quartet were worth it.

For those who don't know who she is - Alison Brown is one of the finest banjo players in the US today.    She's been on the scene now for a while - having played with some (most) of the current greats in Bluegrass, and even remarked from the stage that she had visited the area before when she was playing with Alison Kraus.    She is a master of the 5 string (or as she called it - the Protestant Banjo - the tenor being the Catholic version)

If you haven't yet been to a "Concert in the Court"  at Munson Williams, you are really missing one of the best venues for live music in the area.   I've been to them all, and this one stands out for the intimate setting and great sound, as well as very appreciative and responsive audiences.   Bob Mortis is to be credited for bringing in some very interesting and talented national and world class acts in all genres. 

I knew Alison had veered off the Bluegrass track into Jazz, and was expecting a Bela Fleck like show - banjo pyrotechnics, with a lot of funk - and instead she and the quartet delivered something completely different.  

First, this foursome knows how to lay down a groove.   The quartet consists of Alsion on Banjo,  John R. Burr (piano),  Garry West (bass), and Larry Atamanuik (drums).   Not the usual setting for a "Bluegrass Banjo" to be featured.   But for the Bluegrass influenced Celtic Jazz fusion she plays the perfect compliment.    The leads are traded between Alison and John, and right of the bat you notice how the banjo and piano blend perfectly and compliment each other.   I especially enjoyed when they traded leads, or the duet they did unaccompanied.

Second, this is group that looks to be having a great time playing and performing for you.   Alison really engages the audience, telling personal stories of how she got into the business, and by the end of the show you feel you know her.

But what really stood out was Alison's  mastery of the banjo and her ability to use it to fit the jazz and Celtic forms.   She is a joy just to watch play.   The hands are so smooth, and her left hand seems to float all over the fretboard, while here right hand is rolling along at 220 BPM!  Her set that started with Temperance Reel and ended with Masons Apron sounded like pure catholic banjo, but played with true adhesion to the Celtic Style.    She told me after the show that it's easier to nail the triplets on the 5 string, but somehow I think it's a touch few have.  

Her Bluegrass playing is as good as it gets - she played the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" in tribute to Earl Scruggs (and mentioned before that the band was getting up at 6AM so they could get to Nashville for the Scruggs Memorial Tribute at the Ryman tonite) was a pure Scruggs as I've heard, and she showed her chops up the neck.

But she also showed that the banjo can be played in other styles - chromatic on some fiddle tunes, very tasty jazz on some originals, and what was very interesting to me a double stop version of some standard like "Old Suzanna" that make the tune fresh and put the Alison Brown signature on it.    She takes the 5 string way beyond Bluegrass, and although on a path toward jazz, like Bela Fleck, she is truly marking her own trail.   I don't know of another player who can get such soothing tones out of a 5 string (yes soothing). 

Her original compositions also stood out.   Unlike many Bluegrass Banjo players who play a bunch of Scruggs licks around a simple theme her tunes like "The Wonderful Sea Voyage of Holy St Brendan"  are contemplative and suited for further interpretation.  

At the end of the show she hung around to sign CD's.   Usually I don't hang around for this, but this time I wanted to meet her and thank her for a great performance.   It was worth the wait.   Not many performers take the time to get to know you and share a bit of themselves, but she did - not just with me but with everyone who hung on.    With an early wake up call looming, she stayed.  You can tell she truly appreciates her audience and wants to connect.

If you ever get the chance to see her live take my advice - do not miss it!!!!!   In the meantime stock up on her CD's - her most recent "The Company You Keep" reflects much of what she played in Utica, and a guaranteed winner if you like Celtic, Jazz, Bluegrass, or just plain old GOOD MUSIC!!!!