Alison Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alison Brown
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Brown in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 7, 1962 |
| Origin | Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | Bluegrass, Americana, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, musician, Record Producer |
| Instruments | Banjo, guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Vanguard Records, Compass Records, Ridge Runner Records |
Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and been nominated for several Grammy awards. People often compare her to another amazing banjo player, Béla Fleck, because of her special way of playing. Her music mixes different styles like bluegrass, jazz, Latin, and Celtic sounds.
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Early Life and Music Beginnings
Alison Brown was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She started playing the guitar when she was eight years old. By the time she was ten, she learned to play the banjo. When she was twelve, she met a fiddler named Stuart Duncan.
In the summer of 1978, Alison traveled across the country with Stuart and his dad. They played music at festivals and contests. Alison won first place at the Canadian National Banjo Championship. This win helped her get a chance to play at the famous Grand Ole Opry for one night.
Family Life
Alison Brown is married to Garry West, who is a bass player. They have two children, a daughter named Hannah West and a son named Brendan West.
College and Early Bands
In 1980, Alison went to Harvard University. She studied history and literature there. After finishing Harvard, she earned another degree, an MBA, from UCLA.
While she was still at Harvard in 1982, Alison helped a band called Northern Lights get back together. They had stopped playing for five years. Alison joined the band and played with them until 1984. Then, she moved back to California. She worked for a company for two years before deciding to focus completely on her music.
Playing with Famous Artists
In 1987, the famous singer Alison Krauss asked Alison Brown to join her band, Union Station. Alison played with Krauss for three years. In 1990, she moved to Tennessee.
In 1991, she won the award for Banjo Player of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Association. She was the first woman in the history of the IBMA to win an award for playing an instrument! In 1990, Alison played banjo on Alison Krauss's album I've Got That Old Feeling, which won a Grammy award.
In 1992, Alison became the band leader for Michelle Shocked. This experience inspired Alison to mix bluegrass with jazz and folk styles. This was similar to how other great musicians like Béla Fleck and David Grisman played.
Starting Compass Records
In the early 1990s, Alison Brown and her husband, Garry West, started their own record company. It was first called Small World Music. This company later became Compass Records in 1995.
Compass Records is now a well-known music label around the world. It helps many artists release their music. Some of the artists on Compass Records include Victor Wooten, Colin Hay, and John Gorka. Compass Records has also bought other music labels, becoming a top label for Irish and Celtic music.
Grammy Award Wins
Alison Brown has won and been nominated for several Grammy Awards.
- In 2001, she won a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance. This was for her song "Leaving Cottondale" from her album Fair Weather. She won this award with Béla Fleck.
- She also played on Alison Krauss's Grammy-winning album I've Got That Old Feeling.
- Alison was nominated for a Grammy for her own album, Simple Pleasures (1990).
Alison Brown's Music Today
Alison Brown believes her album Stolen Moments (2005) is her most successful music so far. She said about the album, "For the first time, I feel like I've created a true hybrid sound that suggests its influences – bluegrass, jazz, Celtic music – but when taken as a whole isn't any one of these things."
In 2007, Irish America magazine honored Alison as one of their Stars of the South. Her album The Company You Keep (2009) also mixes different acoustic music styles. This creates fresh and new sounds.
Alison continues to tour around the world with her quartet (a group of four musicians). In 2007, she was invited to play at the inauguration of Harvard's president, Drew Faust, because she is a famous Harvard alumna.
In 2015, the International Bluegrass Music Association gave Alison the Distinguished Achievement Award. This award recognized her efforts in helping bluegrass music grow.
As a Record Producer
Alison Brown is also a talented record producer. This means she helps other artists create their albums. She has worked on projects for artists like Dale Ann Bradley and Peter Rowan.
Some albums she has produced include:
- Bobby Osborne - Original (2017)
- The Special Consensus - Chicago Barn Dance (2020)
- Peter Rowan & Nashville Bluegrass Band - Legacy (2010)
Discography
Alison Brown has released many albums throughout her career. Here are some of them:
Albums with Ridge Runner Records
- Pre-Sequel (1981) with Stuart Duncan
Albums with Vanguard Records
- Simple Pleasures (1990)
- Twilight Motel (1992)
- Look Left (1994)
- Quartet (1996)
- Best of the Vanguard Years (2002)
- Vanguard Visionaries (2007)
Albums with Compass Records
- Out of the Blue (1998)
- Fair Weather (2000)
- Replay (2002)
- Stolen Moments (2005)
- Evergreen (2008)
- The Company You Keep (2009)
- The Song of the Banjo (2015)
- On Banjo (2023)
Images for kids
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Brown in 2006
