Anthony Brown (jazz musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anthony Brown
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| Background information | |
| Born | March 17, 1953 Presidio, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Progressive Jazz, World Music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, bandleader, educator |
| Instruments | Drums, Percussion |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Water Baby, Asian Improv, RPM, Soul Note, FMP, Hat Art, Gramavision, Sagittarius A-Star, Blue Note |
| Education | University of Oregon (BA) Rutgers University (MM) University of California, Berkeley (MA, PhD) |
Anthony Brown is an American jazz musician, composer, and teacher. He plays drums and other percussion instruments. He is famous for leading the Grammy-nominated Asian American Orchestra, which he started in 1998.
His music mixes jazz with traditional Asian instruments and sounds. He has also created music for movies, plays, dance shows, and poetry readings. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Brown helped create the Jazz Oral History Program at the Smithsonian Institution. He also taught music at the University of California, Berkeley. He is now a professor emeritus at the California Jazz Conservatory. In 2023, Anthony Brown was a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in Thailand. This is a special role that many famous jazz musicians have held.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Anthony Brown was born in San Francisco, California. His father was an African American and Choctaw soldier. His mother was from Tokyo, Japan. When Anthony was nine, his family moved to Okinawa, Japan, for four years. They spent summers at his mother's family home in Tokyo.
His older brother, Mike, taught him how to play the guitar and the Blues. Mike later played bass with the famous musician Bo Diddley. In 1966, the family moved back to California, living in Los Angeles. There, Anthony started playing the drums. He performed in bands that played songs by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. In 1970, his family moved to Frankfurt, Germany. Anthony finished high school there in 1971.
Education and Music Career
Anthony Brown went to the University of Oregon. He studied music and psychology. While in college, he played percussion in orchestras. He also performed in touring shows like Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."
After college, he joined the military as a Lieutenant in 1976. He was stationed in Europe. While in Greece, he played drums at a jazz club. In 1977, he led the US Army Chorus in Germany. During his time in Europe, he played with many jazz artists. After leaving the military in 1980, he returned to San Francisco. He then became a full-time musician.
Joining the Asian American Jazz Movement
In the 1980s, Anthony Brown became part of the Asian American Jazz Movement. This was a group of musicians who blended jazz with Asian influences. He toured and recorded music with a group called United Front. He also played with the San Francisco Symphony. Anthony Brown also taught drums and percussion at the New College of California.
In 1985, he moved to New York to perform in an opera. He also studied at Rutgers University. He was the first person to earn a Master's degree in Jazz Studies from their program. He learned drumming from famous drummers like Ed Blackwell. While in New York, he played with many well-known jazz musicians.
Smithsonian Institution and Further Studies
Anthony Brown later went to the University of California, Berkeley. He studied different types of music, including African, Japanese, and American Indian music. He also received special research grants from the Smithsonian Institution. He studied the history of the jazz drum set and the music of Duke Ellington.
In 1992, he started working at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. He founded the Jazz Oral History Program there. He also toured with the Smithsonian Jazz Trio. He played with many musicians in California and toured internationally.
Founding the Asian American Orchestra
After 1996, Anthony Brown returned to Berkeley. He finished his PhD in music. He also led a project called "Big Bands Behind Barbed Wire." This project taught people about the Japanese American experience during World War II. This project led to the creation of the Asian American Jazz Orchestra.
The orchestra toured and recorded an album called Big Bands Behind Barbed Wire. In 1998, Anthony Brown continued the group as Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra. They toured and recorded six CDs. Their album, Far East Suite, was nominated for a Grammy award in 1999. Their next CD, Monk's Moods, was called a "Five-Star Masterpiece" by Downbeat magazine.
In 2003, Anthony Brown received a special award called a Guggenheim Fellowship. This allowed him to compose "American Rhapsodies." This piece was a new version of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue," with a modern, global twist. In 2004, he started his own record label, Water Baby Records. In 2005, he created Fifth Stream Music, a non-profit group for his music and teaching. He has performed with many famous artists and poets.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
- Ohm: Unit of Resistance – United Front (1981)
- Live In Berlin – United Front (1983)
- Family – Anthony Brown with SF Taiko (1997)
- Big Bands Behind Barbed Wire – Asian American Jazz Orchestra (1998)
- Far East Suite – Asian American Orchestra (1999)
- Monk's Moods – Asian American Orchestra w/ Steve Lacy (2002)
- Rhapsodies – Asian American Orchestra w/ David Murray (2005)
- Ten – Asian American Orchestra w/ Steve Lacy, David Murray (2008)
- India and Africa: Tribute to John Coltrane – Asian American Orchestra (2010)
- GO FOR BROKE! by the Asian American Orchestra feat. Janice Mirikitani (2018)
Filmography
- Outside In Sight: The Music of United Front (1986)
- Doubles: Japan and America’s intercultural Children (1994)
- Don’t Lose Your Soul: The Music of Anthony Brown and Mark Izu (2008)
- Witness to Hiroshima (2010)
- Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 (2019)
- Down By The Riverside – Requiem For A King featuring Angela Davis (2019)
- Go FOR BROKE! A Tribute to Nisei Soldiers featuring Janice Mirikitani (2019)
Dance Commissions
- Igniting the Spirit (1986)
- Between Me and the Other World (2013)
- Cross Currents (2015)
- Port of Embarkation (2016)
Theater Commissions
- The Legacy Codes (2003)
- After The War (2007)
