Anita will be one of three featured composers for The Jazz Composers Showcase, one of The Jazz Gallery's programs in support of composers' works. The event will also be live streamed. Sets at 7:30 and 9:30.

Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra will appear at Birdland, "Home of the Big Bands". This will be A Triple Celebration for us: Our CD, 27 EAST, was released 20 years ago this year., this is my Birthday Bash (don't ask how old but there is a Beatles song about it) and it's Father's Day! A true celebration as Dad, Ted Brown, is 95 and will be in attendance! Please get your tickets today! Click the link. See you there!

Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra is honored to perform for the 140th Birthday Celebration of The Hopper House in its lovely, intimate garden setting. Help us celebrate! Be sure to bring a chair! Rain location is The Nyack Center, corner of Broadway & Depew Avenues.

Tickets are sold online in advance, and will be also sold at the door. July 21 "Birthday Concert" $20 for Hopper House Members, $30 Non-Members. We appreciate it!

Come early & bring a chair or blanket, beverages, snack... To secure your spot in advance visit The Hopper House website.

Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra will be presented by Jazz Forum Arts for the premiere of Hart Island Suite under the baton of composer Anita Brown. The piece honors a family member and all souls who rest on Hart Island, NYC's public cemetery, with a broad embrace to include those who succumbed to COVID-19.

The band will play two sets starting off with some favorites from Anita's book that also relate to the concept for Hart Island Suite. Additional details are available on the band's facebook page via ConstantContact promotional texts.

Admission is FREE! Bring a chair for this outdoor event on the banks of The Hudson River.

Information regarding possible LIVE STREAMING will be posted here as well as Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra's facebook page posts as well as at this hashtag: #hartislandsuite

Hart Island Suite was commissioned by The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, with fiscal sponsorship by The Hart Island Project.

Honoring the Potters Field for NYC: Hart Island, Bronx, NY with this premiere was supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Mary Flagler Cary.

Press Contact: abrownjazzorch@aol.com

A brief pre-concert talk with composer Anita Brown will take place shortly before the first set begins. Admission is FREE!

Friendship, an original jazz production composed by Kari Musil, featuring an arrangement of its finale number by New York composer/arranger, Anita Brown The FREEDOM OF JAZZ ORCHESTRA presents Friendship, the world premiere of an exciting, original jazz production composed by KARI MUSIL. Friendship was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.

Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra will take the stage for two sets at one of metro New York's finest jazz clubs, Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant in Montclair, NJ.  This is the first performance for the band since 2011. This performance will feature at least one movement from my large-scale commemorative piece in five movements, Stand: A Symphony for Jazz Orchestra which was premiered in commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of 9/11.  The piece depicts the American experience of 9/11, beginning prior to that infamous day and moving through the trauma and grief, and ending with a quest for strength, calling for all Americans to Stand as one people. Copies of 27 EAST will be on sale at the door! Hope to see you there!!  ~AB

I was commissioned by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley to write an arrangement of America The Beautiful for their 2014 Northeast Spring Tour.  Come on out and show your support!  All thier concerts are FREE and open to the public!  The Marine Corps Jazz Ensembles is comprised of Marine musicians in the following instrumentation: trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone and a four-piece rhythm section.

I was commissioned by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley to write an arrangement of America The Beautiful for their 2014 Northeast Spring Tour.  Come on out and show your support!  All thier concerts are FREE and open to the public!  The Marine Corps Jazz Ensembles is comprised of Marine musicians in the following instrumentation: trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone and a four-piece rhythm section.

I' have written an arrangement for the Marine Corps Jazz Combo commissioned by Gunnery Sgt. Jon Bley.  It will be performed with my long-time friend, guest trumpet artist Jon Faddis, on this gig.  Come on down!  It's FREE!! The Marine Corps Jazz Combo consists of a four-piece rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass & drums) and three horns (trumpet, alto sax & trombone).  This is a great opportunity to come out and hear some great musicians for FREE! This event marks the main kick off of a spring tour for the Marine Corps Jazz Combo, produced by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley, First Marine District, Garden City, NY.   Gunny Bley is THE Marine who hears every musical audition on the east coast, from northern New England to the Mid-Atlantic,  for potential Marine recruits who may be interested in earning a living as a musician in The Marine Corps Musicians Enlistment Options Program (MEOP).  It's a great program filled with opportunity, steady salary and benefits.   PLEASE NOTE:  As of 3/7/14 at 12:12 pm EDT, this gig is still technically NOT contracted. HOWEVER, the last of the long USMC procedures is underway and we all believe this gig WILL go on as planned!  If it is canceled I will post tonight...but it's not likely to be canceled.  SHOW UP!!  It's FREE!!  

I was commissioned by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley to write an arrangement of America The Beautiful for their 2014 Northeast Spring Tour.  Come on out and show your support!  All thier concerts are FREE and open to the public!  The Marine Corps Jazz Ensembles is comprised of Marine musicians in the following instrumentation: trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone and a four-piece rhythm section.

I was commissioned by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley to write an arrangement of America The Beautiful for their 2014 Northeast Spring Tour.  Come on out and show your support!  All thier concerts are FREE and open to the public!  The Marine Corps Jazz Ensembles is comprised of Marine musicians in the following instrumentation: trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone and a four-piece rhythm section.

I was commissioned by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Bley to write an arrangement of America The Beautiful for their 2014 Northeast Spring Tour.  Come on out and show your support!  All thier concerts are FREE and open to the public!  The Marine Corps Jazz Ensembles is comprised of Marine musicians in the following instrumentation: trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone and a four-piece rhythm section.

A clinic for middle school jazz ensemble.  Should be fun!

From October 4th through 27th, Nyack's Local Art Index will offer an exhibit of local artists' work.  As there are not many musical artists included in this regular practice, I will be the first composer whose music will be featured through playing recordings over the store's sound system while offering visual images of my band at work and availing myself to answer any questions about composing music through my filters. Please join me for the opening of this unique exhibit on Friday, October 4th at 5:00pm.  ML Gifts & Accessories is a lovely store attached to Maria Luisa Boutique;  a lovely store whose owner is a great supporter of the arts.  Admission is free.  A reception will be held beginning at 6:00pm.  I will be selling my CD, 27 EAST.

My piece, "Disarming The Tempest," will be read as part of the JCOI 2013 EarShot Readings, by The Buffalo Philharmonic under the direction of Matthew Kreamer, condutor on April 23rd & 24th. Readings are free and open to the public.

Disarming The Tempest is a symphonic poem illuminating the plight of returning combat veterans suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In AB form, its disjointed A section represents the tempest within, while the lyrical B section offers the inner peace they long for.

Its exposition reveals four short melodic motives derived from four spoken phrases, three of which are among a civilian’s concept of conversation-starters with returning combat veterans. In this setting these phrases induce a tempest within, rather than help the veteran infantryman feel welcomed and at ease, as they can prompt guilt, pain and indignation.

With programmatic intent, one can envision a combat veteran at a social gathering upon his return to civilian life, feeling alienated from that world. Assigned pitches render each phrase a motif. As the phrases are passed around the orchestra in the exposition, they are simultaneously assigned as intoned speech to additional players, reflecting an intrusive repetition of thoughts sometimes associated with PTSD. Wavering between consonance and biting dissonance reflects the veteran’s conflicted inner dialogue while appearing engaged in the civilian’s social world.

The three, increasingly offensive, civilian phrases are So good to see you!, We’re so glad you made it home alive! and Did you kill anyone? The fourth phrase used is the humble veteran’s response, Thank you. Thank you very much. In its development, the manipulation and treatment of these phrases illustrate the veteran’s shift in focus, resulting in a percussive portrayal of his being transported back to combat.

Following a bout with his personal memories, the transition to the B section offers increasing tranquility and progress toward greater control over his inner dialogue; a goal of many who suffer with this torment. Progress toward this goal is fraught with memories, depicted intermittently, as the piece concludes with a journey to peaceful closure, thus Disarming The Tempest.

The intention of this work is to promote awareness that each of us can allow our brave warriors the reemergence of personal inner peace and optimism by honoring their service and sacrifice without invading their privacy. This composition offers each of them the acknowledgement and peace I wish for them. I am grateful to the United States Infantry Marines who allowed me a window into their world as part of my research.

“…It is foolish and invasive to ask a combat soldier if he ever killed anyone…asking him that question is like asking him to reveal intimate secrets about himself…” --Grunts, by John C. McManus

“Losing control of my mind had never been a part of my plans.” --Soft Spots, by Clint VanWinkle

"[Explosions leave] a sense of disillusion for that split second. The world stops. Then hell kisses you in the mouth again."
--Brandon Weatherford, 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, United States Marine Corps

New York's stellar vocalist, Gale Cruz, will perform Anita's big band arrangement of her original tune, "Santa's On His Way" with the American Jazz Composers Orchestra at The Grease Monkey in Arlington, Texas.

I will be adjudicating the Jazz Ensemble State Finals, sponsored by the NJ Association of Jazz Educators.

Plans are underway for a second premiere production of "Stand: A Symphony for Jazz Orchestra" with The Next Wave Jazz Ensemble, the professional jazz ensemble at United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR DETAILS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE!!

**UPDATE: This event has been canceled due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. 7/24/11

Stand is an original symphony for jazz orchestra in five movements, currently being composed and arranged by award-winning, New York composer, Anita Brown. As conceived, it will be performed by Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra and will feature The United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon from Marine Barracks, Washington, DC. While we await official confirmation, the premiere date is on their calendar!

Mark your calendar for its premiere Saturday, September 10, 2011 in Memorial Park, Nyack, NY (10960) on the banks of The Hudson River. Admission if free.

This unusual piece of performance art intends to commemorate and depict the American experience of the events of our national tragedy of September 11, 2001 and its effect on our nation’s psyche. Inquiries for a second premiere date are currently underway. Check back for updates! Information regarding the possibility of live streaming will be posted at a later date. Please browse this site, dedicated to this project. You will find information regarding concept, research, estimated expenses and how you can make a tax-deductible contribution to the project. Please visit www.standsymphony.com and www.facebook.com/standsymphony