Anita Brown: News

Anita is mentioned among "Jazz Luminaries" in an article on AllAboutJazz.com about The Corey Cook Ensemble. Mr. Cook recently purchased "Wake Up!" for his book of original works. Go to LINKS to connect.

My friend of 25 years and ABJO's Lead Alto Player was married to Jackie Weiss on June 29, 2008 at Crabtree's Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY in a quaint ceremony among close friends and family. In attendance were a number of NY musician friends and their spouses in addition to long-time friend and renowned saxophonist, Jeff Coffin, with whom Dave and I attended UNH in the 1980's. Good luck Dave & Jackie!

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (formerly known as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) gave a Vanguard Premiere of Anita's piece, "Remembrance," featuring Dick Oatts on also sax. Although Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra premiered this work as its opening number at the final New York IAJE Conference in 2007, Anita recently dedicated this work to the memory of her dear friend Dennis Irwin, long-time bassist with the VJO. He was instrumental in assisting her thought process by discussing certain concepts with her during late night hangs at The Village Vanguard following the VJO's Monday night sets.

Dennis was in attendance at Anita's IAJE performance. In a subsequent discussion Anita pointed out that "Remembrance" was the piece they had had several discussions about, to which Dennis replied, "I'm hip, I'm hip! Beautiful! And the sound was perfect. Everything was perfectly balanced. I could hear every voice perfectly!"

With Dennis' passing on March 10, 2008, Anita dedicated this piece to Dennis 'Ski' Irwin. Tonight's Vanguard Premiere was the first time it was presented as such.

"Tonight Dennis was with us as I conducted the band for the first time in his physical absence." --AB

Nnenna Freelon performed Anita's big band arrangement of the Billie Holiday tune, "Don't Explain," for The Jazz Foundation's Gala fundraiser. They will also record the concert for a forthcoming CD. Their 2007 fundraiser concert's CD was nominated for a Grammy!

See pictures in the Photo Gallery of this site and more via the LINKS page.

The top jazz ensemble from Las Vegas Academy, under the direction of Patrick Bowen, recorded a CD at the new state of the art recording facility at Community College of Southern Nevada (also in Las Vegas) on December 14 & 15, 2007. The large ensemble selections included three of my original works: "Quagmire," (never before recorded) "Alexander's Lullaby Waltz," and "Add Venom, Shake Well."

I have been asked to write the liner notes for this recording, which I am sure will be outstanding.

Check back for details as they develop. --AB

Tonight is the 30th class reunion of Andover High School, Class of 1977! Sorry I can't make it. I'm at home, trying to make some headway on a new piece of music which needs to be completed relatively soon.

As you may have read elsewhere on this site, I produced and released my debut CD called "27 EAST" in 2003. I had hoped to send someone a little blurb to say "thanks" to so many class members, but alas, I wasn't able to complete that communication. SO...I would like to thank the following members of our graduating class for contributing financially to this project. Their names also appear in the liner notes of the CD:

Russell Bedell, Philip A. Nardone, Jr., Gail Wilcox Catalano, Glenn Ippolito, Ken & Grace Sawaya, Vivian Petty Hrabal ('75) and Norma DeFusco King.

Your contributions, along with those of the other names listed, assisted in raising 5% of the expenses, which was a HUGE help! Thanks again!

I hope you will visit, browse & sign the Guest Book. You will see some entries from additional class members as well.

Hope you all have a great time tonight. I wish I could be there!

I can always be reached via the contact page on this site. Please don't be a stranger!

Hugs to all
--Anita

Tenor saxophonist Ted Brown recorded a new CD called "Shades of Brown" for SteepleChase Records with his long-time comrade, Steve LaMattina on guitar and my long-time friend and outstanding bass player, Dennis Irwin.

It is has been downloadable on iTunes since September 2007: click on "Links" on this web site. Hard copies are also now available just in time for the holidays!

For those of you who don't know, Ted Brown is my father, who met my mother, Phyllis Terrazzano Brown while both were studying with Lennie Tristano in the early 1950's. There they enjoyed a musical and social circle including contemporaries such as Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz, Sal Mosca, Sheila Jordan, Ronnie Ball, Peter Ind, Ben Tucker, Jeff Morton, Willie Dennis and more.

Mom and Dad turn(ed) 80 this year, as did Lee Konitz. Sheila just turned 79 with a party/gig at The Iridium in NYC this past week.

The New Jersey City University (NJCU) Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Ed Joffe will be recording it's first CD this week at Bennett Studios in Englewood, NJ. This recording will include the original works of faculty members. Joffe has selected "Wake Up!" to represent my writing. I recently had the opportunity to rehearse this fine ensemble with four young women singing the SATB vocal parts.

Proceeds from this recording will benefit displaced New Orleans musicians.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Formerly a student of mine as an eight, nine and ten year old, Krista is now a professional artist. As a graduate student at Chicago's Columbia College, she continues to study fine art through photography.

As a result of her participation in an art show entitled "Involving Violence" in the "Butcher Shop" (a.k.a., yesteryear's meat packing district) of Chicago, her first review compares her to Andy Warhol in an article written by Jason Foumberg at http://www.newcitychicago.com/chicago/6942.html:

"Several of the artists in "Involving Violence" remake and reconsider iconic media images of aggression and murder, from brutal lynching scenes to Eddie Adams’ blunt photograph of a Vietnamese prisoner shot in the head point blank. The lynching scenes from newspaper sources are rehashed courtesy of Krista Wortendyke. Her way of re-presenting violent imagery is to block out the tortured and bloodied victim with a pastel rectangle or stripe. This introduces a decorative element to the image, which is off-putting because it interrupts our expectations of the image ingrained in our memory. Wortendyke then traces a slight and careful outline of the victim’s twisted body. These lines serve to just barely remind us of the body hidden underneath, entombed in the image forever, and shielded from the violence that is re-enacted each time the picture is viewed or remembered. Wortendyke seems to be in conversation with Warhol’s legendary appropriations of violence; both make use of strong design elements in contrast to bleak scenes of murder, and where Warhol sought dissociation through repetition, Wortendyke’s distancing effects stoke our fascination with mourning."

Congratulations Krista!!

I am so excited for my long-time friend and comrade, and owner of the "Trombone 2" chair in my band, Pete McGuinness for putting together a stellar band and recording a tremendous CD filled with beautiful writing. Pete is a masterful arranger and has his own voice (both literally and figuratively). ABJO congratulates Pete on a triumphant CD Release Party at New York's Jazz Gallery. Bravo! --AB
www.petemcguinness.com

This spring, Anita was also asked to join the jazz faculty at Sarah Lawrence College as of the Fall 2007 semester. She will be teaching a year-long seminar in Jazz Composition & Arranging for undergraduates. Anita will join the ranks of this most esteemed faculty, which includes ABJO's lead trumpet player, Jon Owens.

Anita has been asked to join the esteemed jazz faculty at New Jersey City University as of the Fall 2007 semester. She will be teaching both graduate studies and private lessons in Jazz Composition & Arranging. This faculty includes such luminaries as Joe Magnarelli, Tim Horner, Joe Mosello, Jim Snidero and Rosanna Vitro under the direction of Jazz Department Chair, Ed Joffe.

Tonight, long-time ABJO trumpet player, Scott Harrell, and frequent sub Scott Wendholt AND long-time friend Ron Buttacavoli were on The Conan O'Brien Show with a rock band called "Fountains of Wayne" (I think...).

I only found out Scott Wendholt would be on shortly before it aired and was pleasantly surprised to see Scott H. and Ronnie too!

Interesting that a rock band would choose three trumpets over the more traditional trumpet, sax, trombone threesome of horns. GOOD!

MORE TRUMPETS!!!!!!!!
:-)

--AB

This fine ensemble recently played one of my arrangements. See CALENDAR>Past Dates for details.

One of ABJO's own tenor saxophonists, Peter Hess, played tonight, April 18, 2007, with acclaimed rock band 'Son Volt,' on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Congratualtions Peter!

In mid March I was happy to accept a commission from Mike Holober to write an arrangement for The Westchester Jazz Orchestra's "Jazz Goes Motown" concert, scheduled for June 2, 2007. Click "Calendar" for details.

I have selected a favorite of mine from the 1970's, "Dancing Machine," popularized by The Jackson 5. Hopefully, I will be able to reminisce with the audience while taking them on a journey presented by the notion of creating a jazz version of one of the funkiest and simplest tunes in the Motown collection. Hope you can make it!

I was honored by The Center for Jazz Composition's invitation to be a member of a panel of composers who would participate in selecting the winners of the 2007 International Jazz Arranging Competition in honor of Michael Brecker. Selections were made from a pool of finalists.

The winning arrangements will be performed as part of the Center for Jazz Composition's Jazz Masterworks Series. The results of the competition can be found at
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=13268

This semester I have a number of opportunites to work with The New Jersey City University's Jazz Ensemble. The first of these was February 22, 2007, when I was asked to rehearse "The Lighthouse" with the jazz ensemble.

This wonderful band, under the direction of Ed Joffe, played this challenging piece with great prowess and artistry. I was duly impressed and extremely honoured to have been asked to step in as guest conductor. The band also sight read "Dig It," one of ABJO's favorite openers; a tune composed by my father, Ted Brown, and arranged as a gift for his 70th birthday.

At this rehearsal I was also asked by Mr. Joffe to join the faculty of New Jersy City University to teach graduate studies in Jazz Composition beginning in the Fall 2007 Semester. Of course, I was ecstatic to accept this appointment. While NJCU's site hasn't been updated to include information regarding Fall 2007, you can click here for additional information:
http://web.njcu.edu/sites/mdt/Content/jazz_studies.asp

The NJCU Jazz Ensemble also played "The Lighthouse" at Trumpets in Montclair, NJ on Sunday evening, April 1, 2007. I will have the pleasure of conducting them on this piece on their Spring Concert, April 30, 2007. Click on "Calendar" for details.

In early January Mike Holober was asked to become the Director of The Westchester Jazz Orchestra, a non-profit, seventeen-piece jazz orchestra based out of Westchester County. As a major bedroom community to Manhattan, Westchester County is home to some of New York's finest jazz musicians, and this orchestra calls upon many of them to fill out its roster.

Mike was also named as one of the mentors in the esteemed BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop, of which both he and I were long-time members.

Mike continues to be involved with Riverspace Arts Center in Nyack, NY and is performing there regularly. He has recently recorded his second CD of music for his own jazz orchestra (in the same studio and with the same engineer ABJO used for 27 EAST!) and serves as a Composer In Residence with The Gotham Wind Ensemble.

We're happy that he still has time to be ABJO's wonderful and versatile pianist.

Congratualtions to Mike!