EPISODE 30 - Christopher Brown

 Christopher Brown is an acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz music and American culture. And through the expansive range of groups that he has assembled and/or performed with—which span from duos to Jazz big bands to military marching bands and orchestras—his musical and personal experiences have led him towards an interest in synthesizing the principles of Jazz with the day-to-day practicalities of life. However, given that businesses shape the global market economy that everyone lives and participates in, is why he has found it useful to integrate business philosophies with that of music to help develop himself and his band. Which as he likes to say, “we’re all in the same business…the people-trusting-people business. No people, no business.”   

 

 

 

The Early Years

 

       Born and raised in Portland, OR, Christopher began his life in music at age five with piano lessons before adopting the saxophone and drums by age 12. And throughout the rest of his time in middle school and high school, he’d go on to garner numerous local, state, and national awards. The first of his three most noteworthy accomplishments during this period began with the recruitment of a bassist and a saxophonist one fall afternoon for the purposes of creating a quick recording to submit to Down Beat Magazine. The recording was later mentioned in Down Beat the following spring as being the top high school small group for 1995. The second accomplishment came when he was afforded the opportunity to perform with Wynton Marsalis at the Alladin Theater in Portland, Oregon. And lastly, he was cast as an extra in the 1993 movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” starring Richard Dreyfuss 

 

Military

 

       After his completion from high school, Christopher’s enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps as a drummer for four years, afforded him the opportunity to strengthen his networking skills, beginning with his association with Ellis and Jason Marsalis while stationed in New Orleans. But after one short year in New Orleans, the Corps sent him to Parris Island, SC where at the recommendation of Ellis he began working periodically with bassist Delbert Felix, formerly of the Branford Marsalis Quartet. And from that association he caught the attention of the legendary jazz bassist Ben Tucker, with whom he worked on and off with for three years. And finally, right before his discharge from active duty, he was afforded the opportunity to perform with Jazz legends Buddy Defranco and Terry Gibbs at the Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, SC.

 

       Following his discharge in 1999, he’d take a two-year break in service before re-enlisting in the 63rd NJ Army National Guard band, where he’d eventually conclude his 20 years of military service with the 234th Army National Guard Band in Clackamas, OR. 

 

Education

 

      Upon Christopher’s release from active duty in 1999, he moved up north from South Carolina to eventually settle in New Brunswick, NJ for the following 13 years. And it would be during this phase of his life where the true foundation of his understanding of music would begin to cement via Rutgers University and the streets of NYC. But it would ultimately prove to be the relationships that he developed among the faculty within the Jazz program at Mason Gross School of the Arts that would serve as the most important launching pad for so many of his past and present successes. Following his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Jazz Studies/Performance from Rutgers in 2004 and 2006 respectively, he’d go on to teach both the introduction to Jazz historiography and Jazz theory course for four years before returning home to Portland, OR in 2012. And lastly, he has had the pleasure of teaching as an artist in-residence within Wells Fargo’s “NJPAC Jazz For Teens” program (NJ), Mt. Hood Jazz Camp (OR), Mel Brown Jazz Camp (OR), Litchfield Jazz Camp (CT), Rutgers Summer Jazz Institute (NJ), Montclair Jazz Camp (NJ), and the International Summer Music Camp (Brno, Czech Republic).

 

 

 

Awards 

 

       Aside from having won the top high school small group award in 1995 through Down Beat Magazine, he was selected in 2002 to represent the U.S. in a Rutgers University sponsored performance in Fukui, Japan, in addition to being awarded the Pee Wee Russell scholarship from the NJ Jazz Society in the same year. Following that, he was also selected twice as the drummer for the intercollegiate all-star big band's performance at the NJ Music Educators Association annual convention (2003/2005). Also, his recording with Rutgers' Scarlet Knight Jazz Bones (led by Conrad Herwig), helped them take home the 2011 International Trombone Association's “Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition” award. And lastly, he was given the 2007 Artist of the Year award (following Esperanza Spaulding) through Portland State University’s “Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute.”

 

 

 

Other Accomplishments

 

       In addition to his main passion as a drummer, he has also kept up his proficiency on the alto saxophone over the years, which consequently resulted in him having performed live with the great Ralph Peterson Jr. Quintet (2002) on channel six in NJ for one of their segments called “New Jersey Talking,” as well as having headlined as a saxophonist for both the 2007 PDX Jazz Festival (OR) and the 2010 Cathedral Park Jazz Festival (OR). And lastly, he served as the principle saxophonist in the 63rd NJ Army National Guard Band from 2001-2012.

 

       Altogether, since Christopher’s enlistment in the Marines, and subsequent move to the North East, he has had the pleasure of performing and or recording with many of the world’s top recording artists, such as: Beyonce, Esperanza Spualding, Liv Warfield, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Ray Charles, Jimmy Heath, Ralph Bowen, Ralph Peterson Jr., Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Charles Fambrough, Benny Golson, Bobby Watson, Craig Handy, Orrin Evans, Terry Gibbs, Buddy Defranco, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson, Stanley Cowell, Wess Anderson, Antonio Hart, Paul Bollenback, David Sanborn, Geoff Keezer, Onaje Allen Gumbs, James Genus, Don Alias, Don Braden, Victor Goines, John Benitez, Anthony Wonsey, Jim Rotondi, Valerie Ponomarev, Delbert Felix, Ben Tucker, Virgil Jones, Vic Juris, Boris Koslov, John Stubblefield, Darren Barrett, Jon Gordon, Roseanna Vitro, Lonnie Plaxico, John Cowherd, Kenny Davis, Carla Cook, David Leibman, Ronnie Mathews, Sean Jones, Marquis Hill, Arturo O’Farrill, Randy Brecker, Chuck Israels, George Colligan, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, John Pattitucci, Kamasi Washington, and Mel Brown.      

 

        Aside from Christopher’s first big musical break coming in the form of a month long European tour with Roy Hargrove’s Quintet in the summer of 2006, he has also spent some more time in front of the camera between commercials for Master Card and the History Channel, re-enactment scenes on the Maury Povich show, Beyonce’s “Count Down” video, and the big budget film “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. 

 

The Composer/Bandleader

 

       Since Christopher’s move back home to Portland in 2012, a large part of his focus has been on the continual exercising of his leadership acumen within the area of band leading. And given that this is a lot like running a business or organization, he has been able to use his band as a metric for musical and organizational excellence for other bands, organizations, and businesses to emulate. Therefore, like any leader who has to be rooted in themselves and their vision, Christopher has been intentionally using his band and the music they play as an instrument for challenging existing beliefs around “normalcy,” as applied to personal and organizational growth within schools, public performances, and private seminars. And what better way to have this all too important conversation than through the lens of music.