North Carolina bassist John Brown is one of this state’s leading musicians and educators. The Fayetteville native and alum of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will lead the NC All-Star Band on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2023 for the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival.
SWING WITH DEEP TONE
Brown garners more than a statewide reputation. His ability to swing with a deep solid tone has brought him praise throughout the jazz community.
“Brown’s woody bass tones are resounding and full of soulful authority…brilliant bass solo…solidly swinging and full of deep feeling from start to finish.” —Jazz Times
He boasts a Grammy Nomination for his performance and co-writing on Nnenna Freelon’s 1995 Concord Records release, Shaking Free, and an Emmy nomination for producing the Duke Arts Student Showcase in 2021.
He has performed at major venues and festivals in the United States and abroad with artists like Wynton, Ellis, and Delfeayo Marsalis, Elvin Jones, Diahann Carroll, Rosemary Clooney, Cedar Walton, and Nicholas Payton. Brown developed a great love for jazz while a student at UNC-Greensboro. He teamed with fellow student Thomas Taylor to form the jazz quartet, “In the Black,” and the group enjoyed a successful career performing in the region as a quartet and along with the late Melva Houston.
ORCHESTRAS and EDUCATION ADVOCATE
During his undergraduate years, Brown performed with the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Roanoke (VA) Symphony Orchestras, and he began performing regularly with the North Carolina Symphony. He began performing with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (NC) at age 13, and he was playing Principal Bass with that orchestra and performing with the Florence Symphony (SC) while still in high school. Brown still performs from time to time as a substitute with the North Carolina, Charlotte and Greensboro Symphony Orchestras.
A strong education advocate, Brown currently serves as Vice Provost for the Arts, Director of the Jazz Program and Professor of the Practice of Music at Duke University. Brown has taught at Duke since the Spring of 2001, and has also been a faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC Central University, NC State University, and Guilford College.
