dee Brown - A Little Elbowroom

Here at Smooth Jazz Therapy this is Dee Brown week. Not only are we reviewing his terrific new album, ‘A Little Elbowroom’, but also giving you the chance to listen to the first track to go to radio, the wonderful ‘True Reality’. Simply click the selection at ‘listen here’ and enjoy. ‘A Little Elbowroom’ follows Dee’s highly acclaimed nuGroove debut ‘No Time To Waste’ that proved to be one of the surprise packets of the time and included the track ‘El Spanyo’ which made it into the Smooth Jazz Therapy top twenty tunes of 2007. Packed full of Brown’s urban tinged grooves, a feature of the collection was the way in which he blended his own playing with the sax of Dezie McCullers Jr and the vocals of some of Detroit’s freshest new talent. Now with ‘A Little Elbowroom’ Brown has come up with a sound that is unashamedly more guitar based and which shows of a different dimension of his considerable virtuosity. With a vibe that at times invites comparisons with his great guitar hero George Benson, this is an album that represents a significant milestone in Brown’s quickly evolving musical maturity.

Demitris Edwards Brown, aka Dee Brown, was born in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in a home where his mother was into the Motown Sound and his father listened to the music of jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus. Brown’s own contemporary jazz guitar style is an amalgam of all those influences and on ‘A Little Elbowroom’ his special blend of sumptuously smooth jazz is beautifully exemplified by the wonderful ‘I Know Your Voice’. This easy on the ear slice of mid tempo smooth jazz includes some nice sax interventions from Dezie McCullers Jr and it is McCullers who again comes up big for ‘More Than Real’ which, leaving aside his powerful contribution, is a highly accessible example of guitar driven contemporary jazz.

The title cut, the name of which articulates Brown’s new found sense of musical freedom, is, in the context of this essentially tranquil collection, one of the CD’s more up tempo numbers. Driven along on a nice beat which underpins an infectious melody it contrasts deliciously with the languidly tender ‘Its Just A Good Feeling’ that affords the time and the space for Brown to show off his velvety guitar skills. Elsewhere the bright, perky and distinctly Benson-esque, ‘Sonny’ allows him to do much the same while ‘Only If You Knew’, although easy paced, is blessed with an unmistakeably jazzy edge. It’s a tune with soul dripping from every note and equally soulful is that aforementioned first track to go to radio, the splendid ‘True Reality’. Co-written by Brown, McCullers and keyboard maestro Nate Harasim, this sumptuous mid tempo charmer finds Brown’s melodic guitar entirely in sync with great sax from Darren Rahn.

This is one of three numbers mixed by Rahn and another is ‘Just That Good’ which has a cool turned down groove and more sublime playing from Brown. In similar vein is ‘Mellowdee’ which, in many ways, could be a metaphor for the entire album. Yes it has a mellow vibe but, additionally, is endowed with catchy hook that demonstrates the feel Brown has for picture perfect smooth jazz. He keeps things relaxed for ‘Believe It Can’ and again with ‘Just Say As I Do’ where top notch vocals from D’mitri and Gerard Brooks add to the magic. They are also on hand for the warmly inviting ‘I Didn’t Know’ which is a song that offers a genuine glance back to the smooth R & B of his previous release. Not only that, it is already a firm Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite.

dee Brown - In Conversation

Since the 2006 release of his excellent album ‘No Time To Waste’ silky smooth guitarist Dee Brown has been firmly on the Smooth Jazz Therapy radar screen. The track ‘El Spanyo’ made it into the Smooth Jazz Therapy top twenty tunes of 2007 and when the CD was subsequently re-released on nuGroove it became one of the surprise packets of 2008. Not only that, it signalled a relationship with the label that now looks even stronger with the launch of Dee’s latest project ‘A Little Elbowroom’. When recently Dee talked to me from his home in Detroit, MI I asked him about the creative process that underpins this outstanding piece of work. We also found time to reflect on his musical progression, the state of the economy, his major influences and an exciting new development that has taken him behind the microphone of smooth jazz radio.

For ‘A Little Elbowroom’ Dee has co-written every one of the twelve tracks and he explained that with the exception of ‘I Didn’t Know’ (which had been in his locker since his days as a vocalist with the band One Wish) they were put together in a hectic period between January and June of 2009. Perhaps more than any of the other eleven songs, ‘I Didn’t Know’ offers a genuine glance back to the smooth R & B of Dee’s previous release which, in the way his guitar blended sweetly with sax and vocals, was essentially ‘ensemble driven’. He told me that for ‘A Little Elbowroom’ the change to a more guitar based sound was a response to the feedback gained from the prior recording. This indicated a desire to hear more of his playing and, with a touch that at times evokes the sound of his great guitar hero George Benson, he delivers on every front imaginable.

Dee reflected that another benefit of being part of the nuGroove family is the way it opens doors to collaborate with some of the great artists he is now proud to call label-mates. For instance fellow Michigan resident Nate Harasim (of DeNate fame) co-writes and produces the splendid ‘True Reality’ that not surprisingly is the first song from the album to find it’s way to radio,. Dee particularly enjoyed the ‘to and fro’ that went on between them as the track developed and the final touches which were added by the mixing skills of Darren Rahn who also features on tenor sax.

I questioned Dee about the unusual name of the album’s title cut which, in what is substantially a mellow collection, proves to be one of the CD’s more up tempo numbers. He quickly linked it back to the confidence shown in him by nuGroove and how in turn this has helped him push out musical boundaries to create ‘a little elbowroom’ for himself. Fact is Dee has continued to do this in a range of directions with the latest being a stint as radio host with www.JS108Atlanta.com for a feature on his music within the station’s ‘Sessions’ series.

He recognises one of the key drivers for smooth jazz in 2010 will be to leverage the energy of the listening public. To this end a sequence of festival and concert appearances are being planned that could well take advantage of his new Atlanta connections and a fan base in his home city which is already well known for it’s passion for live music.

Above all Dee Brown wants the music to be heard and, as a result, the genre to be strengthened. As a player who was encouraged by his parents to perform and immerse himself in guitar greats such as Grant Green, Django Reinhardt and Joe Pass, there can be no one better equipped to rise to the challenge.

A complete review of ‘A Little Elbowroom’ will appear here next week.