Wes Brown

Wes Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, playing acoustic and electric bass, piano, West African atenteben flute, and percussion. He composes, arranges, and leads his own Wes Brown Quartet, as well as being a member of the Blood Drum Spirit global jazz ensemble and the Talking Drums West African Jazz Highlife ensemble. He writes poetry and sings, with the ability to scat sing exrtensively while playing bass.

He met fellow musicians David Bindman and royal hartigan at Wesleyan, forming the group Juba with David, royal, trombonist Bill Lowe and guitarist Kevin Mcneal. He graduated and studied the music of India, West African dance, singing, and drumming, African American music, among other world traditions. For many years he was a member of the Jazz faculty ensemble at Wesleyan, performing regularly with Bill Barron, Fred Simmons, Ed Blackwell, Jay Hoggard, and Bill Lowe.

Wes has toured the world with Earl 'Fatha' Hines, and also has toured Asia, West Africa, and the Caribbean with Blood Drum Spirit. He has performed with many Jazz luminaries, such as Bill Barron, Fred Simmons, Bill Lowe, Ed Blackwell, Anthony Davis, Fred Ho, Mixashawn Lee Rozie, and Bill Dixon, among others.

He taught bass and Gospel Choir at UMass Dartmouth, and has advocated for a global curriculum in music to include the music of the world's peoples - Asia, Africa, West Asia/Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

Wes currently resides in western Massachusetts and performs regularly with a number of groups, including his own quartet, royal hartigan's Blood Drum Spirit, the Boston-based Makanda Project big band, Andy Jaffe, Julian Gerstin's sextet, Kwartetto Mambo, Dr. Julian's Yes Yes ensemble, Hafez Modirzadeh, The Vermont Jazz Center Jazz Orchestra, and Mixashawn Lee Rozie's Afro-Algonquin ensemble. He has also played reggae music with the Black Rebels band for a number of years.

He teaches bass, piano, and other instruments privately and is acknowledged as one of the world's most accomplished artrists, performing complex layers of tonality, time, and rhythm from West African, South Indian, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and experimental traditions.

Awards

Faculty position teaching bass, Gospel Choir, and assisting with West African music and dance, UMass Dartmouth, Music Department, College of Visual and Performing Arts.

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