It’s certainly no exaggeration to say that Alison Brown has helped redefine the role of the banjo in modern music. Her series of solo albums have made that abundantly clear since the beginning, and her interpretive prowess has not only made her one of the most influential artists in all of banjo music, but in the world of popular music in general. As her bio says so decidedly, “As a banjo player, she throws out the textbook when it comes playing the banjo, and the result is a sound that blends the rugged drive of bluegrass with the harmonic sensibilities of jazz… instrumental music has never been so beautifully represented as by Alison Brown.”
No surprise, then, that any number of honors have come her way. In addition to a Grammy and multiple Grammy nominations, she’s also the recipient of the USA Artists Fellowship in Music, and a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association. In addition, her efforts have led to appearances on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, and in the pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among other outlets, and she’s graced the stages of The Kennedy Center, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, MerleFest, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, FreshGrass, The Cambridge Folk Festival, Scotland’s Celtic Connections, the Dublin National Concert Hall, the Galway Arts Festival, and Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. She and her band traveled to Central and South America at the invitation of the US Information Agency and to Japan as Friendship Ambassadors on behalf of the Nashville Mayor’s office to celebrate a new sister city relationship between Kamakura, Japan and Music City.
As if that wasn’t enough — and it certainly should be considered as such — she and her husband and fellow musician Garry West are the co-founders of the internationally renowned and respected Compass Records, a leading independent roots, folk, and bluegrass label that boasts 1,000 releases under its umbrella, including those on Red House Records, Green Linnet, and Mulligan Records. She also serves on the Board of the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy, on the adjunct faculty of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, and remains co-chair of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize.
It was initially a change of course for one who had completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University and received an MBA from UCLA in hopes of pursuing a career in investment banking. Fortunately, the banjo wooed her away, and after touring with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and Michelle Shocked, she formed her own group, The Alison Brown Quartet, in 1993.
In effect, Brown has returned to her roots with the re-release of her first album, the aptly dubbed Simple Pleasures. An all instrumental album originally released on Vanguard Records — the label that signed her early on — it marked her debut as a solo artist, and featured contributions from Mike Marshall on guitar and fiddle, production by David Grisman, Alison Krauss on fiddle, Matt Eakleon on flute, Jim Kerwin on bass, Mark Summer on cello, Joe Craven on percussion, and, naturally, Brown herself on banjo. It also includes three bonus tracks in the form of demos originally produced by Richard Greene.
Bluegrass Today had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Brown who graciously recounted her backstory and the trajectory that brought her to today.
So your new album, Simple Pleasures, is really an old album, which, in effect, brings you full circle.
God, I can’t believe that it was released in 1990.
You were you like a child prodigy at the time.
I didn’t feel like a child. I had already like been through a couple of years of investment banking on top of all my other education. But I’ll take the child reference.
So the obvious question is, what’s it like, looking back after 34 years at this album, and more or less rediscovering it? One would imagine it’s like a journey into the past.
It was like finding a time capsule to go back into those tracks. Because a lot of that stuff I hadn’t heard in so long. The record came out on Vanguard initially, and it was recorded at David Grisman’s studio in Berkeley. We did it in the way that records were done back then, which was editing and listening to stuff on cassette. He would just like dump down all the tapes from the session, and so it’s not like I could ever listen to the interplay between the guitar, mandolin, and bass, which that like was just the coolest thing to really hear that dawgy rhythm section on these tunes. We were just trying to pick out the best sections from all the takes to stitch together the final version, if that makes sense.
So was it strange at all to look back on that period of your past?
It really did feel like a trail of breadcrumbs. It was like seeing my younger self, who I really was in my mid 20s. In a way, it was like a trail back to that person. I made this record basically right after abandoning the career path that I thought I was going to be on, and instead of pursuing a white collar job, I really took the road less traveled and decided to ditch it for the banjo. I really didn’t know if I could write a record’s worth of tunes, especially tunes that would not just kind of be rehashes of the music that was already out there. I was trying to do something new, and so as I listen to the music, I can really still hear the feeling of discovery, and the realization that I really could do it, and do it well. I really did have something to say on the instrument that was unique and valid.
How long had you been pursuing music prior to the recording of that album? Obviously one doesn’t make an album out of the blue. What was the lead up to that album?
I started playing when I was a kid, so the album was very much the culmination of that. I had left my day job maybe six months to a year before, and so I just decided that I was gonna take some jazz guitar lessons, because I’ve always just really loved jazz guitar. And I wanted to learn a little bit more harmony, because really, everything I know about music just kind of felt like I was learning on the job, all self taught stuff.
So I did that. And then I just set about trying to write, and these are the first tunes I came up with. And in some of them, I can really hear the jazz guitar lessons. I can hear just like the search for something unique in a lot of the other tunes too. I started playing when I was ten, and I really got serious about it when I was about 12. I just couldn’t let go with that idea.
So in effect, that was your big break. As well as the confirmation that you could do what you wanted to do.
It was the thing that started me on my path, along with playing in Alison Krauss & Union Station. Those are the two things that sort of lit the fire for me to continue to pursue my banjo dream.
So when you look back on this album, do you hear anything that should have been done in a different way?
Is there ever a time that we listen to our work and don’t think that that’s the case? It’s surprised me because I have more thoughts of like giving myself a pat on the back and offering forgiveness rather than leveling a critique from the future. I listened to it, and most of it I thought held together pretty well. I was kind of like giving myself a pat on the back from the future more than cringing. And that was a pleasant surprise.
The recordings you’ve made since have defined a real trajectory for you in terms of style and the way you’ve branched out and incorporated other elements into your music as well. So how would you define your trajectory, now that you have the foundation that you’ve revisited here?
Oh, well ask me something hard why don’t you?
When I went to make this record, I didn’t realize how foundational it really was for everything that I would do later. The elements that are there, even on that first record, like using a flute, or dipping a toe into Latin grooves, or a little bit of jazz in selected spots, that was all part of the initial kernel of the idea. And it was really interesting for me to look back at that and realize that because flute was a presence on that record, and we’ve had a flute player in the band for the last five years, we’ve really kind of like returned to the template that that record created.
I feel like when people listened to that record, and said nice things about it, and with a Grammy nomination and all that, it was really so validating. It encouraged me to stay the course. I was encouraged to continue to explore the outer edges of what you can do with the banjo, exploring the other places that you could take the instrument. So that’s definitely been an ongoing thing. Since that time, I think we’ve gotten way, way better at just kind of exploring the sonics of the instrument, like really refining the sound of the banjo. I’ve really spent a lot of time over the intervening years thinking about how to make the sound fit in the best way in tracks that might not necessarily be like a bluegrass approach. .
That was also evident on your most recent new album, On Banjo, which was a solid definition of the instrument and its possibilities. So it really seems that going from that opening introduction to last year’s album, you can have completed a circle, so to speak.
Thank you. Every time, what you perceive to be some kind of like personal new mountain, you see all the other mountains you didn’t see before. And you know, like, every time you do one thing, it just opens up your mind to other places you can go. One thing that Simple Pleasures didn’t have on it was pianos. Pianos have become a big part of the template for everything I’ve done since then. For example, exploring piano and banjo duets is something that I really enjoyed doing on the new record. That was so much fun to do, and it makes me think that there’s definitely a lot more exploration that one could do in the shorter term in general.
You’ve achieved such standing and acclaim for what you’ve done, and have become one of the most distinctive and prominent performers in terms of banjo playing, and really bluegrass in general. So when you’ve won such praise and acclaim and popularity, it obviously sets a high bar. But can that be intimidating at times? Obviously, you want to make the best record you can make, but are you also thinking that you feel like somehow you’re not only driven to make a great record, but you’re also driven to reach that same plateau? I imagine that could be a bit intimidating if, in fact, that’s the thought process.
I definitely don’t think that. I’ve just spent all these years thinking about this music, and working on my own records, and producing records for other people. I just feel like every one of those experiences makes you better and sharper at your craft. And so now when I go into the studio and start doing something, I feel like I’m getting to draw on the benefit of all those years of experience.
It’s really invigorating and inspiring, rather than intimidating in any way. You get more experienced with what works and what doesn’t work. And so your failures inform you as much as anything that succeeded. They almost give you more information, and help you focus on your path even better.
I just feel really like going back to this record, remembering how it felt not to really know at all what I was doing, and not have any validation. My parents were so skeptical about the idea of like quitting a respectable, coveted position as an investment banker to play the banjo. It was like, what are you doing? But I really had to take that leap of faith on my own. I’m so grateful for all the validation that came on the heels of that record. It’s really empowering rather than anything else.
Simple Pleasures really feels so timeless and contemporary as well. If one were to listen to this record and not know that it’s you, they would think that this is just so fresh and brilliant and contemporary.
Thank you. I really appreciate you saying that. There’s something really special about your first album, and what you’re saying about the purity of it. I can hear that excitement of discovery, because there’s only one first time. So if I only have one, I’m glad that this was the one that I got.
So do you have a new album in the works as well now?
I’m actually working on a project with Steve Martin. We put out a single back in March, and we have another six or seven tunes in the can. Even though I’ve known Steve for a while, just getting to play with him, and do those shows when the Steep Canyon Rangers aren’t available, and sit around and jam, has been really great. It’s been really interesting and exciting.
So will that evolve into an album at some point?
Yeah, that’s the plan. We’re working our way towards that. That’s the strategy because once you put a record out, then it kind of really kills the opportunity to talk about the individual tracks as far as the digital service providers go. So that’s our plan, to just keep releasing singles, and then put a bow on it by combining them into a record.
You’re clearly a multitasker. You’re an artist, a producer, and you run your own record label with your husband Garry West. So the question is, how do you balance it all? And keep track? It would seem like your efforts have to be split in a lot of different directions. Clearly, you’ve got a lot on your plate.
I find that some days tend to be like music days, like if we’re out on the road, or if we’re in the studio, if I’m producing somebody’s record, or working on stuff on my own. And then other days tend to be more focused on the business side of things. And, yes, it’s a lot to juggle, but in a really good way, because they seem to like inform each other.
I think that doing just one of the things would not be as enjoyable without the other things to balance it. As an artist, knowing what the challenges are in the market, and what the opportunities are, really helps inform the creative side of things. If you don’t know those things, then you might tend to create an album that’s totally in a vacuum without thinking about what the challenges and opportunities are going to be for getting that music heard. If you’re in the trenches every day on that side of things, then you can bring that perspective to what you’re creating, or to what you’re producing for other people. And I think that that’s been a really positive aspect of the juggling.
For me, it works. I mean, it wouldn’t be the right thing for everybody. But I kind of enjoy the challenge of both.
So what’s next for you and the label?
I’m really excited to be working with Mindy Smith, who has a beautiful new single. And then we’ve got a record coming from Woody Platt, who was with the Steep Canyon Rangers, and that’s a bluegrass record and it sounds great. He’s just such a great singer and such a great curator of songs. It’s got a lot of great picking on it, and a lot of great things, too. So that’s coming out in the fall. I feel like I’m forgetting something, but those are some of the good ones.
Compass Records keeps on keeping on…
I can’t believe it. It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years.
