Grammy® Winning Guitar Maestro/Singer Norman Brown Teaches Us How to Let It Go on Highly Anticipated Shanachie Entertainment Debut
Brown’s First Solo Album In Five Years Enlists All-Star Friends Including BWB Bandmates Rick Braun & Kirk Whalum, Chanté Moore, Sounds of Blackness, Marion Meadows, S.O.U.L & TrayCar
In the liner notes of Norman Brown‘s exhilarating tenth solo album Let It Go, he speaks about the principals of Maat, the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, harmony, morality and justice. These concepts of wisdom and knowledge inform Brown’s life and music. The highly sought-after Grammy®-winning guitarist, composer, singer and producer lays out the songs on Let It Go as his own truth and blueprint for self-realization and actualization. The guitar wizard’s manifesto is simple. He states, “My desire is for my fans to gain the spirit of joy, comfort, understanding and any hint of direction.”
When the iconic and pioneering guitarist George Benson sings your praises you know you are a bad man! Benson has heralded the consummate hit-maker, Norman Brown, as one of the greatest guitarists around today. Like Benson, Brown effortlessly fuses the finer elements of jazz, R&B, pop and blues to create his own insatiable and instantly identifiable and soulful sound. Brown declares, “My blending and crossing of styles happens organically by allowing the content to reveal its elements. There are only two kinds of music – ‘good and bad.” Brown has made a career of churning out the ‘good kind’ for over two decades. His unique elixir of urban contemporary jazz has allowed him to garner a devoted international following and an impressive career as a leader. He has also collaborated with the likes of Brian McKnight, Kirk Whalum, Miki Howard, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Dave Koz, Everette Harp andChanté Moore, to name a few. Shanachie VP of Jazz A&R Danny Weiss says, “I’m thrilled to be working with Norman Brown. It has been my goal for years! Although comparisons with the great George Benson are obvious, Norman bring a special freshness and vitality that are unmatched. Really, no one comes close.”
Let It Go is a sonic canvas of 12 mostly original soul-stirring and thought-provoking compositions that celebrate the spiritual and personal journey within each of us. “This CD expresses a chapter of a spirit being’s journey in creation on earth as a man/woman. Through events, challenges and problems as well as the peaceful joys of happiness and love, these moments are our spiritual classroom!” Norman Brown fans will take delight in knowing that he showcases not only his sublime guitar playing but his simmering soulful vocals as well.
Let It Go is also a family affair as Norman Brown, the father of six, shares the spotlight with his talented daughters, S.O.U.L. (Sister of Unbreakable Love). “They have all had the gift of music flowing in them,” says Brown of his vocalist/keyboardist daughters LaNika (a graduate of Musicians Institute of Hollywood), Rochella (a graduate of Berklee College of Music) and bassist/vocalist Kesha (a West Point Military Academy graduate).
Hailing from a musical family, Norman Brown was born in Shreveport, LA, and raised in Kansas City. Music was always playing in Brown’s house. His brother played guitar and a youngster Brown would sneak into his room in order to get his hands on his brother’s acoustic six string. Influenced early on by Jimi Hendrix and the Isley Brothers, it was not long before Brown was drawn in by one of his father’s favorite guitarists, Wes Montgomery. A graduate of the Musician’s Institute in North Hollywood, where Brown would go on to teach, the guitarist landed his first deal on Mojazz in 1992 where he recorded the albums Just Between Us, the Gold selling After The Storm and Better Days. Having recoded a string of successful albums including 1999’s Celebration (in which he teamed up with Paul Brown), 2002’s Just Chillin’ (featuring vocalists Michael McDonald, Miki Howard and Chanté Moore) scored a Grammy® win. The same year, Brown joined forces with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun for BWB’s debut recording Groovin’. They also recorded the CDs Human Nature (2013) and BWB (2016). Brown continued a trail of critically heralded albums including West Coast Coolin’ (2004) Stay With Me (2007), Sending My Love (2010) and 24/7 with saxophonist Gerald Albright. Brown has sold over one million albums and continues to delight his devoted fanbase.
With the release of Let It Go, Norman Brown not only delivers an uplifting musical tribute to life but he reminds us of our own instinctive divine light. Brown also affirms that the innovation, virtuosity and musical vision that we fell in love with years ago is full throttle ahead He concludes, “Our being is two parts and the only way for success in life is through the proper balance of the two.” So sit back, listen, open your heart, mind and soul and Let It Go.
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