Mel Brown

talkin'blues presents The DVD

talkin' blues/Electro-Fi 3395

Although, it's only in comparatively recent times that Mel Brown has received the due acclaim his long and distinguised career merits, a plethora of those in the know, including B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Hubert Sumlin, Bobby Rush and Kim Wilson, line up to pay tribute to him in the introduction to a film which traces his early life in Mississippi ("you had to develop a sixth sense...") through to present times, where the clearly ailing guitarist ("one part of my lung is messed up") states his intention "to go out with a guitar in my hand...or a golf club." Well, he always did know how to swing.

The interview, jointly conducted by Electro-Fi boss Andrew Galloway and producer/director Mako Funasaka, is interspersed with concert and studio footage and the first musical contribution is "Red Cross Store", a song credited on his most recent album to his father. "Music was all around us. It was like learnin' ow to walk, how to speak," Brown explains -- and he learned so well, that as a a teenager he moved to the West Coast to work iwth Jimmy Beasley, later with Etta James and Johnny Otis, and by the mid-'60s had become one of L.A.'s top session players. His secret? He plays right off the top. "The more I rehearse, the more nervous I get."

After a Bluesway session with T-Bone Walker, a solo career was born, through the as-ever unassuming Brown while admitting "I feel comfortable I could play with everybody" - which he ultimately did, transplanting his play anything abilities first to Nashville and later to Austin, Texas, where he became a mainstay of the house band at Antone's throughout the '80s before heading for his current residence in Canada. Little wonder, on winning the 2001 Handy Award for "Comeback of the Year", he insisted he'd 'never been away".

Among the numerous musical presentations display are two concert appearances with Snooky Pryor, recording sessions with Fruteland Jackson and Finis Tasby (on both of which he plays piano), a studio take with The Homewreckers, plus assorted solo guitar and piano pieces. Unfortunately, most are truncated to continue the interview but it's still impossible not to admire his seemingly effortless playing. It does possibly ensure, though, that this hour-and-a-half viewing experience maynot be one that becomes too regular occurrence.

Bill Moodie - Juke Blues

A Beautiful Thing - Electro-Fi Records

BluesWax Rating: 9 Reader Rating: 8

Beautiful Indeed, (03/15/07)

Joe Louis Walker once told me of playing at Antone's with Mel Brown. "He's probably one of the greatest guitar players in any style. I remember playing at Antone's and all these hot shot Austin guys had played before him. Mel just came up and slaughtered all of us, including me. Just murdered everybody."

If Walker was right, then Mel Brown may be one of the greatest unknown Blues guitarists. Brown, who was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1939, learned the Blues from his father who played with Tommy Johnson and the Chatmon family. When Brown was sixteen he and his Les Paul moved to Los Angeles where he quickly became an in-demand session guitarist. A quick Brown bio from those days features stints with Johnny Otis, Nancy Wilson, Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and many others. As Brown lived the life of a musician there were many records and tours, including his first recordings as a frontman in 1967 with T-Bone Walker for the ABC Bluesway label. From 1967 to 1970 Brown subsequently released six albums for Bluesway.

Then, after leading Bobby "Blue" Bland's band off and on until 1982, Brown was asked by Clifford Antone to relocate to Austin and join the Antone's house band. Throughout the 1980s Brown backed every major Blues performer who came through the club. Then, in 1989, Brown relocated to Ontario and since 2000 has released four stellar records on Electro-Fi Records.

This current record features Brown working his way through eleven distinctively original musical paintings. The Chicago Blues opener "Take Your Time," which showcases Brown's seasoned Blues voice and his pinpoint guitar work eases the listener into the musical gallery. On the title cut, a beautifully crafted minor key Blues instrumental, Brown's 1960s work with Bland and King is evident. Here Brown's lush musical brushstrokes paint an impressionistic tour de force. On both songs Brown also adds tones and hues with his own expert keyboard work. On the next three songs Brown enlists John Lee on keyboards. Where "Ruby Mae" is a bouncy, funked-up wall covering, "Snap" has Brown taking these Canadians into the heart of Antone's as drummer Jim Boudreau is locked into the Texas shuffle, Lee's all over a Reese Wynans-styled organ, and Brown's supercharged guitar workout paints a Lone Star vista. On "Red Cross Store" Brown pays homage to his father, guitarist John Henry "Bubba" Brown, by recording this tune he was taught as a child. With just a somber Delta guitar transforming emotions into notes, Brown paints his stark landscape of the life he grew in; while "Make Love To Your Mind" features only Brown on piano playing a 1940s Memphis Slim-styled piano Blues.

Sandwiched between those deep Blues songs, Brown crosses over to the cool Jazz side of the street. Swinging hard a la Tal Farlow or Grant Green, Brown establishes himself as a soulful Jazz improviser, too. On "Sundown" Brown uses chorus after chorus of single-line solos to show off the colorful voice of his Jazz guitar.

Because Brown is more of an instrumentalist than vocalist, he expands Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster" with seven minutes of contemporary Jazz, Funk, and Reggae swirled onto one modernistic canvas. The final cut, "Karansa's Boogie," features only Brown's boogie bass lines supporting his bright, sustained guitar work and Boudreau's drum time.

At the same time, Canadian filmmkaer Mako Funasaka has released a DVD capturing Mel Brown's life in the music. Funasaka is best known for his Talkin' Blues film series, which appears across Canadian Television and at selected BET Jazz times.

The DVD begins with cutaways of Brown performing while Blues luminaries like King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Hubert Sumlin, Snooky Pryor, and Kim Wilson sing his praises. From there filmmaker Funasaka rolls film for 105 minutes and lets his camera detail Brown's biography, from learning the twelve-bar Blues from his dad to Brown's advice to young guitar players to listen to other instruments so the guitar doesn't sound like a guitar.

Wearing oxygen in his home and studio Brown talks intimately of his lifetime in the Blues. Watching the in-performance shots of Brown in the Electro-Fi studio with his Gibson L-5 are like watching a master sculpting emotion from a lifetime of inner fires. The live songs included here are "Mean Old World," "Take Your Time," "Red Cross Store," "Downtown," "Summer Magic" with his Canadian band the Homewreckers, "Laura Marie" with Electro-Fi labelmate Fruteland Jackson, and two with his dear friend, the recently departed harmonica master Snooky Pryor. Either purchase is a worthwhile addition to every Blues fan's collection.

Art Tipaldi is a senior contributing editor at BluesWax

Mel Brown

Talkin' Blues presents - Electro-Fi Records

You've probably heard his muisc more than you've heard his name. This fine DVD is part documentary, part interview and part performance. The DVD opens with brief complimentary remarks from B.B. King, Omar Dykes, Rusty Zinn, Bobby Rush, Hubert Sumlin and Bobby "Blue" Bland, for whom Mel was lead guitarist for a time.

Through most of his recording happened in the States, Mel now lives in Kitchener, Ontario, and has done several terrific recordings on the Canadian Electro-Fi Record label. Born in Mississippi, Brown moved to California as a teen, and soon tied up with bands and the recording business. He teamed with Johnny Otis, became Etta James' guitarist, was an in demand session musician in L.A., plus he played for TV's Bill Cosby Show and the Steve Allen Show. At one time or another, he played or recorded with: Sonny Boy Williamson, Billy Preston, Lightin' Hopkins, Jimmy Witherspoon, Willie Nelson, Eric Gale, B.B. King, The Crusaders, Bobby Darin, Buddy Guy, Jimmy McGriff, Albert King, T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Nancy Wilson, Albert Collins, Waylon Jennings, Snooky Pryor and many more. Then, after a move to Austin, Texas, he was invited by Clifford Antone to be his club's house band, and stayed there for seven years.

An even lesser known fact, is how truly stellar he is on piano, and the DVD gives plenty of opportunity to enjoy cuts featuring piano (guitar also!). Mel has some important info to convey to musicians, too. He's very intuitive when it comes to music and can read the sense and ferret out the guts or internal map of a song. As he says, "I can hear the change before you get there."

In 2001, he received the W.C. Handy Award for Neck Bones and Caviar on Electro-Fi. That was nice, he indicated, but pointed out that he'd been playing for over 60 years. There are cuts of Mel playing with with a good friend, Snooky Pryor, with Finis Tasby, Fruteland Jackson, and his own band, The Homewreckers, as well of cuts of Just Brown singing along with his instrumentation. There are eight song cuts included in this gentle dipiction of a very private man - well, well worth your time. It's no exaggeration; Mel is the "guitar man's guitar man".

Blues Beat - Winter 2007

By Scott Barretta Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Older blues and jazz artists in Jackson remember Mel Brown as the best guitarist of his generation. Unfortunately for the city's music scene, Brown left town as a teen in the 1950s to pursue a professional career.

On Mel Brown: The DVD (Electro-Fi), Brown recalls his fascinating life in music in a long conversation interspersed with performances both on stage and in the studio.

Brown started playing piano as an infant, and learned the guitar from his father, bluesman and folk poet John Henry "Bubba" Brown, whose social protest song Red Cross Store Brown performs on the DVD.

As a youngster Brown played in a group led by local bandleader Duke Huddleston and sat in with Sonny Boy Williamson II at clubs in Rankin County's "Gold Coast."

During the '60s, Brown worked in the bands of Etta James and Johnny Otis, and did extensive studio work for other artists, including T-Bone Walker. At the end of the decade, he worked on a series of six solo records that blended blues, jazz and funk.

For most of the '70s, Brown worked in the band of Bobby "Blue" Bland, but in mid-decade he helped define the "outlaw" country sound as part of Tompall Glazer's band. In 1983, Brown joined the house band at Austin's influential blues club Antone's, backing artists including Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In 1989, he settled in Kitchener, Ontario, and returned to making solo albums.

The DVD captures the brilliance of Brown's playing on both guitar and organ. His comfort level in a background role is highlighted in songs featuring lead vocalists Finis Tasby, Fruteland Jackson and Snooky Pryor.

Brown is somewhat nonchalant in discussing his remarkably diverse career, but guest commentators, including Bobby Rush, B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland, testify to his underappreciated gifts.

Scott Barretta is an Oxford-based writer and music critic. He is host of the Highway 61 blues radio show on MPB on Saturday nights

Mel Brown & The Homewreckers

Blues - A Beautiful Thing

Electro-Fi 3394

Not many can play real deal Mississippi blues guitar like Mel Brown. Ironically, as revealed in Mel Brown The DVD, he is not one to categorize blues into various compartments. On his first studio recording since 2000's Blues Music Award winning Neck Bones & Caviar, Brown tackles a wide variety of blues music. However, distinctive Mississippi blues guitar is what I hear the most in his satisfying music. Mississippi-born Brown grew up in a family where playing music was as instinctive as breathing the Delta air. He has shared the stage and/or recorded with Etta James, Johnny Otis, Lightnin' Hopkins, Albert Collins and Bobby "Blue" Bland. Brown performed and recorded with Antone's house band throughout the Õ80s. Near the end of that decade he accepted an offer to work at a club in Kitchener, Ontario, and he has remained in Canada since.

Forming the beauty of his benevolent blues are downhome arrangements, smooth guitar and sensual keyboards. There are 11 songs including nine originals and two covers. One comes from the Bland era and one is a staple from BrownÕs live show. The Homewreckers provide skillful support on nine tracks. Lyrically, "Take Your Time" is a modern day "Mellow Down Easy" with a melody that engulfs the original. "Ruby Mae" is resurrected from the Double Shot! album Brown recorded with Snooky Pryor. Here it is given a funky workout. ÊÊ

Brown suffers from respiratory problems. As such he is a stronger guitarist than vocalist. So, I personally prefer his instrumentals. "Snap" showcases graceful guitar and superb organ, while "Sundown" displays jazzy guitar and brushed cymbals. "KaransaÕs Boogie" has the sound of Õ50s Memphis blues. Stevie WonderÕs "Master Blaster" is sharp. Here, Brown succinctly picks single notes. The horns sound synthesized while the organ is extraordinary. ÊÊ

When Brown lets loose on guitar, itÕs the type of blissful blues naysayers feel does not exist. Without a doubt, blues can be a beautiful thing. Mel Brown is a legendary musician who performs notable blues. Listen for yourself and find out why this CD has recently been nominated for a Maple Blues Award. ÊÊÊ

Tim Holek - Ê December 2006 Southwest Blues

Mel Brown Chicken Fat (Re-released 2004)

THE ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 solo debut is a perfect soul-jazz workout. Although Gerald Wiggins contributes saucy work on organ, and bassist Ronald Brown and drummer Paul Humphrey provide endless easy-flow beats, Chicken Fat is guitar paradise -- twisting, twirling beneficence from not just Brown but Arthur Wright and veteran Herb Ellis, as well. Add Brown's deep-South blues shouts and his head-down testifying among the choppy, primeval funk rhythms of "Greasy Spoon" and the countrified shuffle of "Sad But True," and you have something truly gooey and succulent - one of the best hunks of barbecue you ever ate in your life.

MILO MILES (RS 947, April 29, 2004)

Mel Brown - Readers Café - Dunnville, Ontario, Canada - Nov. 23

by Eric Thom - Blues Revue Issue #81 - April/May 2003

Mel Brown walks into the tiny Readers Café club in Dunnville with the cool demeanor of Gary Cooper in High Noon, confident in the knowledge that both barrels are loaded. Sporting his patented fedora and dark vest, he mounts the miniature stage and, with the help of half his Homewreckers (John Lee on keyboards; Peter Grimmer substituting for Jim Boudreau on drums), breaks into "Don't Plan No Party This Christmas" from Electro-Fi Records' Santa's Got Mojo collection. Slow, slinky, and sly, Brown reads the room like he's read the faces of the countless giants with whom he's performed.

Brown finds his focus in the first three chords from his hollow-body Gibson as he and his well-rehearsed compatriots launch into a grab bag of sounds that demonstrate a grasp of country, Memphis soul, jazz, and blues. Brown draws little distinction between genres, simply playing what he hears in his head. Set lists go by the wayside. On this night, two solo-laced instrumentals (including the classic Brown original "Summer Magic") gave way to Brown leaving the stage while Lee continued with "Bye-Bye Blackbird." During a rousing version of "Get Out of My Life, Woman," a group of fans, joined by a waitress or two, carved an impromptu dance floor and spurred Brown to follow with a funked-up version of "I'm in the Mood" that met John Lee Hooker just outside Barry White's boudoir.

Miss Angel, Brown's partner and protégé, was invited to the stage to bring the dancers to a stately climax before leaving Brown to another killer instrumental, signaling an intermission. At this point, patrons were invited to the storefront to inspect its assortment of books and music. Readers is an odd spot: an age-old store oozing with the magical charm of yesteryear, like something from Petticoat Junction with twinkle lights for the season. All old wood and high ceilings, it is part bookstore, part diner-style restaurant and has a tiny, cramped stage. Could the patrons be aware of Brown's accomplishments as session man to the stars (Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins, B.B. King, Etta James)? Turns out visitors are regularly served a rich potpourri of talent by owners who understand the impact of good music on knowledgeable fans. In Brown's case, Readers is custom-made for someone wanting to play for a dedicated audience while avoiding the spotlight, which is also what brought Brown to the small, rural town of Kitchener. America's loss is Canada's gain.

The second set's energy level soared as Brown's jazz-inspired solos collided with equal parts R&B and soul. The importance of Brown's understated baritone became as evident as his choice of players, with Lee and Grimmer taking turns on inspired solos. Brown's ability to redefine classic tunes, including "Do The Hip-Shake, Baby," "Georgia," "Wang Dang Doodle," and "Sweet Home Chicago," was underlined by the night's best performance on "Mustang Sally." His closing track - a reinvention of "Billie Jean" - burned with power and passion, serving as a reminder that, though Brown has played sideman to the rich and famous, he's certainly absorbed the best of everybody.

MEL BROWN

Neckbones and Caviar

Electro-Fi 3363 (Canada)

Woman Wanted/I Ain't Drunk/You're The One/I Want To Hold Onto You, Baby/Love That Girl/Summer Magic/Get Out Of My Life, Woman/I Believe To My Soul/Goin' Down Slow/Lord, Have Mercy/Blues On The Green/I'm In The Mood

Guitarist Mel Brown first came to the attention of the record-buying public with a series of funky jazz LPs for Impulse! beginning with 1967's Chicken Fat, but his blues bloodlines are indisputable. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he's the son of John Henry "Bubba" Brown, who played with Tommy Johnson and had his own 1967 recordings (including Johnson's Canned Heat Blues) released on Matchbox and Flyright, and the cousin of the late Chicago bluesman Andrew Brown. His own credentials include stints with Johnny Otis, Etta James, and Bobby Bland, after which he relocated from L.A. to Austin and cut an LP for Antone's with Russell Jackson and Tony Coleman as the the Silent Partners in 1989.

Now living in Kitchner, Ontario, Brown appeared on Snooky Pryor's recent Electro-Fi CD and now has his own album for the label in the company of his own band, the Homewreckers, with John Lee on keyboards, Al Richardson on bass, and Jim Boudreau on drums. Although Brown took but a single vocal on the Silent Partners LP, here he sings on all except the two instrumentals-a gently funky Summer Magic that recalls his Impulse! days and Blues On The Green, which finds a grittier blues groove. The choice of covers is eclectic, ranging from elemental versions of Muddy Waters' Woman Wanted and John Lee Hooker's I'm In The Mood For Love to Jimmy Liggins' I Ain't Drunk, Allen Toussaint's Get Out Of My Life, Woman, and a Goin' Down Slow that takes a bow in the direction of Percy Mayfield. Brown dips into former employer Bland's songbook for You're The One (That I Adore), but his vocal chops aren't really up to the task. Lord, Have Mercy (aka Sinner's Prayer), with Brown switching to piano, works better, as does Ray Charles' I Believe In My Soul, a difficult song to cover that also boasts some of the date's finest guitar work. For the most part, though, Brown's rugged pipes are better suited to less demanding melodies like his own I Want To Hold Onto You, Baby, and Love That Girl. The guitar remains Brown's forte, though, and he sets an example worth following-despite having technique to spare, he never, ever overplays, a value that he's passed on to his bandmates. There are times, however, when the sound seems a bit too spare, almost crying out for the addition of a horn section.

Neckbones and Caviar might seem a strange combination, but when it's Mel Brown's singing and playing, the results are tasty indeed.

Livin' Blues -Jim DeKoster

MEL BROWN

Neck Bones & Caviar

ElectroFi 33G3

Veteran guitarist an B-3 man Mel Brown backed T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker and Etta James before spending more that a decade in the employ of Bobby "Blue" Bland. In the mid-1980Õs he moved to Austin and took a spot in the house bank at AntoneÕs, which released If ItÕsAll Night, ItÕs All Right, a sublime album by Brown, recording with Tony Coleman and Russell Jackson, under the name Silent Partners. At last we have BrownÕs debut as a leader with the assured Neck Bones & Caviar.

No one is readier for the spotlight. Where All Night emphasized aggressive Texas-style blues, sometimes with a contemporary production edge, Bones shows a more reflective Brown. With the dry Texas-California sound of Lowell Fulson, BrownÕs singing is measured and richly expressive, suited to both the raucous "I AinÕt Drunk" and the seductive "I Believe To My Soul". His guitar playing has settled into what sound like intuitive perfection, with Brown feeling his way into touches of melody and splashes of chord tones. Sometimes his lines are long and rolling, other times near-minimalist, but theyÕre always tasteful and extremely speech like. Lowell Fulson again echoes as stylistic kin, but on the soul-jazz workout "Summer Magic" Brown cuts loose in a funky, fleet style that sounds closer to George Benson than Texas blues.

The first-rate material helps. Z.Z. HillÕs deep soul ballad "YouÕre the One" and the roaring take on Allen ToussaintÕs "Get Out of My Life, Woman" are as compelling as the dangerously intense readings of "Lord, Have Mercy" and HookerÕs "IÕm in the Mood". Originals include the slamming "I Want To Hold On to You, Baby" and the fine shuffles "Blues on the Green: and "Love That Girl." BrownÕs band, The Homewreckers, merits special mention for following Brown across stylistic lines Ð low-down or sophisticated, theyÕre right there. John LeeÕs superb piano and organ accompaniment, and the rhythm section of bassist Al Richardson and drummer Jim Boudreau, lend each track a fantastic swinging feel.

Neck Bones & Caviar defies description, really. Just say itÕs so good it almost isnÕt fair. Track this one down and savor it.

TOM HYSLOP Blues Revue Magazine