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.
For more go to www.deebrownmusic.com
