dee Brown  A Little Elbowroom


Detroit born dee Brown is known by
his collaboration with sax player Gentry Shelby ("Shelby Brown") on the album Miracle. He started his solo career with the debut album No Time To Waste (2006). His sophomore album A Little Elbowroom was released in 2009 on the respected label NuGroove Music, which prospers under the guidance of David Chackler.

Dee dedicated the entire project to his father. “If it wasn’t for him introducing me to jazz, I would have never found my true love and passion." Featured instrument on this album is the guitar inspired by George Benson and Wes Montgomery.

Further musicians on the album are saxophonists Dezie McCullers Jr., Darren Rahn, Trumpeter Frank McCullers, producer, writer Valdez Brantley, Chip Dixson, Nate Harasim, bassist Dave Henderson, Kern Brantley, vocalists Gerard Brooks and Dee D’mitri.

We are often confronted with the True Reality. In dee's case the reality is mellow and appealing. Dee is supported by keyboardist Nate Harasim, who also co-wrote the song and Darren Rahn on sax.

The slow-tempo It's Just a Good Feeling features Valdez Brandley on piano and vocoder. Valdez is an excellent pianist as he showed on several YouTube videos of NAMM 2008. He recorded with The Winans (Return), Commissioned (Number 7) and also regularly tours with Usher.

But Let's concentrate on dee Brown who takes the lead guitar on I Know Your Voice and shines with a skillful solo. Another composer and pianist who works with Dee is Chip Dixon (Dark Child). Just That Good is his playing field. Multi-instrumentalist Chip Dixon worked with New Edition, William Murphy, Neil C. Ellis and Ian Von.

I especially like Chips' Only If You Knew. He has the special feeling for groove and timing. Dee Brown easily sets in for a cool jam. But honestly, I would like to see them improvising in a session.

Sonny surprises with a more jazzy approach. Starting with a melody loop dee takes the time for a splendid guitar solo and Chip adds elegant phrases on bass and piano. I Didn't Know presents Gerard Brooks, who currently serves as Youth Pastor and Music Director at Second Timothy Missionary Baptist Church where Wilbert Humphries serves as Pastor. What a blessed singer, what a great harmony.

Believe, It Can makes it slow and steady. With dee's own clean archtop guitar sound he tiptoes along the melody line. Talking about Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Earl Klugh you understands, what dee Brown has in mind, when he plays More Than Real.

Don't we need sometimes A Little Elbowroom? Dee creates his room on Brantley's grooving beat. On most of dee's tracks you listen to a saxophone. The sax player is Dezie McCullers Jr., who also performed on dee's previous album. He was introduced to dee by Venturi Gaddis, a part of the vocal group One Wish (dee was a member of this group in earlier times).

Isn't melody and groove everything, what a song needs? Mellowdee is dee's personal interpretation of what is all about. Yeah, we can hear your guitar! Just Say I Do is the final impression of the great singer Gerard Brooks and of a talented guitarist called dee Brown, who will brighten the days in Motor city again.

We witness the growth of a guitar star. A Little Elbowroom is the next step of dee's evolution to someone we will call a top-selling act.

 


 

Biography

Website

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Album Information

Title: A Little Elbowroom
Artist: Dee Brown
Year: 2009
Length: 0:43:15
Genre: Smooth Jazz
Label: NuGroove Music LLC


Tracks:

01 True Reality [3:31]
02 It's Just a Good Feeling [3:47]
03 I Know Your Voice [3:35]
04 Just That Good [3:25]
05 Only If You Knew [3:52]
06 Sonny [3:21]
07 I Didn't Know [3:30]
08 Believe, It Can [3:31]
09 More Than Real [3:45]
10 A Little Elbowroom [3:39]
11 Mellowdee [3:40]
12 Just Say I Do [3:38]

 

Further review: No Time To Waste