Brownman

Visit BROWNMAN.COM
... currently the featured soloist for GURU's JAZZMATAZZ
(of Gangstarr fame)...
... born on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad...
... New York City schooled...
... Toronto based...
... improvising Jazz trumpet player...
... called "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpet player" by NYC's Village Voice magazine...
... called "one of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers" by Randy Brecker, multi-grammy winning legendary trumpeter
Currently actively leading & composing for 6 groups of his own:
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Brownman & CRUZAO
:: 5-man multi-award winning latin-jazz-urban outfit ::
Brownman & CRUZAO GRUPO MONSTRUOSO
:: a 15-man version of CRUZAO - a latin-jazz urban orchestra ::
Brownman & GRUVASYLUM
:: 4-man jazz-hip-hip crew ::
Brownman ELECTRYC TRIO
:: electric and eclectic in the spirit of Miles Davis ::
Brownman ACOUSTIC TRIO/QUARTET
:: straight-ahead mainstream NYC style ::
MARRON MATIZADO
:: 10-man powerhouse Salsa ensemble ::
Awards & Accolades:
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2008 Toronto Independant Music Award nominee
2008 National Jazz Award nominee for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 A staggering 5 nominations at the National Jazz Awards
2006 National Jazz Award nominee for "Latin-jazz artist of the Year"
2005 NOW Magazine "Jazz Artist of the Year".
2004 CRUZAO - Independant Music Award nominee
2003 MARRON MATIZADO - "Best Toronto Salsa Band" (SalsaSPOT)
2002 Canadian Jazz Composer of the Year (National Jazz Award)
2002 National Jazz Award nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2001 winner of the Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz Award".
2001 CRUZAO awarded the CBC Galaxie "Rising Star" Award
3 time nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" (NJA).
CRUZAO - 3 time nominee for "Electric Group of the Year" (NJA).
"Brownman... .. one of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers. It's been my privilege to watch him grow into the unique player he is today."
- Randy Brecker, multi-grammy winning jazz trumpet legend
So like it says up there, I lead and actively compose for 6 groups of my own (please see BROWNMAN.COM under ENSEMBLES for more info). Session musician with BMG & Universal. Jazz, Latin & Urban music specializations. Student of Randy Brecker in NYC (he built me...). NYC's Village Voice wrote - "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpet player", and I gotta dispute that given I reside in a country bursting with brilliant trumpet players - but I do know this - I am improviser with a deep belief in the tenements laid down by Miles Davis and Coltrane... that jazz doesn't need preservation... that it needs evolution... change is like breathing... to deny it is to deny artistic oxygen.
Oh - and to never look ova yo damn shoulder. The road is a long one, so this Brownman is keeping his eyes firming affixed on the future. Word.
OFFICIAL FANCY PUBLICIST WRITTEN BIO:
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Justin Time Records recording artist
BROWNMAN | Brownman.com
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"Brownman... one of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers."
-- Randy Brecker, multiple grammy winning jazz trumpet legend & long-time mentor to Brownman
Born 'Nick Ali' on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad, the multiple award winning Brownman is the NYC-schooled protégé to his teacher, Grammy-winning trumpet legend Randy Brecker. In the spirit of supreme trumpet genre-crossing visionaries such as Brecker and Miles Davis, he tirelessly leads and composes actively for no less than 6 ensembles of his own and is a musical director and/or featured soloist in countless others; testament to his unparalleled diversity of musical vision and skills making him one of Canada's most in demand session calls for both Universal and Sony recording studios in forms of music ranging from be-bop to hip-hop. As a featured soloist he has appeared with Canada's leading Latin, urban, hiphop, reggae, island and DJ artists in addition to his foundational jazz milieu. With just under 150 recording credits to his name - many of these albums having won or been nominated for Junos (Canada's Grammy) - he is considered to be one of the most unique and provocative improvising trumpet players on the scene today, recently being called "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpeter" by NYC's Village Voice.
As a leader his group CRUZAO has toured this country's jazz festival and club circuit extensively and has been called by the Globe and Mail "the most in demand jazz ensemble of 2002". Europe welcomed the NICK ALI TRIO in 2002 & 2003 and the BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO in 2004 as the group toured the continent and recorded 2 records released on European labels. 2005 would see an extensive Canadian touring in early months of the year and the later with a South American tour beginning in Cuba. At the personal invitation of legendary pianist Chucho Valdes, he would represent Canada at the Havana Jazz Festival; leading CRUZAO HAVANA comprised of an all-Cuban rhythm section featuring members of the essential Afro-Cuban ensemble IRAKERE performing original Brownman compositions as recorded by his multi-award winning Justin Time Records signed latin-jazz outfit - CRUZAO. This performance marked the beginning of a two month extensive tour of South and Central America concluding with a gig with GARY BARTZ in Belize and a recording session in Cuba with legendary timba group CHISPA Y LOS COMPLICES. Brownman is currently recording a second release with CRUZAO, simultaneous to a recording of his energized Miles Davis influenced ELECTRYC TRIO.
Brownman has performed (or recorded) with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Randy Brecker, Charlie Hunter, John Scofield, Soulive, Fertile Ground, Kenny Wheeler, Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson, Kirk Macdonald, Pat Labarbera, Dave Restivo, Dave Young, Stich Wynston, Kelly Jefferson, Quincin Nachoff, Rita Di Ghent, Philosopher Kings, Kyprios, Rikoshay, K-OS, Pocket Dwellers, Divine Brown, Grüvoria, Juke Joint, One Step Beyond, Kush, Jason Wilson, Tabarruk, D'bi Young, Dub Trinity, Kobo Town, Irakere, NG La Banda, Chucho Valdes, Hilario Duran, Energia Latina, Chiva, Bestial, Cimarron, Tumbao Inc., Ricky Franco, Fito Blanko, Eliana Cuevas, Plan C, Macondo, Pacande, Banda Bella, Dominicanada & far too many more to list here.
Brownman leads and composes actively for 6 groups of his own, all of which have gained critical acclaim in their own diverse idioms - the award-winning latin-jazz unit CRUZAO, a 15-man large ensemble version of that group - CRUZAO GRUPO MONSTRUOSO, jazz-hip-hop group GRUVASYLUM, mainstream hard-swinging threesome The Brownman ACOUSTIC QUARTET, the Miles Davis influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO and the 10-piece Salsa powerhouse MARRÓN MATIZADO.
BROWNMAN.COM
Brownman is a highly decorated Canadian jazz artist:
Awards & Accolades:
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2008 Toronto Independant Music Award nominee
2008 National Jazz Award nominee for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 NOW Magazine's "Toronto Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year"
2007 A staggering 5 nominations at the National Jazz Awards
2006 National Jazz Award nominee for "Latin-jazz artist of the Year"
2005 NOW Magazine "Jazz Artist of the Year".
2004 CRUZAO - Independant Music Award nominee
2003 MARRON MATIZADO - "Best Toronto Salsa Band" (SalsaSPOT)
2002 Canadian Jazz Composer of the Year (National Jazz Award)
2002 National Jazz Award nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year"
2001 winner of the Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz Award".
2001 CRUZAO awarded the CBC Galaxie "Rising Star" Award
3 time nominee for "Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" (NJA).
CRUZAO - 3 time nominee for "Electric Group of the Year" (NJA).
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"... one of the next great voices in the new generation of jazz improvisers"
-- Randy Brecker, grammy award winning trumpeter
"... a great writer, energized trumpeter and thoughtful soloist"
-- John Scofield, legendary jazz guitarist
"... extraordinarily talented a modernist for sure"
-- Gary Bartz, saxophonist to Miles Davis in the 70's
"... in Brownman we may in fact be looking at the future of latin-jazz the evolution of the artform"
-- New York University latin-jazz professor Memo Acevedo
"... Canada's preeminent jazz trumpeter"
-- Village Voice, NYC
"... energy is never in short supply in Brownman's world. This Toronto/Trinidadian trumpeter loves skipping from style to style almost as much as he digs mixing it up with the jazz elite"
-- NOW magazine, Toronto (cover story)
"...the finest latin-jazz trumpet player Canada's ever produced"
-- latinjazznet.com
BROWNMAN & RANDY BRECKER @ LULA LOUNGE (2008)
A behind the scenes look at the Jan 11, 2008 feature concert at the Lula Lounge: RANDY BRECKER w/ BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO. Toronto & NY collide as 2 generations of modern jazz trumpet player come together. Includes never before seen interviews and exclusive concert footage.
CRUZAO: THE MOVIE (trailer)
The video clip above is the 2 minute movie trailer from film maker Vitold Vidic's documentary on the trials and tribulations of mounting the 2004 inaugural performance of Brownman & CRUZAO GRUPO MONSTRUOSO at the Distillery Jazz Fest, Toronto. It documents the journey from 5-man small ensemble to 15-man monster.
BROWNMAN @ HAVANA JAZZ FESTIVAL (2005)
This is a short clip of CRUZAO HAVANA taken by a fan while headlining the 2005 Havana Jazz Festival... visible in the clip beside Brownman - legendary Cuban bassist Chispa, leader of LOS COMPLICES, one of Cuba's foremost Timba ensembles.
BROWNMAN & CRUZAO on Breakfast TV, live (2006)
Nick "Brownman" Ali & CRUZAO perform "Knight Music", live on CityTV's morning show Breakfast Television (low sound so turn up that volume!)