About Me
Born in South Bend Indiana in 1960
Michael is the son of English university professors whose love of music and poetry led them to take their youngest child to the great jazz, blues and folk clubs in their adopted home of Montreal to hear the likes of Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins. By the age of fourteen Michael Jerome Browne was performing professionally on the 'seventies coffeehouse scene playing guitar, banjo and harmonica and singing.Now Michael plays all over the world
with dates in Britain, USA, Australia, France, North Africa, and of course, Canada. In the last two years, Michael has played at many major festivals including, Edmonton & Calgary folk festivals in Canada, Festival of Plucked Strings in Morocco, and Port Townsend Blues and Heritage Festival in Washington State USA. Look for Michael at the Cognac Blues Festival in France in July 2004 and at Port Fairy Folk Festival, Australia March 2005.Michael Jerome Browne has released three albums in the last six years.
The first, entitled simply, "Michael Jerome Browne," presents the wide scope of Michael's musical influences. Featuring songs originally performed by everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee, Michael plays great banjo, fiddle, guitar, tenor guitar, and harmonica and sings with a voice that is both beautiful and honest.The album "Drive On" (Borealis 2002) presents Michael's songwriting skills (with lyricist B.A. Markus). This acoustic album hones in on Michael's love for the blues and reveals his deep understanding of the roots and influences of this rich musical form. Both albums were nominated for JUNO awards in Canada.Michael's talent as a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter
make him in demand with musicians in the jazz, blues and folk worlds. In 2004 he is featured on The Susie Arioli Band album, "That's For Me" (Justin Time Records), on the soundtrack of the National Film Board film, "Nothing Sacred (Rien de sacré)", and on Eric Bibb's new release, "Friends", which includes a duet version of the Markus/Browne original, "Just Look Up", and a live trio version of St.Louis Jimmy's "Going Down Slow", featuring Eric and Taj Mahal on guitars and vocals, and Michael on fiddle. His skills as a teacher and his encyclopedic knowledge of roots music also make him a favourite at Blues in Schools programs, music camps and workshops in North America and abroad.Latest album: "Michael Jerome Browne and the Twin Rivers String Band."
Featuring a stunning variety of fiddles, banjos, lap steel guitars, mandolins and Cajun triangles, this new release reveals Michael's passion for old-time string band, cajun and classic country music. The album finds Browne and lyricist B.A.Markus hitting their songwriting stride with the full band backing it up on the heartbreakingly beautiful "Still On My Mind" and the joyfully uplifting spiritual, "Just Look Up." His rendition of Lead Belly's "Out On The Western Plains," complete with electric lap-steel guitar and Jody Benjamin's mind-altering yodel proves that authentic string band music is alive and well and still making them dance in the 21st century.Watch the Michael Jerome Browne music video for the song "Going Across The Sea":
