Alison Brown Quartet
Bands / Ensembles
The Alison Brown Quartet (1993–present) is an eclectic band from Nashville, led by banjo player Alison Brown, that blends jazz, bluegrass, Latin and folk music. Brown, a former investment banker, had toured with Alison Krauss and Union Station from 1989 to 1991 and served as bandleader for Michelle Shocked before forming the quartet in 1993 to play her own music. The first lineup was Brown (banjo, guitar), John R. Burr (piano, keyboards), Garry West (bass) and a drummer (?). Brown met West, whom she married in 1998, on the Shocked tour, and in 1995 they co-founded Compass Records in Nashville. Kendrick Freeman joined on drums in 1999. Fiddler and mandolinist Joe Craven later toured with the band, and Brown has also performed with an expanded quintet.
In the newsletter
- No. 32 April 2003