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Saxophonist Jeff Newell’s “Brownstone” gets its title from the
grand urban townhouses constructed in late
19th-century America. The CD celebrates the brass band tradition of
that bygone era when hymns and marches were the popular music of the day, played on parade grounds as well as in churches and gazebos throughout the U.S. Newell and his aptly named New-Trad Octet take a reverent, yet contemporary look
at this period in our musical heritage, when ragtime and other
idioms sowed the seeds of syncopation that blossomed into jazz.
The CD showcases Newell’s innovative arrangements and his
ensemble’s inspired interpretations of three works by John Philip Sousa,
updated with Haitian “Kompa” music and other recent Caribbean
immigrant flavors; “Hymn Pan Alley,” a suite by Newell incorporating
melodies from Gospel hymns written by 9 composers who
lived and worked in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, during the “Brownstone” era; and the enduring classic “Amazing Grace.” A fixture of the jazz axis connecting New York City and Chicago, Newell leads octets featuring musicians from both cities on this
new millennium tribute to a turn-of-the-century musical legacy.
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"...a joyful celebration of familiar old tunes reborn in the modern era." "...an audacious concept that only Newell could have pulled off, and it works beautifully." Tom Ineck - Berman Music Foundation Jazz "Newell Proves himself to be as much a musical archeologist and iconoclastic composer as he is an innovative arranger." Neil Tesser - The Chicago Reader "...suggests the 'avant-gutbucket' ensemble style of...Charles Mingus and David Murray." Will Friedwald - The New York Sun "...the veracity of an ethnomusicologist but with the spirit of an adventurer." Jake Harper - All About Jazz |
 You can also download Brownstone from 
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