Angela Carole Brown,CDs

"In our age of reality TV hype and focus group music marketing, the vocal prowess of Angela Carole Brown (ACB) wafts into my living room like an invigorating aroma. On her recent recording, THE SLOW CLUB, Los Angeles based ACB shows a remarkable breadth and depth of artistic vision, beginning with an arresting abstract acrylic painting on the disc's front cover. Inspired from deep within the bowels of the Slow Club in Paris, France, ACB's canon of songs pivots easefully from the laid back neo-soul-shuffle of the title track, for example, to the breakneck-speed scat on the somewhat autobiographical 'A kid and her dog':
     "'Betwixt and between rolling on the ground making mud pies ...
     'If you really want to know the truth of it all ...
     'She was a good kid ...
     'Watching ballerinas in movies...
     'So she puts on her very own show ...'
     "Her eleven originals are wonders of lyrical artifice and invention, betraying a preference for bebop, swing, Afro-Cuban and funk conventions, among other genres.
     "What sets ACB apart from her peers, however, is her obvious ability to interpret a lyric. On the basis of her own work, it is fair to say that she would easily lend to the jazz standards her own unique readings. For this, she utilises a powerful range of techniques, including near-flawless articulation, poise, great intonation and purposeful pauses and inflections. Needless to say, ACB is a professionally trained actress.
     "It shows!
     "Her mannered diction and narrative skills are heard to great effect on 'Van Gogh's Ear', a post-modern tale about artistic license and fate. In fact, the manner in which all her lyrics are written is unusual and captivating, referencing anything from Shakespeare to Dylan Thomas."
    "ACB is accompanied by high-quality sidemen who swing like the gallows and really know how to groove hard: Craig Pilo's masterful flourishes on the drumset stand out; Ed Czach and Billy Childs tease forth fantastic chord progressions at the ivories; West Coast woodwind wizard Bob Sheppard blows up a storm.
     "THE SLOW CLUB eloquently represents ACB as a multi-faceted, well-kept secret on today's jazz scene. She deserves to be embraced by anyone whom appreciates jazz at its most creative and potent."

"I was fortunate to be in Hollywood last Friday night, and caught the debut of this multi-talented group. Don’t let 'debut' mislead you. These are seasoned pros at the top of their game. However, it is the first time they have come together live to perform the exhilaratingly diverse RESTING ON THE ROCK album. What a treat it was!

"Fronted by singer-songwriter Angela Carole Brown, this foursome filled the intimate club with a cross-genre exploration of swirling melodies rooted in folk, soul, world, blues, jazz, soft rock and soaring psychedelic arcs reminiscent of the best of the late '60's. Yet the segues were seamless and organic.

"While not having the international assortment of instruments featured on the lushly produced CD, The Global Folk (featuring Ross Wright on 6-string fretless bass, Ken Rosser on guitars, and Jack Lees on drums and percussion) created a full, satisfying live sound that filled the room with both delicate detail and full-bodied assault, while allowing Ms. Brown's voice to be enjoyed in all of its eloquent texture, seductive nuance, and regal power. While all of the tunes will inspire and entertain, An Old Black Man Someday and Wake Up Ophelia are knockouts. The latter transcends Janis and Big Brother in every way, with Mr. Rosser blistering riffs, like Clapton at his Creamiest.

"It's unfortunate that a group of such top-notch talent plays a half-filled room, because the music defies categorization and contains mind-expanding literary lyrics, while talentless marketing-created hacks fill the big auditoriums, perpetuating banality.

"Angela Carole Brown deserves to be discovered by more than the cognoscenti of the LA music scene. If the fathers of formula that dominate the record industry fail to bring artists like these to your attention, then find Ms. Brown and The Global Folk yourself. You will be thrilled!"

"Actress, songwriter, and singer Angela Carole Brown has many talents, but in order to discover these you've had to live in Los Angeles. Until now. Thanks to RESTING ON THE ROCK and THE SLOW CLUB, the rest of the world gets a chance to acquaint itself with her, and it's well worth the trouble to look up these records on the web. As far as the material is concerned, here is a well-balanced collection of esteemed original songs."

Act like you’ve been there. Angela Carole Brown, vocalist, writer, and composer, did and scripted these lyrics to be fictitious in venue never realizing that many memories did cross its doorway, for The Slow Club’s home was in reality Paris. So the story unfolds but what is so stunning is how in music Ms Brown allows the listener to escape down this moody alley way grasping for that elixir of slow gin. THE SLOW CLUB released in 2005 by Rue de la Harpe Records is a full set of pure Brown originals molded to her moods and technique. Ms Brown known for her dark and morose presentation brings to the forefront her diverse and innovative approach to writing and performing. Out of the gate Presently Thinking kicks off with a strong keyboard prelude only to segue into the sultry moods of Ms. Brown. A very nice piece to start the journey. Significant are the talents of Billy Childs [piano], and Craig Pilo [drums] through the project. On the second cut Sixty Three the recipe of contrast between Kevin Ricard [percussion] and Bob Sheppard [woodwinds] is unique and a real trip. Sharp tones and easy to relate too. Most all the arrangements are so listener friendly and mate with the vocals nicely. The main influence Craig Pilo [drums] and Ms. Brown shake the house with cut Van Gogh‘s Ear. However prior to that piece, a solo performance by the woman herself, allows all to witness the true talent absorbed within her by many years of embracing music. Cantankerous may be an effort about ones self. One will never know but the style and delivery is so very special. Angela Carole Brown is amazing and should be experienced…

"As this year winds down, I think of the year and the good things I've had to be thankful for, and coming across Angela Carole Brown and her music has been uplifting, cleansing, healing, comforting, and my closest friend in a very difficult time. For me Rest Your Head is more like a prayer or a mantra to help one find their center. Wherever she goes to find these wonderful things I would love a map to there; the world needs a map to there. She does such good with her gifts, and this inspires me to be a better person and musician."

Angela Carole Brown...a Pro By Any Other Name...

"Yesterday I had the pleasure of recording one of my all-time favorite singers. I'm finishing up the SolidTube tracks and we will begin mixing the album in a few days. While in Vienna, I had Mandana sketch out the background vocals but another voice will really add some meat to the tracks. And I know of no meatier voice than the one that lives inside Angela Carole Brown.
        "I met Angie many years ago at a cabaret in Los Angeles. Steve Haberman, Jim DiJulio Jr. and I were the house trio and one night Angie turned up with a pile of charts. We played a set behind her that night and from the first note, I knew that I was hearing something special. Angela's rich voice oozes effortlessly and makes its way to the listener's ear on waves of pure and honest emotion. I know, I know...the last sentence sounds a bit over the top, but if you go to her website and check out the video of The Slow Club you will understand my lack of adequately descriptive vocabulary. So rather than try to put her abilities into words, give her a listen and see if you can come up with something better.
        "The first time I heard Mandana sing, I thought of Angela's voice. They both have a rich and sonorous low range...this is a gift and cannot be taught any more than you can teach a young athlete to be taller. Stronger? Yes, but size is a natural attribute and both Angela and Mandana have big natural voices.
        "I had hoped to do the background voices for the SolidTube album with the guys in the band in combination with Mandana, and some of these tracks may ultimately find their way onto the album. But when we cut the guide tracks for a song called Home I knew that there was only one direction to go. I emailed Angela from Wild One Studio and begged.
        "One look at Angela's website and it will be obvious why I begged...Angela is definitely not your average background singer. She is a published novelist, a composer and arranger, has produced her own albums and is a must see at her jazz gigs in the more popular LA nightclubs. But, she has always graciously stepped into the breech for me when I have needed her no matter what the gig.
        "Working with Angela is the ultimate experience in professionalism. She will stand in front of the mic and work all day to give you just exactly what the track needs. If you need ideas...she has a pocketful. But she's just as ready to duplicate whatever parts are needed. Want vibrato?...sure. Straight tone?,,,no problem. Double the track and sound like someone else?...yep. Angela has all the tools of the trade and then some. And she is so good at what she does that ego never enters the room.
        "Doing vocals with Angela is a little like doing a photo shoot with an experienced model. All you have to do is say a few words, point and shoot. She makes subtle adjustments so fast that you just need to keep the machine in record and catch each take. We did five songs in two hours and I never felt like we were working too fast. It's just that every frigging take is a keeper. Normally, there are takes that are better than others, but when she is at the mic, there just isn't a lot that isn't usable.

"I'm really looking forward to mixing this album and am so proud to have been able to include Angela's talent. I only wish that the SolidTube gang could have watched her work on their tracks. I know that her level of expertise and professionalism would have been an inspiration for them."

"When you think of love and music, you imagine a ballad that sings your song perfectly. Lyrics that tell the story of your life as you love or suffer the pain of it. It is truly the emotion that rotates this planet and when someone can deliver a thought, feeling or scenario that describes how you feel, it penetrates your exterior and pierces your soul. Angela Carole Brown sounds good, looks good and synchronizes with the rhythm that lies within. She has a quality trio backing her which, of course, always contributes to a magnificent sound. Ed Czach flowing with waltzing melodies of love on piano, Don Kasper plucking full and rich tones on bass and Craig Pilo providing just the right touch of timely percussive precision on the drums. From originals to standards, Burt Bacharach to Miles, you are going to like what you hear!"

"During these eleven tracks, Brown is as expressive a vocalist as she is inventive a composer. With a gifted musician's verve and a clever poet's ambition, she artfully spans adventurous, whimsical bebop (the enchanting "A Kid And Her Dog;" a vivacious "Baser Instincts"), smoky, languorous, jazz balladry ("The Slow Club," "Rest Your Head") and tales of love, both elusive ("Presently Thinking") and malodorous (listen to "I've Got Something Here For You" and remember never to cross this woman). Brown's tangy, impassioned voice is irresistible, her supporting cast of musicians brilliant.
"In her CD liner notes, Brown writes that she only discovered Jazz at a pivotal juncture in her life. Yeah, right. I believe this chick emerged from the womb swinging. You can't teach this kind of soul and sass; either you have it or you don't. Listening to Brown express the music that flows through her veins is a treat, entrancing and fulfilling."

"Her music is wonderfully entrancing and ethereal. She is a seeker, her music a soundtrack to her Search. Hallelujah to The Search. 'Tell me tell me do do tell / am I down to earth or high in hell.' My God, woman! Lovely!"

"I plan to use RESTING ON THE ROCK in my classes and know it will be an inspiration to others. The music and the poetry and her voice are all so close in purpose. I can only see this integrity as an achievement of her soul. She couldn't have drawn to her such close allies in Ken and Ross and Paul and Skins, and the others, unless she were coming from such an undiluted purity. The journeys through darkness are full of heart and fearless."

On Trading Fours
"...Ms. Brown is an extraordinarily talented writer who has an almost preternatural ability to bring music alive on the printed page, writing from the perspective of musician and audience with equal skill and realism. She is clearly well versed and educated in the underpinnings of music theory, but never for a moment does she lose her sure grip on the soul of what drives people to make music.
     The world of casuals that she paints in her novel Trading Fours is both interesting and depressing, with a sense of independence among these musicians battling with an undercurrent of the encroaching rot of the ordinary. For any fan of music, Ms. Brown’s insights from the inside of the music scene are riveting and enlightening. Having played guitar, myself, for about twenty-five years and having been a rabid music fan for even longer, I thought I knew a few things about music. Whatever I thought I knew, Ms. Brown’s book has added to it considerably. She goes inside the mind and talents of gifted guitarists and prodigious pianists and bears like Masonic secrets the amorphous currents of inspiration and devotion that keep musicians going back to their axes and audiences.
   For all of Ms. Brown’s expertise in conveying the mystery and intangibility of music, she is equally adept at evoking her characters’ emotional lives. The people populating the pages of Trading Fours are fully fleshed-out three dimensional human beings, who had lives before the opening of the novel, and whose lives continue after the final page. This is no mystery novel or thrill-ride suspense, but the lives of each character are so vivid and well rendered, and enormously engrossing.
   Trading Fours is an expertly written story about passion, ambition, envy, and each person’s struggle and need to make some sort of impact in this world, in this life. Ms. Angela Carole Brown is an amazing writer with a gift for dialogue and engaging the reader on a deep, visceral level."

"I've known Angela Carole Brown for many years. I've spent many nights on the bandstand with her. She is one of my favorite vocalists. She has the rare quality of taking a song that maybe you've heard a million times and making it hers...making you feel something you might never have felt as she sings it to you. I never knew she was a writer until this novel. I have to say that she wields the same power as a writer that she wields as a musician/vocalist. She delves into the LA music scene with such thoughtfulness. She leads you through the lives of a few LA musicians, carefully taking you on a journey of their successes, failures, hopes, dreams, and realities. She challenges your ideals and your artistic goals and/or dreams through the lives of her characters. I think this is a must read for anyone making a living in music ...or trying to make a living in music. In my opinion, Angela Carole Brown's words are deep, thought provoking, and as graceful as her voice."

"Perhaps one of the most under-explored aspects of jazz literature is fiction. There is an abundance of jazz product in the form of audio and DVD formatted recordings tumbling out on to the record store shelves and on the internet. There has also been a growing body of novels and short story work that makes jazz musicians a central theme. Los Angeles-based jazz chanteuse, writer and visual artist Angela Carole Brown belongs securely to this tradition. Her recent novel Trading Fours (Infinity Publishing) is set in a day in the lives of four LA musicians who make their living hacking away at an artistic seam called the ‘casual’. Whether it is corporate social events, Bar Mitzvahs, weddings and miscellaneous events calling for musicians-for-hire, Nick, Seth, Chloe, and Tristan take them all in their rhythmic stride – and still have to deal with the workaday issues of paying the bills and the rent and negotiating the minefields of personal relationships. Trading Fours deals with brilliant musicians who, oftentimes because of their lack of being well-connected, do not get the breaks they deserve.
"Trading Fours is in few respects, a triumphant meeting ground of art and sociology - a meeting ground as familiar in 2007 as it was in 1927, and one which it is hoped will receive even more insight and attention in 2008 and beyond."

"There was standing room only for Angela Carole Brown and The Global Folk at Jennifer's Coffee Connection, on Moorpark and Tujunga, on a recent Saturday afternoon. Brown is a veteran of the L.A. music scene as a vocalist and recording artist, heard on jingles, movie soundtracks, and most recently on Josh Groban's hit single 'You Raise Me Up.' Also an award-winning poet, Brown found her unique voice as a composer and released two albums of original music last year on her own Rue de la Harpe Records. Resting on the Rock is a modern folk experimentation infused with jazz and Afro-Eastern meditations, utilizing instruments from around the world, from a Chinese xin-xin to an Oahu slide guitar. The musicians from that recording, Ken Rosser on guitars, Ross Wright on bass, and Paul Angers on percussion, transformed the intimate coffee house into a global café.

"The riveting live performance was a prelude to a book signing, as the multi-talented Brown was celebrating the publication of her first novel TRADING FOURS, a story of four Los Angeles musicians who make their living by doing casuals, which is musician-speak for private parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and the type of jobs that pay the rent without delivering a lot of creative satisfaction or recognition. Anyone slightly familiar with the music business will have fun speculating how much of the 'chick singer Chloe' is Brown and how much is fiction."

"Angela Carole Brown's vocals are most impressive, evoking the despairing plaintiveness of Janis Joplin and Billie Holliday, while demonstrating the never-say-die heartiness of Tina Turner in the same strain."

"...the guitar isn't the main instrument on Sum Blues, a smooth, soulful album with plenty of funky riffs and grooves and warm chords; instead it's Angela Carole Brown's voice, which controls each piece with precision, yet expresses nuance and abstract emotion."

“…also necessary to complete the scenario are a baby grand and a cool, sophisticated jazz singer. Angela Carole Brown is just such a creature, with a rich voice that makes everything from Elton John to Edith Piaf sound just like Gershwin. Perched on a stool, she looks like an exotic falcon, with her head neatly framed in a cloche of black curls and the wide collar of her taffeta wrap dress nestled around her shoulders like wings. She exudes the kind of preternatural class that is uncommon in Los Angeles, where peacocks are more than ruler of the roost.”

"Talented vocalist Angela Carole Brown's recent release is the moody and playful epic THE SLOW CLUB, from Rue De La Harpe Records. Properly supporting this set we have Ed Czach on piano, Jonathan Pintoff on bass, and Craig Pilo on drums creating various moods that capture the multi-facets of Angela Carole Brown. Angela Carole Brown's tone at times is hauntingly similar to the likes of Diana Ross, but technically proficient like an Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Dianne Reeves, and Jon Hendricks. Angela's vocal style is also very personal and so full of raw emotion that at times it's kind of spooky in a weird way. One thing is for sure: this dynamic singer cannot be pigeon-holed as one type of vocalist. As you will hear on THE SLOW CLUB, Angela displays various styles of jazz like Be-Bop, Latin Jazz, Swing, Vocalese and song interpretations that concentrate more on emotion, rather than form, like a Nina Simone. Jazz lovers will be entertained by Angela's highly charged original compositions; not afraid to get down and dirty, Brown has fun with the Latin Jazz flavored "Sixty-Three" and the swinging tale about "A Kid And Her Dog", while Craig Pilo delivers a vigorous drum solo. On "Out Of Breath", to witness the exchange between Angela and pianist Ed Czach is like experiencing one of jazz's great moments in the making. "Rest Your Head" brings the tempo down to sentimental purr. A excellent choice for the Quiet Storm format. Angela Carole Brown's THE SLOW CLUB is an outstanding and long overdue recording of great jazz music."

"In her one-woman show, THE PURPLE SLEEP CAFÉ, Angela Carole Brown gives us some extraordinary lessons in what it’s like growing up as an artist, that if you grow up as a person who must rely upon, perhaps live within, the confines of the imagination, you grow up in a very particular kind of way, scary, sometimes. There is a moment in the play where Angela addresses the Muse, and it’s a gorgeous, gorgeous moment of theatre.”

On The Purple Sleep Café
“Angela Carole Brown, who has already established her credentials as a superlative singer, astonishes as a writer and actress in THE PURPLE SLEEP CAFÉ. This gal is clearly a mega-watt talent. The petite, elfin singer evokes at first the innocent loveliness of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, but as she begins to sing she underscores the fact that while most singers simply sing songs, great singers employ their voices as instruments and their songs as vehicles to create tone poems of undeniable emotional impact."

On the Zen of Miss Thing
“Angela Carole Brown, AKA The Fabulous Miss Thing, literally sank her teeth into Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild and Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking. Brown vamped her way across the stage, wielding more than just a rich voice. The mistress of the evening was dressed to thrill in a full-length leather skirt and a rosette bustier, vampiress eyes and black satin gloves that never seemed to end. She donned a German dominatrix identity, and threw down a funky rap in Boots…”

"Much of this mayhem featured the vocals of the pink-platinum-haired chanteuse The Fabulous Miss Thing (Angela Carole Brown), whose delivery sometimes resembled that of Tina Turner and who also plays a mean theremin."

On the Zen of Miss Thing
“The Fabulous Miss Thing (Angela Carole Brown) is a wonderful singer, who reminds one of Yma Sumac at one moment and a young Ella Fitzgerald at others.”

"Angela Carole Brown turns the hypnotic, African-tinged Si Kuku Ni Ta Kuja (A Great Day is Coming) into an inspirational musical message."

On the phenomenon of the triple threat
“Aristophanes’ Plutus is adapted, composed, and directed by Angela Carole Brown, and her accomplishment is evident in all three categories. The adaptation remains true to the Greek master’s humorous vision because Brown never loses her sense of direction. She gives us no wasted scenes and plenty of aural and visual pieces to hold our interest. The music is catchy –– part Wagner, part Webber, a little Bayreuth and a ton of Broadway. Her lyrics, too, are witty and well-rhymed. Thankfully, the performers usually enunciate and sing on key, so the whole package successfully comes across. Brown directs well and gets high-voltage energy out of her cast. It would be a disappointment if Brown could not act and sing as well as she handles the technical end. Fortunately she can. She is fine as Poverty, the god (or goddess in this case) everyone hates. Brown, in fallen-man attire, is classy and serpentine. Her moves are lithe as a fencer’s, her every stance a pose for painting and her every gesture cat-grace smooth. She sings like a soulful dynamo, having the best voice of the day.”