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Alison Brown
Sunday 1.50
Alison Brown used to play the banjo in Alison Krauss' band, Union Station. Today she tells us that because they shared the same name, people used to think they were sisters, "particularly in Kentucky". She was inspired to learn the banjo after hearing Earl Scruggs at the age of ten, but although bluegrass is her first love she weaves jazz, bossa nova and Cajun influences into her music.
This afternoon's set leaned more heavily in the jazz direction, with much of the tunes coming from her recent Replay album. She was joined on stage by her excellent band, comprising John R. Burr on keyboard, Garry West on bass and Kedrick Freeman on drums. As with any band of top notch musicians they take real pleasure in each other's talents, and it was a joy to see Brown standing back and smiling at her fellow musicians' devilish improvisations, as each was showcased in turn in the closing song, Etouffé Brutus.
But Brown's playing itself is something that has to be seen to be believed. She starts fast…and then doubles the speed. She has always wanted to give the banjo more dignity, remove its hillbilly stigma. But she's still retained her sense of humour about the very, ahem, distinctive sound of the instrument. When joined by Eamonn Coyne on tenor banjo she commented, "who ever said that nine banjo strings couldn't sound good!" before adding, "Well, who ever said they could!" Their songs were the only ones in the set that were not her own compositions, and the more well known numbers like Oh Susanna, Clinch Mountain Backstep and Bill Cheatham complemented the more complex elements of the rest of her set.
Sue Keogh
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