The first time I saw Norman Brown perform was at the Capital Jazz Festival in Ft. Meade, Md., in 1996. He was riding the wave of the success of his then latest CD release “After the Storm.” During that time, I had been honing my skills as a smooth jazz guitarist and was taking in the styles of any and every major guitar player who was on the scene. I had just formed my band “Simpatico” and after months of practice. I had finally gotten down an almost note-for-note duplication of his guitar work on his hit cover of Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes.” I loved his version of that tune and I really thought that I had reached new heights after learning to mimic this new cat on the block. Our band had reached a level of proficiency that truly made me proud, and even a little cocky. Then an almost devastating thing happened.
I heard Norman Brown play it live.
I learned a big lesson that hot summer day, sitting on the lawn, watching the spectators stare in awe at his fingers flying up and down the fretboard with seemingly effortless precision. I remember thinking to myself, “Holy smoke! I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
So I kept playing and practicing and trying to get better. Playing the guitar is such an incredible journey; you never, ever, get good enough. The more you learn, the more you find out how much you really don’t know. And the more you discover how much you don’t know, the more you learn how to apply what you do know to achieve what you don’t know. It is truly an amazingly beautiful and wonderful thing.
Last Sunday, I saw Norman perform at the Ram’s Head Tavern in Annapolis for the first time after all those years. Let me tell you, he was very good in 1994, but what I saw before me last Sunday night was nothing short of phenomenal. Brown maintains a sincerely easygoing stage presence and immediately engaged the crowd with his passion for the music, displaying the talent that has allowed him to reach a level of excellence that truly places him in the category of what I consider “greatness” as a jazz guitarist. I believe he has reached his time to be recognized as such.
The crowd was lively and upbeat as he played fan favorites from previous albums as well as some of his new stuff. He also introduced his daughter, Rochella Brown, who is an excellent singer in her own right. Opting to go wireless for the small venue, he wandered through the crowd giving everyone an up-close and personal view of his tireless fingers moving with lightning speed up and down the guitar’s neck for what seemed like forever. Toward the end of the show, he did various guitar impressions that included George Benson, Wes Montgomery and Jimi Hendrix. It was a spectacular performance.
If you have never seen Norman Brown perform, or if the last time you caught one of his shows was over ten years ago, you had better go see him again. He is truly a “great” guitar player.
G.
Correction - Big shout-out to my good friend, Janet. She is a friend of Norman and his family, and quickly alerted me to the error that my original post of this story referred to Norman's daughter as "Michelle" instead of "Rochella." My apologies to all. Journalism 101 - Check and double check your facts! Thanks, Janet!
Correction - Big shout-out to my good friend, Janet. She is a friend of Norman and his family, and quickly alerted me to the error that my original post of this story referred to Norman's daughter as "Michelle" instead of "Rochella." My apologies to all. Journalism 101 - Check and double check your facts! Thanks, Janet!
