Alison Brown to Celebrate Release of New Album 'The Song of the Banjo' on Oct. 7

            NASHVILLE -- With her new album, "The Song of the Banjo" (officially out Oct. 9 on Compass Records), GRAMMY Award-winning musician-composer-producer-entrepreneur Alison Brown plants another flag in her ongoing journey of sonic exploration.

            Alison Brown will perform at the City Winery on Oct. 7. Tickets, which range from $15 and $25, are available by calling (615) 324-1010. Along with her Compass Records co-founder, husband, bassist and co-producer Garry West, Brown has assembled an all-star cast for the album including Indigo Girls, Keb’ Mo’, Colin Hay, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, as well as some of acoustic music’s most adventurous session players, including legendary drummer Steve Gadd, fiddler Stuart Duncan, Dobro player Rob Ickes, upright bassist Todd Phillips and, on guitar and bouzouki, Irish phenom John Doyle.

            Of the 12 tracks on "The Song of the Banjo", seven are Brown originals, including the melodic, pop-flavored title piece that opens the set, as well the gravity-defying piano/banjo duet, “Musette for the Last Fret.” Then there are her trademark compositions written in Cinemascope - grandly sweeping melodies like “Long Time Gone” and the Celtic-tinged "Airish." "The Moon in Molly’s Eyes" brings in bossa nova, with lush strings by Andrea Zonn. “Stuff Happens,” written by Brown and West, turned into an accidental tribute to Gadd’s old band of studio aces, Stuff, which set the bar for ‘70s pop-funk-jazz fusion. 

            Brown’s choices for cover songs are even more surprising, from her bouncy take on Orleans’ soft-rocker “Dance With Me” to Cyndi Lauper’s hauntingly beautiful “Time After Time” to 1980’s instrumental chart-topper Chuck Mangione’s “Feel So Good,” featuring Shimabukuro’s tenor uke and the drumming of Gadd, a boyhood friend of Mangione. In Brown’s masterful hands, all three sound as if they were written for the banjo. “Time After Time” is particularly stunning. “It just lays out so beautifully on the banjo,” she says, “and I figure if it was good enough for Miles Davis, it’s good enough for me.” Brown’s unique cover versions work two very different kinds of magic, revitalizing these rock and pop classics while stripping away stereotypes of what a banjo can or can’t do. “Familiar music allows folks to understand an instrument that they may not be overly familiar with. The banjo is complex, with melodic ideas normally surrounded by rapid fire arpeggiated chords, but when you play a familiar tune it allows the audience to more clearly hear the voice of the instrument, and to understand how the playing style is integrated into, and around, the melody.”

          Brown and West keep those surprises coming, as Colin Hay wryly sings Dionne Warwick’s 1970 Bacharach/David hit, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” accompanied by Brown on her custom-built wooden banjola. Keb’ Mo’s Americana-soul version of Marvin Gaye’s seminal “What’s Going On” is another unexpected pleasure. The bonus track, recorded after the album was finished and rush-released as a free-standing single, will be available on the CD’s Deluxe Edition. Along with Keb’s warm vocals, the song features instrumental sparks between Duncan and Brown, as well as an explosive piano solo by Joe Davidian. But it’s Brown’s understated backup and exploratory solo on low banjo that quietly steals the show.

            For those who came of age in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Brown’s re-invention of these familiar songs makes them sound brand new. For younger listeners hearing them for the first time, her versions may well set the new standard. That’s all part of the alternative banjo universe that Alison Brown occupies so beautifully on "The Song of the Banjo:, reaching into the past as she looks to the future, creating an album for people who didn’t know how much they liked the banjo, while giving banjo fans new reasons to love the instrument.

            “It’s amazing to me how much the banjo changed in the 20th Century,” Brown says. “And here we are in the dawn of the 21st; who knows where it may go?”

For one answer to that question, look no further than The Song of the Banjo.

            To learn more about the CD and Brown's new CD, visit http://www.CompassRecords.com.

Mary Beth Cross Steps Onto National Folk-Americana Stage

By Chuck Whiting
MCAU Editor            

          DENVER (February 2014) – Denver singer-songwriter Mary Beth Cross has stepped onto the national folk-Americana stage with the release of her fourth CD "Beyond Good and Evil", landing a top-five ranking on Airplay Direct, receiving positive reviews from critics around the world, and performing at major venues.

            "Last year was unforgettable, and 2014 looks to be even better," said Cross, who is already working on her fifth album. My music comes from inspiration found in the beauty of nature and the human spirit. I work with all kinds of people, and I write songs to hopefully touch others and make them feel something."

            The singer, songwriter, guitarist, banjoist and artist career coach received international exposure when "Beyond Good and Evil" hit number four on Airplay Direct's Americana Music Chart. Recorded in Nashville, the project gives voice to the pioneer spirit of the American frontier with original songs and cover tunes. Cross spent more than a year penning songs reflecting the grit and determination of the adventurers who blazed a trail from the East to the West in search of what they treasured most: beauty, adventure, land, new opportunities for work, and freedom from oppression.

            Now she's taking her one-of-a-kind musical storytelling act on the road, appearing at events and venues such as Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo., and the Black Rose Acoustic Society in Colorado Springs and Black Forest, Colo. Positive reviews are opening the way for airplay and appearances around the world, with Country Music News International calling the album worthy of "Americana CD of the Year".

            When she isn't on the road performing, Cross is writing songs for her fifth album. The project, which is set for release in 2015, will reflect on what it feels like to be home. Like her other albums, including "Beyond Good and Evil", her songs will offer "thoughtful, soothing music for thoughtful living".

            “I’ve discovered that people are yearning to find acceptance and solace in a dizzying world of pressure-filled expectations,” Cross added. “People long for an authentic, non-formula approach.

            Cross carefully chooses acoustic instrumentation to bring her story-driven songs to life. Her music represents a few of the cultures that have contributed to what has become American music today, including the banjos of African immigrants; the pipes, whistles and percussion of Celtic music makers in the British Isles; and the horns, accordions and fiddles of French cafes. Her soaring, pure-tone soprano vocals have touched hearts in major venues, including the Denver Coliseum.

            "Beyond Good and Evil" was produced, recorded and mixed by Dave Bechtel at Playground Recording Studio in Nashville. The album features Cross on lead and background vocals; multiple Grammy and IBMA Award-winning Stuart Duncan on fiddle, mandolin and banjo; Matthew Pierson on acoustic and electric bass; Mike Payne on acoustic and six-string guitar; Blair Masters on piano, accordion, organ and melodica; Ken Lewis on drums and percussion; Paul Nelson on cello; Michael Douchette on dobro; Gary Pigg on background vocals; and Bechtel on whistle.
  

            The CD is being promoted nationally to folk-Americana radio by Nashville-based Bill Wence Promotions.  Whiting Publicity & Promotions is handling publicity.

            "Beyond Good and Evil" continues to receive rave reviews.

            "What is so compelling about Mary Beth's music to me is that it both educates and moves me," Bechtel said. "Her love and understanding of the struggles of the people for whom this great country was founded creates compelling stories. For her to tell these stories that so few have ever heard gives a voice to those who were born in a time when not everyone was treated as equal. This reveals Mary Beth's compassionate heart."

            "Through the sweet purity of her voice, Mary Beth has captured the underlying haunting story in 'Babes in the Wood'," said artist Dierdre Keohane, partner of the late Irish songwriter Noel Brazil. I know Noel would be proud of this version."

            "'Beyond Good and Evil' is a wonderful collaboration of fine instrumentalists and Mary Beth's vocals and songwriting," raved Chris McKhool, producer, composer, violinist and fiddler for Sultan of String. "It is a pleasure and joy to listen to."

            "I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and sheer musicality that radiated from my speakers," said Uwe Kruger, singer/guitarist/songwriter of The Kruger Brothers. "She has managed to get her very outgoing, winning personality infused into her selection of songs that keep you listening to the CD all the way through with great joy!"

            An accomplished vocalist and tunesmith, Cross moved to Denver in the 1980s to pursue a nursing career. Her music is influenced by the rural farmland and forests of her Wisconsin upbringing and the Rocky Mountains where she currently resides. The artist has emerged on the regional and national music scene with appearances on radio station KRFC-FM’s “Live @ Lunch” show at Colorado State University and musical performances at Folk Alliance International in Toronto; the “Colorado Performing Arts Jamboree” in Golden, Colo.; Swallow Hill Music in Denver; Metropolitan State College in Denver; the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto; the Denver Coliseum; the Colorado Association of School Nurses in Breckenridge, Colo. She will perform at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 20; the Black Rose Acoustic Society in Colorado Springs and Black Forest, Colo., on Feb. 28; and the Fall Out Urban Arts Center in Minneapolis on March 7.

            "Beyond Good and Evil" is available for $15 at leading online music retailers, including Amazon and iTunes. To learn more about Mary Beth Cross or her new album, call (303) 842-1587, send an email message to MaryBeth@MaryBethCross.com, or visit http://www.MaryBethCross.com or http://www.reverbnation.com/marybethcross.

###

Mary Beth Cross to Celebrate Latest CD with Special Concert

          DENVER (January 2013) – Denver folk-Americana singer-songwriter Mary Beth Cross will celebrate her fourth CD with a special concert and signing from 4-6 p.m. Jan 27 (Sunday) at Fourteen Seventy-Two Lowcountry Dining, 1472 Pearl St. in Denver. 

          The artist’s latest album, “Beyond Good and Evil”, celebrates the pioneer spirit of the American frontier with original songs and cover tunes. The free event will include live music, hors d’oeuvres, a full bar, and prize giveaways. 

          Recorded in Nashville, “Beyond Good and Evil” features performances by eight-time International Bluegrass Music Association “Fiddler of the Year” Stuart Duncan. Cross spent the past year penning songs reflecting the spirit and grit of the pioneers who blazed a trail from the East to the West in search of what they treasured most: beauty, adventure, a land to call their own, new opportunities for work, and freedom from oppression. 

          “All of these are part of the collective tapestry of a country that continues to forge on and grow despite great adversity,” said Cross, who performed last summer at the Spiritual Project’s “10^th Anniversary Gala” at the University of Denver. “The choices, sacrifice and yearning for a place that feels like home remain timeless.” 

          “Beyond Good and Evil” is being promoted nationally to folk-Americana radio by Nashville-based Bill Wence Promotions. 

          An accomplished vocalist and tunesmith, Cross moved to Denver in the 1990s to pursue a nursing career. She has emerged on the regional and national music scene with appearances on radio station KRFC-FM’s “Live @ Lunch” show at Colorado State University and musical performances at the Summit Foundation’s “Great Rubber Duck Races” in Breckenridge, Colo., and the “Rockygrass Academy Band Scramble” in Lyons, Colo. Cross, who holds a nursing degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will speak and perform at the National Association of School Nurses annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in June 2013. 

          To learn more about Mary Beth Cross or her new album, “Beyond Good and Evil”, call (303) 842-1587, send an email message to MaryBeth@MaryBethCross.com, or visit http://www.MaryBethCross.com or http://www.reverbnation.com/marybethcross.

###