Alison Brown

As Amelia Earhart is to aviation, as Julia Child is to the culinary arts, Alison Brown is to the five-string banjo. She has broadened the instrument’s sound and identity with her distinctive voice as a player and composer, taking the banjo far beyond its Appalachian roots and earning praise from a variety of national taste-makers including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and USA Today.

GRAMMY winner and Banjo Hall of Fame member Alison Brown is one of the world's foremost banjoists and composers as well as one of the instrument's greatest ambassadors. In her hands, the banjo is equally at home on the front porch or at symphony hall. Brown has built a career taking the banjo far beyond it's Appalachia roots, blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a unique sonic tapestry that has earned her praise from a variety of national tastemakers including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and USA Today. She is a frequent collaborator with Steve Martin and Indigo Girls as well as the bandleader of the Alison Brown Quintet which is on a self-declared mission to bring the banjo to mainstream audiences. On her newest release, ON BANJO, Brown explores all the corners of the instrument's potential on a set of predominantly original tunes. Joining Brown are Anat Cohen, Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Sharon Isbin, Kronos Quartet and Steve Martin

With The Song of the Banjo (Compass Records), her first album since 2009, GRAMMY-winning musician/composer/producer/entrepreneur Alison Brown plants another flag in her journey of musical exploration.

Some of the most beautiful and popular putumayo albums are included in this 5cd package: American Blues (2003), Americana (2007), Bluegrass (2012) and Jazz (2011) exploring american roots music through legendary artists of blues, country, bluegrass and jazz. The set completes a great album released in 2009, that showcases the forms of jazz around the world. A must-have collection by putumayo, for all jazz and blues fans. Enjoy.

Robert Strobel's Refugees, a dynamic piano composition reminiscent of Takemitsu, explores the human drama of displacement in profoundly thought-out rhythmic and melodic structures. Continuing with the musical tradition of the 20th century, Keith Kramer transcends Olivier Messiaen's harmonic heritage in his oboe/piano duo L'etere del Tempo. Rejuvenated by Matthew J. Jaskot perambulates a futuristic universe of musical expression in seven diverse piano variations, miraculously springing forth from a simple pentatonic melody. In contrast, Jonathan Graybill draws inspiration from ancient Cherokee mysticism and lends a mysterious voice to the black-capped chickadee in Tsigili'I, illustrating its mythological association as a messenger of wisdom and truth.

Bobby Osborne is one of bluegrass music's true innovators. His trailblazing work with The Osborne Brothers, who charted 13 Billboard Country top 100 hits in the 1960s and '70s, took the sounds of the banjo, mandolin and Bobby's one of a kind tenor voice to a mainstream audience. Even at 85 years old, when Bobby Osborne could be resting on his many laurels, he is still driven by a desire to push the musical envelope. This album features an all-star cast of pickers and singers collaborating with Bobby on an eclectic set of songs.