Brothers Brown

Dusty Road

Funky Joint Records/335 Records

This is a great recording by four fabulous musicians. They aren’t brothers and should not be confused with the Brown Brothers, a country rock duo, from Virginia. The bands sound is a combination of blues, jazz, Americana, and rock n’ roll. To further confuse the issue two of them are named Paul Brown.

Paul Brown, the two time Grammy Award winning jazz guitarist, started his solo career in 2004. His musical influences include The Crusaders, Steely Dan and Larry Carlton. Brown is also a producer having produced Boney James 1992 album “Trust” and Carlton’s 2000 album ”Fingerprints” among others. His own contemporary jazz albums include 2004’s “Upfront”; 2009’s “Foreign Exchange” with Marc Antoine; 2012’s “The Funky Joint” and 2014’s “Truth B Told”. Since he’s based out of Los Angeles we can refer to him as LA Paul Brown.

The other Paul Brown grew up in Memphis but is now based out of Nashville. On this album he is referred to as Brother Paul Brown. He plays keyboards and has also worked with Ann Peebles. He is a Grammy nominee having played on and produced Bobby Rush’s 2013 “Down in Louisiana”.

Bassist David Santos has toured and recorded with Billy Joel, Elton John, John Fogerty, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Neville Brothers and Billy Preston. He is also a songwriter, producer and educator. Although based in Nashville he teaches bass, piano, and guitar via Skype.

Drummer and producer Pete Young has his studio in Nashville where he has been since 1991. His credits include touring with Loretta Lynn from 1997 till 2001; The Burrito Brothers, and Preston Shannon among many others.

The all original songs are credited to the entire band. The primary vocalist is LA Brown. The album opens with “Cup of Tea” with the lyric “She’s my buttercup, my sugar plum, she’s my cup of tea…gotta get some more down on the kitchen floor”. LA Brown takes a nice guitar solo. The foundation is secured by the rhythm section of Santos and Young. Brother Brown adds coloration as his fingers dance on the keys.

The band slows it down on the soulful “Love Sake”. They get funky on “Sweet Cadillac” with great guitar from LA Brown and nice percussion from Young. “When All is Said and Done your still my only one” is a catchy tune reminding me of the band “Orleans” but more bluesy. “Can’t Outrun The Blues” is another bit of funk driven by Santos on bass. Santos sings lead on “The River”. “Drink You Off My Mind” has a country sensibility; the vocal is by Young. The title track “Dusty Road” is the closer. These are just some of the highlights you’ll find on this fine album.

Amazingly these guys were never in the same room when this album was recorded. The entire album was made by trading files. The fact they are all producers in their own right certainly added to their success. I imagine they’ll even sound better after they complete their upcoming tour.

Richard Ludmerer