Missy Lane's Assembly Room - Venue

Bassist, composer, educator and actor John Brown is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and currently resides in Durham, NC. He is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University and Guilford College (Greensboro, NC). John started teaching at Duke University in January of 2001, and currently serves as Vice Provost for the Arts, Director of the Jazz Program and Professor of the Practice of Music. He has been performing professionally since his teens, and has performed internationally with artists like Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Elvin Jones, Nnenna Freelon, Cyrus Chestnut, Diahann Carroll, Rosemary Clooney, Nell Carter, Lou Donaldson, Slide Hampton, Nicholas Payton, Frank Foster, Larry Coryell, Cedar Walton, Fred Wesley, Bernard Purdie and Mark Whitfield, as well as giving regular performances as a substitute with the North Carolina Symphony since 1992. He has performed for President Barack Obama, and at major national and international venues and festivals in Asia, Europe and across North and South America.

John has a GRAMMY nomination for his performance and co-writing on Nnenna Freelon’s 1996 Concord release, Shaking Free, and he has an EMMY nomination for producing the first Duke Student Arts Showcase. He has also produced and performed on recordings for Nnenna Freelon and Linda Lavin. The film One Night in Kernersville (documenting the first recording session of John’s Big Band) won “Best Short Film” at the Full Frame Film Festival, “Best Cinematography” at the Charlotte Film Festival and was featured on the Documentary Channel. John has also served multiple times as a juror and as Chair for the Pulitzer Prize in Music and for various engagements with the National Endowment for the Arts. He has actively performed and recorded internationally as a sideman and a leader, produced recordings and given education residencies for students across the nation. He has also directed an all-star youth jazz ensemble, is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is a YAMAHA Certified String Instructor and serves on several boards including the Nina Simone Charitable Trust, Discover Durham (Tourism Development Authority), UNC-Greensboro College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.

Bassist, composer, educator and actor John Brown is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and currently resides in Durham, NC. He is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University and Guilford College (Greensboro, NC). John started teaching at Duke University in January of 2001, and currently serves as Vice Provost for the Arts, Director of the Jazz Program and Professor of the Practice of Music. He has been performing professionally since his teens, and has performed internationally with artists like Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Elvin Jones, Nnenna Freelon, Cyrus Chestnut, Diahann Carroll, Rosemary Clooney, Nell Carter, Lou Donaldson, Slide Hampton, Nicholas Payton, Frank Foster, Larry Coryell, Cedar Walton, Fred Wesley, Bernard Purdie and Mark Whitfield, as well as giving regular performances as a substitute with the North Carolina Symphony since 1992. He has performed for President Barack Obama, and at major national and international venues and festivals in Asia, Europe and across North and South America.

John has a GRAMMY nomination for his performance and co-writing on Nnenna Freelon’s 1996 Concord release, Shaking Free, and he has an EMMY nomination for producing the first Duke Student Arts Showcase. He has also produced and performed on recordings for Nnenna Freelon and Linda Lavin. The film One Night in Kernersville (documenting the first recording session of John’s Big Band) won “Best Short Film” at the Full Frame Film Festival, “Best Cinematography” at the Charlotte Film Festival and was featured on the Documentary Channel. John has also served multiple times as a juror and as Chair for the Pulitzer Prize in Music and for various engagements with the National Endowment for the Arts. He has actively performed and recorded internationally as a sideman and a leader, produced recordings and given education residencies for students across the nation. He has also directed an all-star youth jazz ensemble, is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is a YAMAHA Certified String Instructor and serves on several boards including the Nina Simone Charitable Trust, Discover Durham (Tourism Development Authority), UNC-Greensboro College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.

Visionary music leader and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chip Shearin serves as President of the National Black Musicians Coalition.

Millions around the globe have experienced Shearin’s wide-ranging, celebrated bass and music production work in one form or another—whether his performances with some of the biggest musical acts in the world, or his scoring work for popular television and film productions.

The top tier bassist has toured, performed, and worked with such stellar, diverse artists as: Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Ceelo, Marion Meadows, Alex Bugnon, Sinbad, John P. Kee, Big Daddy Kane, Sugarhill Gang, Grand Master Flash, Michael Bolton, and beloved late icon Aretha Franklin, among many more.

Chip produces commercial music for such heavyweight clients as Ford, General Motors, Land Rover, and Jaguar, and for such fan-fave television programs as Iyanla and Fix My Life for the OWN – Oprah Winfrey Network. His film scores include Daddy Daycamp, Blade Trilogy, and Ironman 2.

And for all his wildly impressive, wide-ranging works, perhaps one of Chip’s most instantly recognizable appearances—still—is his party-rocking playing on the Sugarhill Gang’s enduring, timeless dance floor classic “Rapper’s Delight.”

Chip Shearin—whose bass currently hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts—has been honored and included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian Museum.

Trumpet sensation Maurice “Mobetta” Brown orbits simultaneously through three worlds: contemporary jazz, blues-rock and cutting-edge hip hop. He’s a mastermind as a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and producer. When Maurice picks up his horn, his soulful melodies soar into a rarefied space that uniquely marries be-bop to hip-hop and rock, producing his own distinctive sound.

The Chicago area native won the national Miles Davis Trumpet Competition as a teenager, followed by a move to Louisiana to study under legendary clarinetist Alvin Batiste. His critically acclaimed debut, “HIP TO BOP”, recorded in New Orleans, foreshadowed Brown’s unique talent for creating fresh bop-inflected jazz with an urban pulse. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation forced Maurice to relocate, taking his horn to New York where he established himself by recording with Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, De La Soul, Macy Gray, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lettuce and The Roots.

His second album, THE CYCLE OF LOVE was named by NPR and the Huffington Post as one of the best records of the year. Brown embraced his be-bop roots with hip-hop hooks and laid raw his dogged insistence on charting his own musical course after a life uprooted post-Katrina. Maurice was then invited to join the newly formed Tedeschi-Trucks Band where he won a Grammy for his horn arrangements on the band's debut album, “Revelator”. His trumpet was a wailing counterpoint to Derek Truck’s searing guitar wizardry and became a staple of the TTB sound.

Brown’s immersion into hip hop as musician/producer/lyricist culminated in the 2014 release of “MAURICE vs. MOBETTA”. This groundbreaking alter-ego album remixed The Cycle of Love with fresh and innovative hip hop beats. Brown’s jazz roots were enhanced through the lens of a hip-hop perspective. Talib Kweli, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Consequence and Jean Grae’s spitting rhymes are met by Mobetta’s own, while his trumpet circles effortlessly throughout every track.

He left TTB to reignite his solo career as a musician/producer, setting up a second home in Los Angeles while performing internationally and producing album tracks for Talib, Omar, and Prodigy. Maurice’s third album “THE MOOD” mixed his instinctive jazz roots, soulful melodies and vocals, including the politically charged Stand Up, with guest artist Kweli and Maurice trading vocals powered by his potent trumpet. In 2018, Maurice joined Grammy award-winning superstar Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals on their worldwide tours. He also performed on Ramsey Lewis and Kenny Garrett’s recent albums, while making his Broadway debut with Dave Chappelle along with Paak and bassist extraordinaire Thundercat. Maurice partnered with jazz megastar Kamasi Washington for his run of sold-out shows at Hollywood Bowl, Barclay’s Center and the New Orleans Jazz Fest.  Most recently, Maurice composed the horn arrangements on Grammy winning rapper Logic’s latest album. He has also appeared on the Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, The Daily Show and the Colbert show.

Watch: https://youtu.be/5gOxPNKRvw4?si=upcalcpr1m1p7F6F