Josh Brown

Josh Brown is one of two fabulous trombonists in the Bublé band. The only Canadian member of the band, Josh has won local and national competitions including an award from the Royal Conservatory of Music for the highest mark in Canada which in turn led to his home town of Burlington awarding him a Civic Recognition Award.

Josh has received the Chevrolet High Note Bursary Award, the highest award offered at Toronto's Humber College, School of Creative and Performing Arts and has twice been the Recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Grant. He has also ttended both the Banff School of Fine Arts, Alberta and the Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Colony (Jazz Aspen Snowmass).

In 2003, Josh was nominated for Jazz Trombonist of the Year at the 2003 National Jazz Awards in Canada. That same year, he was a semi-finalist in the 16th Annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trombone Competition and was invited to perform at the Smithsonian Institution''s National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.

Josh's studies have enabled him to work with musicians such as Steve Davis, Marc Donatelle, Slide Hampton, Barry Harris, Alister Kay and Don Thompson.

He has played as a member of Nick "Brownman" Ali's 15-man Latin-Jazz-Urban-Orchestra, Cruzao Grupo Monstruoso and has recorded his debut CD, "The Feeling of Jazz" with his own Quartet, featuring ex-Bublé band member, Randy Napoleon on guitar, and Clovis Nicolas and Phil Stewart on bass and drums respectively.

Michael Bublé Recordings featuring Josh Brown

CD + DVDs

* dates in brackets are UK release dates

Michael Bublé ~ Caught In The Act (2006)*

"Caught In The Act" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Recordings by Josh Brown

Josh Brown ~ The Feeling of Jazz

"The Feeling of Jazz" is available from CD Baby and Amazon.com.

Other Artists' Recordings featuring Josh Brown

Jann Arden ~ Uncover Me

Jann Arden's "Uncover Me" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Articles featuring Josh Brown

Josh Brown: The Education of a Jazz Trombonist (August 12, 2008 ~ All About Jazz)
Josh Brown at All About Jazz
Harry Allen - Joe Cohn Quartet serve swing jazz at Zuni on Mondays! (February 24, 2006 ~ ExploreDance.com)
Michael Bublé in sensational Vegas debut (February 19, 2006 ~ Broadway to Vegas)
Cruzao Grupo Monstruoso - 15-Man Latin-Jazz-Urban Orchestra
Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz presents International jazz trombone competition (April 2003 ~ Jazzcorner's Speakeasy)
Josh Brown (Artist Direct)

Video clips featuring Josh Brown

"Bock To Bock" (arranged by Randy Napoleon)
Randy Napoleon Trio (Randy Napoleon, Elias Bailey (bass) and Josh Brown (trombone))

Offical Websites & MySpace URLs:

Exclusive Interview for www.bubléband.com

Josh Brown kindly agreed to answer some interview questions via email in January, 2007 – thank you, Josh!

What is your date and place of birth?
Oakville, Ontario, Canada, September 3rd, 1973.

Where did you grow up?
Burlington, Ont. One city west.

Where do you currently call “Home”?
NYC.

When did you start learning to play the trombone?
I stared playing the Baritone horn when I was 11, then began trombone at 13.

Do you play the slide or valve trombone and which would you say is easier to play?
I play slide, and it’s harder to play.

What are the differences in sound, if any, between the two?
I think the slide gets a warmer, less muffled sound than the valves, but thats just my opinion.

Do you play any other instruments and if so to what standard?
I play a bit of piano, but to no standard unfortunately. I could still play the Baritone if I wanted, but not really on a profesional level.

What inspired you to become a professional trombonist? Was there a defining moment when you knew that this was absolutely the one thing you wanted to do for a living?
I was always inspired to play professionally.

What is your academic training and professional background?
I attended the Humber College as well as the Banff School of Fine Arts and Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute summer programs.

Who has been your greatest influence or inspiration?
Trumpter Jake Wilkinson.

If you could play with any band or artist who would that be and why? Or have you already done that in your career?
I would love to play with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

If you could play any venue in the world where would that be and why?
I would love to play Village Vanguard, its a great music room and all my heroes have played there.

What’s your favourite place you’ve visited on tour and is there anywhere you would like to visit where the tour hasn’t reached yet?
Italy on a whole is my favorite and i’m looking forward to seeing Vienna.

When did you join Michael’s band and how did that come about – did you have to go through an audition process?
I joined the band about two years ago after being recommended by numerous members, and I had a week-long audition.

Did you know any of the other guys in the band before you joined?
Yes, I knew about half, guys who i have attended the Monk Institute with.

Have you written any of the arrangements for the concert setlist or have you adapted or re-arranged any of the pieces?
No.

For you on trombone, which is technically the most difficult song of Michael’s to play and why? 'Smile' which has some very fast passages.

How do you manage to keep your performances fresh playing the same songs over and over, night after night?
Caring about the music and just trying to make the band sound as good as possible.

What is a typical day in the life of Josh Brown like?
a) on tour with Michael; and
On tour with Michael, traveling takes a lot of time, sneaking in a hour or two of practice and hanging out with the guys.

b) when you’re not touring?
Practicing, and currently working on my own album.

Do you carry your trombone with you on tour or is it packed off to the next venue with the rest of the gear?
No, its always with me, I never let it get too far away from me.

Has anything ever happened to your trombone in transit?
No.

Can you tell me some technical details about the trombone you use on tour and how that might differ to the instrument you play at home?
I play the same instrument on the road and at home, the brass instrument requires daily attention or you won’t sound as good as the previous day.

Which parts of the show do you play strictly according to written arrangements and which parts are improvised?
Only the solos are improvised and everything else is written.

During the concert, do you play from sheet music or from memory?
For the most part from memory.

What’s your favourite song that Michael sings during the shows?
'You Don’t Know Me' but I dont play on this one. My favorite song I play on is 'Feeling Good'.

What’s your favourite part of Michael’s concerts?
A nticipating the down beat of 'Feeling Good'.

You took over from Mark Small on the commentary for Michael and Rob Wilkerson’s fashion show during the concerts. How are you enjoying that and how did the switch from Mark to you come about?
Mark gave me the mic and i’m enjoying it aside from the fact that I have run out of things to say.

Could you tell the fans a bit about your family origins / ancestry?
Third generation Canadian!!! Yeah Canada!!! With my ancestry from England and Russia.

Do you have any brothers and sisters and are any of them musicians?
I have a sister and she is not a professional musician.

Do you speak any languages other than English?
Still working on English, unfortunately.

If you weren’t a musician what do you think you would most likely be doing as a career? And what would your ideal job be – or is what you’re doing at the moment your ideal job?
If I wasn’t a musician I would be unhappy. If I could paint I would love to paint but I’m horrible. I love what I am doing at this moment.

Along with the other members of the Bublé band you’ve played together as “The Boathouse All-Stars” at The Rex in Toronto. Whose idea or decision was it to create “The Boathouse All-Stars” and are there any Boathouse All-Stars gigs lined up for the future?
No Boathouse gigs lined up for the future, however it came about as a result of Frank Baslle having music for our line up and was played for fun on some off time.

Do the other guys in the band tease you, being the only Canadian member of the band?
Once in a while.

What sort of music do you enjoy listening to?
Everything but for the most part jazz.

Outside of music, what are your hobbies and interests?
I love decorating. I’m currently working on my fall bowl and just bought some indian corn to decorate my apartment with.

Fans travel from all over the world to see Michael, you and the rest of the guys perform live – by the same token, is there an act or artist you would travel the world over to see?
Not currently living.

You recently recorded your debut CD as a leader, which I understand also features Randy Napoleon on guitar:

a) What sort of things can we expect to hear on it? Are all the tracks original compositions?
Not all the tracks are originals, however, there are some arrangements by us of jazz standards.

b) When will it the CD released and how can your fans get hold of a copy?
The CD will be released by the end of November [2007] and will be available online at CDBABY.com.

You’ve mentioned on your website that together with Bryan Lipps, you’ve just recorded a couple of tracks with fellow Canadian, Jann Arden, for her new CD. Was that something that came about following Jann supporting Michael on his recent European tour and part-way through the final leg of the US tour, or was that something had already been on the cards? How did you enjoy the experience?
Playing with Jann [Arden] came about on the road and was recorded in a hotel room ... it was a great experience and Jann carries around a personal recording studio ... it was very cool and probably the most laid back recording session I have ever done.

Are you working on any other solo or group projects which you could tell us about?
My own band is taking up all my free time currently.

What are your thoughts and feelings to the fact that fans are coming to see and appreciate the band as much as they are coming to see Michael?
it is very much appreciated and we try to play our best every night ... hopefully it shows.