On 7/24/2020, Grammy award winning trumpet player, composer and producer Maurice “Mobetta” Brown and his all-star band performed live at the legendary Blue Note in New York City. The show was streamed live on BlueNoteLive.com. Brown is the first artist to be featured in the Blue Note’s Live Streaming concert series. Given the current state of the world, I am looking forward to more of these as streaming is likely to be the “venue” of choice for the foreseeable future.
The 39-year-old Brown is a Chicago area native (now a Brooklyn, NY resident) and industry veteran. He started honing his trumpet skills early in life, having won the national Miles Davis Trumpet competition as a teenager. He also studied under legendary clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Maurice released his first album in 2004 (Hip to Bop in 2004). He has three additional albums to his credit, including Cycle of Love (2010), Maurice vs. Mobetta (2013) and The Mood (2017). Maurice also performed with the Tedeschi Trucks Band and appeared on three of their albums, winning a Grammy for his horn arrangements on their debut album Revelator. I became aware of Maurice when he toured with Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals in 2019. His trumpeting skills were a nice addition to .Paak’s show (I covered his Baltimore tour stop).
At the Blue Note, Maurice was joined on stage by some extremely talented musicians. Maurice mentioned that it had been more than four months since they performed with other musicians, but it was certainly hard to tell because they all were on point for this performance.
Musicians
Maurice “Mobetta” Brown – Trumpet
Chelsea Baratz – tenor sax
James Francies – Keyboards and Piano
Joe Blaxx – Drums
Nir Felder – Guitar
Parker McAllister – Bass
Maurice and the band played for about 90 minutes, and performed 9 songs, (8 officially). The first song was an impromptu soundcheck, but I must say it was probably one of the smoothest soundchecks I have heard. Maurice encouraged the online audience to suggest names for the yet unnamed song. I hope that happens and he releases it in the future because it sounds great. Most tracks from this performance were from Maurice’s 2017 album The Mood, an amazing album.
They started off with The Mood (a true monster), incorporating excellent trumpet work (and some killer bars) by Brown. Also featured were solid solos by Nir Felder (guitar), Chelsea Baratz (tenor sax) and James Francies (keyboards and piano). Add the funky bassline (Parker McAllister) and tight drum work (Joe Blaxx), and you have a winner. The band then played On My Way Home and Intimate Transitions (both solid). Next Maurice and crew performed the inspirational and timely Stand Up, compelling the listener to take a stand for something (very applicable today for sure).
The album version featured a verse by Talib Kwele, but Maurice handled it just fine. Next Maurice introduced the band before getting into Moroccan Dancehall, a catchy high energy tune that will surely get your attention (particularly the opening trumpet notes). Brown and crew then stretched out a bit and had fun with their version of Drake’s 2015 hit, Hotline Bling. Maurice and the band then played Come Away, featuring Chelsea Baratz on lead vocals. Brown also raps a tight verse on this one as well. The set ended with the uplifting It’s A New Day from Brown’s first album, Hip To Bop.
This was an excellent show and well worth the $10 price tag. The quality of the live feed was good and I experienced no issues. Maurice Brown is an extremely talented musician and his rap skills are definitely to be respected. ALL members of the band were extremely solid and Maurice allowed each of them to showcase their skills at various points during the performance. If you like jazz with a slice of hip hop and funk, you NEED to check out Maurice “Mobetta” Brown and his music.
Here are some pics from the online performance at the Blue Note and please visit his web site below to learn more about him and his music!
Enjoy a few videos of Maurice Brown performing “The Mood” and “Stand Up”:
