With a positive message of collaboration, Beatbox saxophonist Derek Brown has confirmed plans for his ambitious 'FiftyFifty Tour', featuring a performance in every state in America.
Traveling across the country in an RV (with his wife Rachel,) from
September 2018 through May 2019, Brown sees the tour as an opportunity to see and share the best of America. With over 30 million views on social media, he is adept at chronicling his adventures online in an engaging way, and the epic FiftyFifty Tour will be highlighted throughout (Brown booked every date himself.) Check out the ambitious itinerary, which includes Alaska and Hawaii, here: https://fiftyfiftytour.com
JAZZIZ Magazine premiered Brown's new video, 'America: The Beautiful Collaboration', here: https://www.jazziz.com/watch-the-video-premiere-for-america-the-beautiful-by-derek-brown/
The clip features over 50 (there's that number again!) diverse saxophonists from around the country. Brown arranged parts for the iconic song, which the collaborators played and then emailed back to Brown, who pieced them together to create an emotionally compelling and resonant clip. He commented, "In this sharply divided time in our country, I wanted to put politics aside, showcase our diversity and celebrate the good things in our nation."
In addition to the new video and tour announcement, Brown will release a full-length album in September, timed to the cross-country kick-off. Known for his "BEATBoX SAX" style of acoustic solo saxophone playing, his new album will feature a much fuller sound, with added foot stomps, more singing, more collaborations, and more. Brown's style evokes the magic of early Bobby McFerrin, as he creates dynamic effects with his saxophone that suggest percussion, strings and all incredibly without looping or overdubbing. Additional details about the upcoming 'FiftyFifty' album are below.
He's also a relentless solo touring machine, even embarking on two month-long solo tours, playing 90 minute acoustic shows in a different city every night. But there is wear and tear to that sort of grinding time on the road, and an epiphany overseas drove the point home. Brown describes how the FiftyFifty concept took shape: "I'm sitting in an empty berth on a train barreling through
Siberia wishing I could call my wife. We haven't spoken in several days, and I'm reminded of the only downside I really see in all of this touring: leaving home. My whole act on stage requires just me and my saxophone, keeping me pretty mobile, but after the third "Not Delivered" notification from the texts I was trying to send, my mind wanders to a crazy idea she'd had years before: to live in an RV together while I play gigs around the country; instead of leaving home constantly, I could bring home with me! I spent the rest of that train ride thinking through the feasibility of the project, and earlier this year started discussing the idea in more detail with Rachel. After receiving interest from all corners of the U.S., I decided to attempt the even more epic: playing at least one gig in each of the 50 states. Slowly but surely, gigs started coming in, and before we knew it, we'd bought a domain name: fiftyfiftytour.com"
Here's an early look at an article that will appear in the August issue of Music Trades Magazine: Saxophonist Derek Brown is embarking on a performance tour that is as distinctive as his "BEATBoX SAX" style of play
People often say that Derek Brown's genre-crossing approach to playing the saxophone has to be seen to be believed, and now even more people around the country will have that opportunity. Derek is finalizing details for his ambitious FiftyFifty Tour, in which he will perform at least once in each of the 50 states in the U.S. between August 2018 and May 2019.
Derek's unique playing style, dubbed "BEATBoX SAX," combines extended techniques in a very intricate way, creating a fullness of sound-percussive elements, melody and harmony lines, at times even singing-that is difficult to imagine is all coming from one person on one instrument at one time. As described by jazz journalist and historian Scott Yanow, "Brown performs unaccompanied solos that occasionally make one recall
Bobby McFerrin in his early prime and the great saxophonist Eddie Harris . . . utilizing slap-tonguing, circular breathing, a wide interest in musical styles and dazzling coordination to create rather unique music."
Derek will be releasing a new CD, entitled FiftyFifty, in conjunction with the tour, as well. Not only is the title a nod to the epic U.S. project, but it also hints at Derek's difficulty in categorizing his music (part jazz, part classical) and also suggests the reality that several of the songs are collaborations with other artists, including tracks with fellow saxophonist Jeff Coffin,
Chicago rapper Keith Harris, and even his wife, Rachel Brown.
Derek has already made a name for himself in the social media world, racking up more than 30 million views across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and has been interviewed by NPR's
Weekend Edition and WGN Radio in Chicago. Chris Kortschot of Légère Reeds says, "Derek is a true visionary in his field. He combines playing styles that have literally never been used together and he does so in a way that has both mainstream and sax geek appeal. It is a pleasure to watch his popularity booming!" Derek has performed his solo saxophone show in over 20 countries, including extended tours in Russia, China, and Europe, but this next academic year he's focusing solely on the U.S., giving fans across the country the chance to see him perform in person instead of just on a screen.
Many of Derek's performances on the FiftyFifty Tour will take place at colleges and universities, for which his background teaching music theory and jazz at ACU have uniquely prepared him. Jody Espina, president of JodyJazz, Inc., is happy to have Derek as an endorsing artist and gushes, "Derek has forged completely new vocabulary and techniques on the saxophone. We are so proud that he chooses JodyJazz to achieve seemingly impossible things on the saxophone." At the schools, Derek will usually offer a clinic or master class for students, sharing some of those new techniques before performing a solo saxophone show in the evening, but his venues will vary across the country, as well.
In fact, Derek will be kicking off the tour and album release from none other than Andy's Jazz Club in
Chicago during
Chicago Jazz Festival weekend. From there to Fryeburg Academy in Maine and to Seabury Hall in Hawaii, his schedule is already filling up: at press time, he has confirmed gigs in 46 states. Derek is hoping this tour will allow him to meet some of his fans in the U.S. that have not yet been able to see him live. Many of the performances will be open to the public and free to attend, so check out his website for more information.
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