John Brown Entertainment Group

• Leroy Barley - trumpet
• Tim Gordon - saxophone
• Brian Miller - saxophones
• Ryan Robinson - trombone
• Baron Tymas - guitar
• John Brown - bass
• Gabriel Evens - piano
• Ray Codrington - vocals & trumpet
• Carol Ingbretsen - vocals
• Dan Davis - drums

John Brown is a well established, GRAMMY-nominated bassist and is the Director of the Jazz Program at Duke University. He has performed all over the world with artists like Elvin Jones, each member of the Marsalis family, Nnenna Freelon, Rosemary Clooney, Nicholas Payton, Mark Whitfield and has performed regularly with the North Carolina Symphony since 1992.

Now, John leads his own group of highly gifted professional musicians (who are available in MANY different configurations to suit your event; any one of the musicians is available individually or in other group combinations). For example, the John Brown Quintet is an award winning concert performing jazz group made up of friends who have known each other for years and simply share a deep love for music. The debut recording of that group reached Number 8 on the national JazzWeek Chart!!

You might wish to hire the the John Brown Jazz Orchestra, which is a 16-22 piece Jazz Orchestra (including a male and a female vocalist) comprised of the cream of the crop musicians of our area. This group also breaks down into the John Brown Jazz Band, which is a 12-piece jazz group that is most desirable for that big band sound for wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, and private and corporate engagements.

And YES - all of the groups DO travel!

The group you choose will happily travel to perform for your event, and often like to do so when they can cultivate opportunities to go perform in schools and share jazz with students; as Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Duke University, John is very interested in jazz performance and education.

When John's musicians get together, they form an exciting mix of talent and brotherhood encompassing the past, present and future of jazz. The combination of the diverse backgrounds of each band member, and the fire they bring to the music, makes this group the perfect setting for dynamic and creative ideas to flourish. They play with the right balance of high energy, intense swing, relaxed grooves and pensive and contemplative ballads - a balance they know well.

The group performs a wide range of jazz styles including the timeless classics of the Great American Songbook, original versions and new arrangements of traditional jazz standards, modern jazz pieces and original compositions of each band member. Collectively, the band members share decades of experience performing for all types of events all over the world. The members of the group have performed at some of the world's best known venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Jazz a Vienne (France) and other festivals in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Belgium and Japan. When at home, the group loves to perform, and likes to contribute to the festive nature of celebrations like parties, wedding receptions and mitzvahs.

The fresh and innovative approach to performance coupled with a foundation in the tradition put the spirited ensembles of the John Brown Entertainment Group on the cutting edge of jazz - don't miss them!

• All Blues - Miles Davis
• A Night in Tunisia - Dizzy Gillespie
• It Had to Be You - Frank Sinatra
• Someday My Prince Will Come - as played by Miles Davis
• Take the - Duke Ellington
• A Sunday Drive - John Brown
• Quiet Time - John Brown
• Time Will Tell - Ray Codrington
• A Whole Lotta Love - Ray Codrington
• Old Song - Gabe Evens
• Fly Me to the Moon - as performed by Frank Sinatra
• Glendora - Russell Lacy
• Level - Russell Lacy
• Desmnd Street - Brian Miller
• Since I Love You - Brian Miller
• Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Ray Charles
• Our Love is Here to Stay - Frank Sinatra
• Moanin' - Bobby Timmons
• Someone to Watch Over Me - as performed by Ella Fitzgerald
• Summertime - as performed by Ella Fitzgerald
• The Preacher - Horace Silver
• In a Mellow Tone - Duke Ellington
• Georgia On My Mind - as performed by Ray Charles
• Mack the Knife - as performed by Ella Fitzgerald
• Do Nothin 'til You Hear From Me - Billy Strayhorn
• Autumn Leaves - as played by Miles Davis
• On the Sunny Side of the Street - as played by Joshua Redman
• Bye Bye Blackbird - as played by Miles Davis
• Meditation - Altonio Carlos Jobim
• St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins
• In A Sentimantal Mood - Duke Ellington
• They Can't Take That Away From Me - as performed by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
• The Days of Wine and Roses - as played by Ray Brown
• My Little Suede Shoes - Charlie Parker
• The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - John Coltrane
• But Not For Me - as played by Ray Brown
• It's Only A Paper Moon - as performed by Natalie Cole
• L-O-V-E - as performed by Natalie Cole
• Shiny Stockings - Frank Foster
• As Time Goes By - Frank Sintra
• Satin Doll - Duke Ellington
• All of Me - as performed by Tony Bennett
• Lulu's Back in Town - as performed by Mel Torme
• . . . and MANY others! A complete list is available upon request. Thanks!

Anniversaries, Apres Ski Parties, Awards Nights, Bachelor Parties, Bachelorette Parties, Banquets, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, Birthday Parties, Children's Birthday Parties, Casinos, Celebrations, Christenings, Christmas Parties, Church Services, Clubs, Community Events, Conventions, Corporate Functions, Country Clubs, Cruise Ships, Dinner Dances, Festivals, Fraternity Functions, Fund Raisers, Funerals, Graduation Parties, Grand Openings, Hotels, Jingles, Movie Soundtracks, Picnic, Private Parties, Proms, Resorts, Restaurants, Reunions, Showers, Sorority Function, Studio Session, Temples, TV Soundtracks, Weddings...and more.

• John Brown and his group were an absolute pleasure to work with. They were very professional and unbelievably talented. As a musician myself, with numerous friends in attendance who were also musicians, we were all very impressed with the quality and caliber of the music and the ability of the group. They were incredible. I cannot stress enough that these guys are without a doubt, THE BEST jazz group I've heard at a wedding, and in general! Great! A++++. I would highly recommend them. -- Brian T, Fuquay Varina, NC, 6/2/2007
• The John Brown Quintet was absolutely fabulous!! We had nearly 300 people at our event and I heard nothing but rave reviews. We will definitely work with John and his band again. -- Tammy S, Durham, NC, 12/20/2005
• The group is cohesive, talented, inspired. Many fine original compositions thrilled our audience. Each soloist was superb, and ensemble playing was tight and compelling. The standing ovation and insistence on an encore told the tale. -- Bo F, Asheville, NC, 6/12/2005

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