GRAMMY Award-winning music pioneer Alison Brown’s banjo “is an instrument possessed of a unique sonic signature and an inescapable beauty” (Billboard) and it shows on her new collaboration with GRAMMY Award-winning musician/actor/author Steve Martin, “Foggy Morning Breaking,” available on all digital service providers today (3.24).
Entertainment Weekly has said Brown’s music “honors tradition even as she cultivates it.” On “Foggy Morning Breaking,” she reinforces that point by tipping her hat to two of the most influential banjo players of the 20th century: Earl Scruggs, the father of bluegrass banjo and whose classic tune “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” the title riffs on, and the legendary John Hartford (“Gentle On My Mind”) from whom Brown borrows the title. “Foggy Morning Breaking” features Steve Martin, who co-wrote the tune with Brown, and who worked with Hartford on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the 60s. Martin’s delicate clawhammer technique, alongside Brown’s Scruggs-style picking (both played in the old-time double C ‘sawmill’ tuning), gives listeners the chance to hear equal parts tradition and innovation while bringing their own interpretations and emotions to the melody.
“Is there any sweeter sound than clawhammer and 3-finger banjo in double C tuning?” asks Brown. “I wrote the A melody for this tune and texted Steve asking if he wanted to add to it. Within a day, he sent back the perfect B section. In the spirit of the times, we hammered out the bridge over Zoom. The title comes from a clever turn of phrase courtesy of John Hartford.”
Listen to “Foggy Morning Breaking” HERE
“Foggy Morning Breaking” features some of the most revered players in acoustic music with Brown and Martin leading on banjos. The pair are joined a cast of GRAMMY-winning musicians including Sierra Hull on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Punch Brother Chris Eldridge on guitar and Todd Phillips on bass.
PEOPLE calls Compass Records co-founder Brown an “accomplished banjo virtuoso” and speaks with her about collaboration with Steve Martin, the making of ‘On Banjo,’ championing women in music and more, HERE.
“Foggy Morning Breaking” is the second single from Brown’s brilliant new record ‘On Banjo,’ which comes out May 5th via Compass Records. It follows the trailblazing banjoist’s recently released “Sun And Water”, a mash-up of The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” and Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Águas de Março,” that offered listeners a hint of the exciting and unexpected sounds they’ll hear on ‘On Banjo.’
Pre-order for ‘On Banjo’ is available now at found.ee/onbanjo. For more information on Alison Brown, visit alisonbrown.com.
Alison Brown on Tour:
Fri., Apr. 28 | MerleFest | Wilkesboro, NC
Sat., May 6 | Bluegrass Music Museum Woodward Theatre | Owensboro, KY
Sun., May 7 | Mountain Stage | Marietta, OH
Fri., May 19 | Analog, The Hutton Hotel | Nashville, TN
Sat., May 20 | FreshGrass Festival | Bentonville, AR
Thurs., Jun. 22 | UC Park & Market | San Diego, CA
Fri., Jun. 23 | Musical Instrument Museum | Phoenix, AZ
Fri., Jul. 14 | Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival | Oak Hill, NY
