"Reunion Blues is very much part of the company I keep."
Alison Brown has achieved success in many areas: a Harvard graduate, record label co-founder and owner(Compass Records), mother, and, the role that most people know her in: banjo virtuoso. An internationally recognized musician with a wide-reaching and loyal fan base, Brown first came to national prominence when she was asked by Alison Krauss to join her band Union Station in 1989. Brown had already made a name for herself prior to that by performing extensively with fiddler Stuart Duncan, and on occasional pick-up sessions with artists such as Vince Gill, Byron Berline and John Hickman.
In the summer of 1978, she traveled the country with Duncan and his father, playing festivals and contests. A first place finish at the Canadian National Banjo Championship helped her land a one-night gig at the Grand Ole Opry. And around the time Brown graduated from high school, she and Duncan recorded a duo album for Ridge Runner Records entitled Pre-Sequel.
Brown tours internationally with the Alison Brown Quartet, was personally requested to play at the 2007 inauguration of Harvard first female president, Drew Faust, and was the 2007 recipient of Irish America Magazine's Stars of the South Award for Compass Records' efforts towards the cultivation and preservation of Irish music. Brown's discography includes four releases on Vanguard Records as well as six on the Compass Records label, including The Company You Keep (March 2009). She currently lives in Nashville with her husband Garry West and their 2 children: Hannah (8) and Brendan (3).
Alison Brown (Alison Brown Quartet)
"Reunion Blues is very much part of the company I keep."
Alison Brown has achieved success in many areas: a Harvard graduate, record label co-founder and owner(Compass Records), mother, and, the role that most people know her in: banjo virtuoso. An internationally recognized musician with a wide-reaching and loyal fan base, Brown first came to national prominence when she was asked by Alison Krauss to join her band Union Station in 1989. Brown had already made a name for herself prior to that by performing extensively with fiddler Stuart Duncan, and on occasional pick-up sessions with artists such as Vince Gill, Byron Berline and John Hickman.
In the summer of 1978, she traveled the country with Duncan and his father, playing festivals and contests. A first place finish at the Canadian National Banjo Championship helped her land a one-night gig at the Grand Ole Opry. And around the time Brown graduated from high school, she and Duncan recorded a duo album for Ridge Runner Records entitled Pre-Sequel.
Brown tours internationally with the Alison Brown Quartet, was personally requested to play at the 2007 inauguration of Harvard first female president, Drew Faust, and was the 2007 recipient of Irish America Magazine's Stars of the South Award for Compass Records' efforts towards the cultivation and preservation of Irish music. Brown's discography includes four releases on Vanguard Records as well as six on the Compass Records label, including The Company You Keep (March 2009). She currently lives in Nashville with her husband Garry West and their 2 children: Hannah (8) and Brendan (3).