Baron Browne

kesslari · #1 11-06-2009, 09:50 PM

Saw him last night with Jean Luc Ponty. Super solid, tasteful and talented player. He was rocking the heck out of a US MTD Saratoga (and a fretless fender Jazz 4).

jerry · #2 11-07-2009, 07:09 AM

I love his playing! lately I've been digging his straight-ahead playing with Steve Smith's Jazz Legacy.

onewebfoot · #3 11-07-2009, 10:00 AM

That 5-string bass he was playing last night said "Zon" on the headstock... plain as day.

Phenomenal show.

corinpills · #4 11-07-2009, 02:15 PM

Phenomenal musician- way beyond what constitutes being a great bass player.

kesslari · #5 11-07-2009, 02:32 PM

you're right, webfoot. I was sitting behind him and didn't see the front. I looked and the Zon imports do have that headstock. Looked like an MTD shape to me.
he still played the HECK out of it

onewebfoot · #6 11-07-2009, 02:48 PM

Yeah, kesslari, he sure did. I had to research a little to peg down the precise model, and learned that the Zon Mosaic comes in a Baron Browne model. http://www.zonguitars.com/zonguitars/mosaicbb5.html

I was about 4 rows back, stage left. We both were on the raucous side. During the first number, I was so excited I shot my left elbow back to check for my camera, and promptly knocked a full glass of Pinot Noir all over my dinner coat....

That quartet was really something spectacularly special. Ponty has long demanded things of his bassists that few other composers do, and I'm sure you noticed ... no guitar. I wanted to see tomorrow evening's show also - but sold out.

Li Youwei · #7 11-09-2009, 06:36 AM

I got to hang out with Baron Browne a little bit in Beijing when Vital Information toured. I was taking the band around town and to and from the gig. Their soundcheck was fraught with hours of technical difficulties, all of which had been solved by the time Baron came out from the dressing room and plugged his bass in, oblivious to the craziness involved in getting Frank Gambale and Tom Coster's US voltage rigs to work. He was a very laid back guy, kept to himself most of the time except when Christian McBride was around (playing the same festival with Dianne Reeves). I got to meet Baron and McBride while they were having breakfast and was then tasked with getting McBride's enormously heavy upright roadcase onto the bus to the gig - no easy task when directing a bunch of Chinese "roadies" with no spatial awareness. McBride shows up to the gig, bass in gigbag - we'd spent 20 minutes trying to get the EMPTY case onto the bus. I remember Baron's bass was a Groove Tools - can't remember the brand but the model name stuck with me. Both guys played great, my first experience seeing real world class players up close.

Dr. Cheese · #8 11-09-2009, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Li Youwei

I got to hang out with Baron Browne a little bit in Beijing when Vital Information toured. I was taking the band around town and to and from the gig. Their soundcheck was fraught with hours of technical difficulties, all of which had been solved by the time Baron came out from the dressing room and plugged his bass in, oblivious to the craziness involved in getting Frank Gambale and Tom Coster's US voltage rigs to work. He was a very laid back guy, kept to himself most of the time except when Christian McBride was around (playing the same festival with Dianne Reeves). I got to meet Baron and McBride while they were having breakfast and was then tasked with getting McBride's enormously heavy upright roadcase onto the bus to the gig - no easy task when directing a bunch of Chinese "roadies" with no spatial awareness. McBride shows up to the gig, bass in gigbag - we'd spent 20 minutes trying to get the EMPTY case onto the bus. I remember Baron's bass was a Groove Tools - can't remember the brand but the model name stuck with me. Both guys played great, my first experience seeing real world class players up close.

Nice story!

bottomzone · #9 11-09-2009, 06:16 PM

Baron is indeed a monster player! I really like the projects that he did with Jean-Luc Ponty and Billy Cobham back in the day.

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Hoover · #10 11-10-2009, 12:17 PM

Wow, I haven't heard Baron's name mentioned in ages. I used to go hear him playing clubs around Boston in the late 70's (or was it early 80s?) with Tiger Okoshi or Kevin Eubanks. And I remember hearing him on one of those 80's vintage Billy Cobham albums. Great to hear that he's still active, and still playing challenging music.

4001 · #11 11-10-2009, 01:04 PM

Check out Baron's work on the Vital Information "Come On In" disc.
Great stuff and a nice solo on the title track.

I too, have met Baron and he is a class act.
And not too shabby of a player as well.....

BobaFret · #12 11-10-2009, 01:24 PM

I was actually going to post a "why doesn't anyone talk about BB" thread the other day. I've liked his playing for a while. I recently got the Vitalization CD from Vital Information and it's really good. It's a few years old but little kids take too much time for me to keep up.

NickBass81 · #13 11-11-2009, 02:41 AM

Great player with an awesome tone...i dig his playing especially on Kevin Eubank's "Sundance", but also on Billy Cobham's "Warning" and "Powerplay" (those, IMO, were not amongst Cobham's best albums, but Baron's playing alone is worth listening)..