Brown, Alison

ALISON BROWN

• Native of Connecticut; grew up in La Jolla, California. Lives in Nashville.
• A graduate of Harvard University; has an MBA in finance from UCLA. For a short time, she worked as an investment broker with Smith-Barney.
• First band: The Stringbenders (San Diego).
• As a teenager, she played Dobro™ with Gold Rush, a group that included Stuart Duncan on fiddle and John Hickman on banjo.
• 1981, recorded a duet album with Stuart Duncan called “Pre-Sequel” (Ridgerunner).
• While at Harvard, she was a member of the band Northern Lights.
• 1989-1991, played banjo and guitar with Alison Krauss and Union Station.
• 1990, released solo album Simple Pleasures (Vanguard).
• 1991, won IBMA award for Banjo Player of the Year.
• 1992, toured with folk-rock artist Michelle Shocked.
• 1993, with husband Garry West, founded Compass Records.
• 1994, released Look Left album (Vanguard).
• 1996, formed The Alison Brown Quartet, an acoustic jazz ensemble featuring the banjo. Released Quartet album (Vanguard).
• 1998, released Out of the Blue album (Compass).
• 1999, recorded and toured with the Americana band “New Grange” with Tim O’Brien, Darol Anger and Mike Marshall.
• 2000, released bluegrass album Fair Weather (Compass) featuring vocal performances by guests Vince Gill and Claire Lynch.
• 2000, Alison’s “Girl’s Breakdown” (from her Fair Weather album) was used as the official wake up music for the crew of the U.S. Space Shuttle Destiny during their mission to the International Space Station.
• 2001, won Grammy for Best Country Instrumental “Leaving Cottondale,” a duet with Bela Fleck (from her Fair Weather album).
• 2002, gave the keynote address at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Louisville.
• 2009, released The Company You Keep album (Compass).
• 2014, received the 2014 USA Artists Berresford Fellowship, a $50,000 grant given to artists who have made significant contributions in their field of endeavor.
• 2015, released The Song of the Banjo album (Compass).
• 2019, performed as a member of the “First Ladies of Bluegrass,” a group featuring the first women to win the IBMA Award in their instrument categories: Alison (banjo), Missy Raines (bass), Becky Buller (fiddle), Sierra Hull (mandolin) and Molly Tuttle (guitar).
• 2019, she was inducted into the American Banjo Hall of Fame.
• 2023, released On Banjo album (Compass).
• 2023, collaborated with Steve Martin to write and record Foggy Morning Breaking (an instrumental) and “Bluegrass Radio” (a song with lyrics written by Martin).