User:McIntoshDrew/Brownman

Brownman (birthname Nick Ali) is a multiple award winning jazz trumpet player, bandleader & composer. Born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, schooled in New York City under Grammy winning trumpet player Randy Brecker and now heralded as "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpeter" by New York City's Village Voice magazine, Brownman has tirelessly led no less than 7 highly respected ensembles of his own spanning genres from be-bop to hip-hop for the last decade. He is best known for his work as the leader of Canada's premiere latin-jazz ensemble CRUZAO (winners of the 2001 Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix du Jazz award" & 5-time nominee at the National Jazz Awards for "Electric Group of the Year") and his electrified Miles Davis' influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO (2007 National Jazz Award winner for "Electric Group of the Year"). He has garnered 11 nominations over the years at the National Jazz Awards (including 2 wins); Toronto's leading independent weekly NOW Magazine featured him as the cover story in 2003, naming him "Toronto's Best Jazz Musician" in 2006 and "Toronto's Jazz Trumpet Player of the Year" in 2007. Despite the demands of leading 7 ensembles & international touring he is still one of the most called upon trumpet players in the studio scene; his long list of recording credits, more than 300 to date, make him one of the most recorded trumpet players in Canadian history.

From 2006 to 2010 Brownman has been the featured soloist with the legendary New York City jazz-hip-hop artist GURU (of Gangstarr fame) for his JAZZMATAZZ ensemble (having replaced Donald Byrd in that group) and catalyzing his appearing on the cover of CODA magazine, Canada's most acclaimed jazz publication. In Dec 2009 he launched his own independent record label Browntasauras Records, with the Brownman Electryc Trio's debut recording of 'Juggernaut' as it's flagship release.

Since returning to Canada from NYC, Brownman has been on the cutting edge of modern music in the nation for the last decade, winning multiple awards nationally, achieving international recognition while touring the globe, and is widely considered to be a vanguard for the evolution of jazz in Canada.

Brownman also holds a degree in physics, a minor in philosophy and often writes the brass column for Canadian Musician Magazine.

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