In this rare 2005 radio archive, guitarist and composer Dean Brown dives into funk, groove, and the creative mindset behind Groove Warrior. From recording live with Marcus Miller to collaborating with Michael Bland and Ricky Peterson, Brown explains how funk, jazz, and soul intersect in his music. A thoughtful, groove-heavy conversation about artistry, tone, and staying authentic.

🎙️ Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley features legendary and emerging funk, R&B, and Prince-associated artists. On air since 1982 and now spanning five decades, the show was personally spotlighted by Prince on his website in 2004. He also gifted us the One Nite Alone box set in 2002 — before any other media outlet.

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That was a great track off a CD which we've been featuring here the last few months right here from Mr. Dean Brown. His latest CD is called Groove Warrior on ESC Records. And this is the Upper Room with Joe Kelly on wvof.

And the track we just heard in the basement, one of many outstanding songs from this cd. And it's a true honor to have him finally on the show. And we welcome Dean Brown. How you doing, Dean?

I'm very well, thanks.

Yeah.

What, what?

I mean, we talked a little bit off air and the album's freshly out and getting great response. What's been going on lately for yourself?

Well, you know, we're just trying to promote this record and, and get it out there so that. So that actually, you know, it's not really released officially in the United States yet.

Oh, I got you. Yeah.

It is, however, you know, in Japan and in Europe and you can get it here, but it's difficult.

In other words, we're still looking for the right distributor to kind of, you know, because it's not really, you know, the record, and it's not really a jazz record in the pure sense of the word, you know, even though I. Obviously there's, you know, there's aspects about it that are. Or about me that are always going to be jazz.

You've heard the record and I think, you know, it's something a little different. Matter of fact, a friend of mine just called me and said, dean, you know, I've been listening to the record that you gave me.

And I wasn't sure what to think of it at first because everybody has their own expectations, you know, after having heard the first record. But then, you know, he felt compelled to call me and this is like weeks after I gave him the record.

He goes, I just want to tell you, I really think it's a great record. You know what I mean? And it's like. Because I think at first you hear it and you go, what is, what is this?

You know, and, you know, I just am trying to let people know that it's just me, that's all.

Yeah, right. I was playing some tracks to a blues guy today. You know, he's old time bluesman here in Connecticut, and he, he was picking up on Shadows.

He loved that record. Yeah. So he said that was right up his alley. Yeah.

Oh, great. Great. Yeah, yeah. Hope. I mean, you know, I want people to like it, but it's important for everyone to know that, you know, I like it. Yeah.

You know, and that. And that's really important. I think, you know, because I wasn't trying to make a record that would.

With the sole purpose of selling a lot of copies or, you know, doing really great on the radio or whatever. Even though, you know, obviously, you know, there's things, you know, about that record that probably, you know, if treated correctly, might.

Could have, you know, some, dare I say, a chance, you know, in this commercial market. But, you know, it's. It's not. That's not the reason I did it, you know, I just did it because it's like.

It just seemed like I wanted to make a record that was sort of. Had something to do with where I've, you know, where. Where. Where I come from, you know, so.

So it's a success as soon as you record it and you know that.

Pardon me?

It's a success to you as soon as you. You finish it?

Oh, absolutely. You know, it's a painful process, but yeah. Yeah. You know, after it's all said and done. Yeah. Before it was ever released, it was a success for me.

And it's a really well designed presentation, you know.

Thank you so much.

The liner notes. And you got the lyrics, of course. You know, I do read the liner notes because I love to know who's playing on the record. Yeah.

Again, you know, I'm a child of the 60s, you know.

Right.

And so I love everything about that period, you know, and.

And one of the things I most loved about it was the beautiful artwork and liner notes and things that were on, you know, on LPs back then, and, and posters that were, you know, not just, you know, a publicity shot of somebody, but they were. They had some. There was some little more love put into it than that, you know.

Yeah.

I just really enjoy that, you know, and just want to keep that as a part of, you know, I don't think the things are separate and, you know, the, you know, the COVID art and the liner notes and the music. To me, it's all. It doesn't have to be all part of one thing, but for me, it's nice when it is, you know.

So if you just tuned in, my special guest right now here on the upper room on WVOF is Dean Brown, guitar virtuoso, great songwriter and producer, and his latest CD, Groove Warrior. You can go to deanbrown.com to get all the information about this great CD. And you've got so many great artists on this CD.

I figured we'd get into a track which features a guy you've been working with for many years and Play guitar in his band. Marcus Miller. Yeah. It's forever right now. I can't get that song out of my head. We've been playing it on the show. That's outstanding. That song.

Oh, thanks so much. You know, it's funny, A guy reviewed that from this magazine called 20th Century Guitar, and what he said about that song was.

And it's one of those you can't get it out of your head whether you want to or not songs.

Yeah, I mean, just the record's funky to me. I love funk music.

Okay, Me too. Yeah, Especially, I mean, you know, and Marcus is obviously. He's been, you know, fantastically instrumental in making that particular track happen.

And besides that, I mean, I just love playing with him, you know.

So let me ask you, you know, you played in his band for many years, and then you bring him in on your own project as you're the boss. How does that work? Or is it just a natural? Hey, we're friends. Let's.

Well, I'll tell you, we were working on something. It was a serendipitous thing.

We were working on something for him at the time that he has a DVD project that I think is slated to come out later this year. Obviously, he has a new record that is just about to come out, and I think they're going to, you know, delay the release of.

At least based on what I read on the website, which is where I get most of my information.

Yeah, right.

But is that they're going to delay the release on the DVD until, I guess, until get to let the record get some legs first, you know. But this.

While we were working on that, we were in his studio and I took the opportunity to say, listen, man, there's two tracks, you know, and instead of me, like, typically, I would just send him the stuff and he would be gracious enough to, you know, overdub the bass on it. But it was really important for me to have live tracks on this record.

And you can hear it, you know, that the rhythm tracks in particular, and even most of the solos and this and that are actually live, you know, and that, for me, is a. I can hear it immediately on somebody's record, and I can certainly hear it on my own records, you know, and that's been an agenda of mine in my short recording career. But to try to do that. So he was. He said, well, cool. You know, we'll do it. You know, as. You know, we'll do it.

It'll be a good opportunity to get some live footage of us playing you know, while they're shooting this DVD thing, you know, I said, okay, fine, you know, so that was. That's kind of how that worked out. So we recorded the two tunes that day at Hannibal, which is Marcus's studio in Santa Monica.

And you can also hear on lead vocals, Dean Brown. And yes, the brother can sing. And great to hear you on there. And, you know, people going back, way back. You fronted a group back in Europe, right?

Actually, I fronted a group back in. It was in Korea.

Oh, Korea. Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like, you know, I worked more then than I've ever worked since I was a kid. I was like, you know, 14 or. No, excuse me.

I was 15 and 16 at that time. And we worked seven nights a week, you know, at the club. And so my grades suffered quite a bit.

I had to work really hard my senior year of high school to even. Even, you know, get graduate.

So, yeah, we'll get into the track right now. This is from the Groove Warrior, Groove Warrior cd, Dean Brown. And we'll come back and speak more with Dean. And this is entitled Forever.

And we just listened to another song from the outstanding cd. It's available, I believe, overseas, you said, right now, on ESC Records and soon in the us get the distribution and everything.

Oh, you go ahead with the info, you know, best.

Okay. Well, it's been out in Japan, and apparently, from what I hear, it's doing well there. And I'm headed there with Marcus Miller in a couple of weeks.

We're touring the Blue Notes over there. So I'm interested to see, you know, what the response is. Although, I mean, from what I hear, it was good. And then it's also available in Europe.

The record label is actually out of Germany, so one would think that it would come out in Europe.

You know, when you're. I mean, you're based out of here, out of New York, but getting the label out in Germany, did you seek that or they came running to you or how.

Actually, I had been a friend of the label manager whose name was Jochen Becker, and I'd known him for years. We had had many discussions back, like when I used to play with the Brecher brothers back in, I guess, 94, around that time. 93. 94.

And he had, you know, we'd had a couple of lunches, you know, the typical thing, and nothing really came of it. And then. It's very funny. Michael Brecher played a fantastic solo on one of the tunes on the first record.

I don't know if you remember there was this tune called Solid.

And anyway, Michael played on that, and we had done it as sort of a, you know, I was unsigned at the time, and I got Michael and I got James genus and Don Elias and Skyler deal and Rocky Bryant to go and do a live thing at a small little studio in Queens. And I played this for Yoakim back then, like in. I think we did this around 96, 97, something like that.

And later on, I was working with Bill Evans, and Bill was a big champion of mine, and really, you know, he was already signed to that particular label and so. And Yocum happened to be the label manager of that label. So Bill was like, man, you know, you should do something with this guy. Da da da da.

And Bill bugged yocum enough to get yocum to, you know, sign me, which he already liked me anyway. It was just, you know, it's one of these things, I guess. It had to incubate. So I.

And I played him some of the tunes that I had in mind, and he was psyched because he's like a real funkster, you know. And that record obviously has a lot of groove oriented material on it, you know. Yeah, you worked.

Oh, go ahead.

No, go ahead, you can finish.

Yeah, I said, on the record, you work with some of the top players out in Minneapolis. And how'd you get hooked up with Michael Bland and Ricky Peterson?

That.

For those.

Well, see, so anyway, like I said, he was this thing. I'll get to that. He was, you know, asking me about material, and I played him some stuff and he was talking about it.

And then I said, you know, I got this tune that you already heard because I played it for you. You know, I sent you a CD of some stuff like three, four years ago, and I said, you're listening to this tune. So he listened to it.

He goes, oh, this has to be on the record. And I'm like, why didn't you think so three years ago? You know, but anyway, you know, so it wound up on there, but so that's how I got the deal.

And then Ricky, you know, had a great idea. Ricky Peterson, as you were just mentioning, a great one of the Premier B3 players in the world.

And Ricky had an idea, you know, because he has a studio in Minneapolis, and he said, why don't you come out there and record? We get a great sound. Plus, you know, maybe I can get Michael Bland to play.

And Richard Patterson, you know, lives in Chicago, which is not that far away, and so we could do a session There. So that was another live session. And that ended up being the.

The first tune on that record, which was like a jam that we turned into something, you know, and then we played. Then there was another tune that we did which was sort of a blues, you know, that was. And Michael Bland was just phenomenal.

And of course your musicianship and touring goes way, way back. I mean, I didn't even know this, but I'm a big fan of the band Vital Information. And you were one of the original members, right?

That's right, yeah. I played on the like three or I guess three records, something like that. And the first record. It's unfortunate that that record was not.

Has not been re. Released. Steve Smith just sent me a copy of it just from my own. Just from my own head, you know. The record was called Vital Information.

And that record, you know, it was really cool because it was no keyboards and two guitar players.

And the two guitar players were me and Mike Stern and a great saxophonist named Dave Wolczewski and great bassist Tim Landers, who I also played with Billy Cobham and which, you know. And Tim and I had played together before that in Boston with Tiger Okoshi.

Great jazz, not only trumpet player, but a great writer and very influential to not only myself, but I'm quite sure Mike Stern and anybody else who had played in his band, you know, from back then.

And you also attended and Berklee College of Music. We were just up there for the John Blackwell benefit concert for his daughter who passed away.

But what was the experience like going to Berkeley and then getting out and making it as a musician full time?

You know, Berkeley just seemed like the obvious choice because it wasn't a legit school. And they were teaching things that seemed more. Well, things that seemed more practical to me.

Having said that, I was a composition major there, not a. I wasn't an instrumental major, like a guitar major or something. I actually studied for a year or so with a great improvisation teacher, Charlie Binocas up there.

And you know, dare say I got more out of that as an instrumentalist than I did from Berkeley. But Berkeley, you know, the environment and also, you know, learning a lot about the.

Just the way that a jazz or a popular type musician thinks on paper and thinks in terms of theory, I think were good things. But the best thing about the experience in Boston was the fact that, you know, there were so many musicians and fertile minds there.

Not just at Boston, but also at New England Conservatory and, you know, Boston University. I mean, there's a million schools. It's A college town.

So there were a lot of places to play and sort of experiment and write music that otherwise wouldn't get heard anywhere, you know, and then get a chance to play that live. And so it was sort of like a big giant science lab of creativity for musicians and I think continues to be to a certain degree.

And I think that's the best aspect about it. While I was up there, I mean, it was me and Mike Stern and Kevin Eubanks and guitarist Jamie Glazer and I mean, just a lot of guys.

There's a guy that's still up there, Jeff Lockhart, who left. Left handed, funky left handed guitar player. Fantastic, you know, and you know, just a lot of really great guys. And oh, Bill Frizzell, you know.

Yeah, I graduated at the same time. Wow.

You know, must be some nice reunions when you guys get together.

Yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, it's for sure.

Right. Well, another great song and interesting track off the record.

I think we should get into maybe talk a little bit before he played his the Divining Tree, which features yourself on spoken word. And I have to ask you, what is a Parker fly guitar?

Oh, okay. Parker is a company that built a guitar they're made of.

They're wooden, except for that they're made somehow cut by like computers and they have like, they're very thin and very resonant. And it's an electric guitar, except for that it has a special pickup in it that makes it sound more like an acoustic guitar if you want.

It also has the regular, you know, straight ahead magnetic pickups too. But not to be too technical about it, but I don't really know the true.

I think you'd probably be best off going to their website to find out how they're built. But they're. The guitar weighs like three pounds and it's extremely loud acoustically for something that light. So it's very resonant. So it gives it a.

It sounds much bigger than it really is, you know.

And actually the tune that you were mentioning before, the one called Shadows, strangely enough, I mean, if you hear it on this song, the song that you're referring to, the Divining Tree, it has this sort of, I don't know, like a acoustic, you know, steel string acoustic quality. But it just sounds. It has. It's very papery and thin and just wispy, you know.

But on that song, the one called Shadows, it's a full blown, you know, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck sounding rock guitar, you know, so it's versatile in that Way, I'm not really doing a plug for them, but I mean.

Yeah, I was curious.

You asked the question.

Yeah, yeah, thanks. Thanks for that explanation. And we'll play it right now. This is from Dean Brown's Groove Warrior. It's called the Divining Tree.

And we'll speak one more time with Dean Brown. That's more music from Dean Brown's Groove Warrior.

And he's our special guest here on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly and wvof right here in Connecticut.

And I noticed looking through the line of notes that a portion of the record was worked on just about five minutes away from here in Westport, Connecticut. What kind of work did you actually record songs there?

What I did was that's where the record was mixed. And not only mixed, but I did a few overdubs over there. And actually that studio belongs to Michael Bolton.

Oh, I got you.

Okay. And. And Steve Milo is the. He's the head engineer there. And he. That's. So that's where we did.

Yeah, he's got that, that home studio, right?

Pardon me?

He's got a home studio, I think. Right?

He does, yeah.

Right.

You know, I wouldn't call it. Right, call it that if you want.

That house is a cool looking house. I remember. It's just. Yeah, I used to work around there. Yeah, right.

It's a full blown. I mean, that's, you know, it's an entire house.

Right, right.

So it's, it's pretty nice. And it was very gracious of him to let us do some work there.

Right.

And Steve, you know, was fantastic. Just above and beyond the call of duty in terms of, you know, dealing with my whims, you know.

Well, you got it done. And it's a great, great record. I, you know, hope you can come down with your own band to play in this area since you're not too far.

Yeah, well, yeah, I would love to.

I would like, you know, the more I, you know, get into it, the more I am hoping to find, you know, venues for us to play, especially in like, you know, in that area, I think. Especially just knowing that there's a radio station. You know, it's really great, you know.

Because you're out in Long island, right?

Mm.

Yeah. Our station hits right across the water at vof around the. The side where Port Jeff is.

Right.

Yeah.

Right. So I won't be hearing it here. I'm on the South Shore.

Yeah, you have to listen on the Internet.

Okay, I will do.

Yeah. You know, you talked about growing as a child. Of the 60s. I know. Listen to your debut CD and this CD, you must have listened to a ton of music.

And do you remember the first record you ever bought or listened and wore out.

Wow. You know, this is going to. There's a couple of them, actually. I can think of four right off the bat, which. Well, you know, I was in.

I lived in France. I was born there, but then my parents were American military, but we moved back there when I was around 10.

My mom's a singer, so there's always music around. And anyway, the Beatles, obviously, you know, I saw them on the Ed Sullivan show, you know, and it was like.

So I decided I needed to get some of their music. And I got. There was a record the way they used to sell records then, and you could buy like a 45, but it had four cuts on it.

You ever seen one of them?

No, I don't think so.

Yeah, well, they didn't have them in the States. This was like a European version. And this one was. That. I got that record. And then there was Roy Orbison record called It's Over.

Do you know that record? Yeah, you know, famous tune. And then there was a Ricky Nelson record called Lonesome Town.

Okay, I don't know that one.

Well, you asked me, and those were the first sort of.

Well, mine was Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas. So, you know, and then, of course.

It'S funny that you mentioned that because I'm right in the middle of watching the new. The movie released, you know, with Jamie Foxx, called Ray Ray. Yeah, yeah.

And one of, you know, another one of those records that was in that early collection of mine was Tell Me what I'd say, you know. Oh, wow. It was funny because it was like I'm sitting watching this wreck, you know, watching this movie, and I'm going, oh, yeah, I remember.

You know, it's like that sort of. That was sort of the time, you know, around that time in the, you know, I'd say mid-60s or early-60s, that I was. Started to be.

To actually realize that music was something that you listened to, you know. And so that was, I guess, important for me because before that, you know, my parents had tried to get me to take piano lessons and this.

And I just had no interest, you know.

How about going to see concerts? Do you check out when you're not performing? Do you go out and see other people?

Sure, sure. From time to time.

Yeah. Who. Who blows you away as far as, you know, that you listen to when you're driving around Long Island. What do you have in your CD player?

Oh, man, it's funny. I mean, so what do I have in my CD player right now? Lucky Peterson.

Oh, yeah, I just saw a concert from, from him on tv. It was great.

Yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, I often have. Oh, I have Prince's musicology in there.

Right? Yeah, Great, great artists.

I got, well, I got an advanced copy of Marcus's record so I can learn the tunes.

Mr. How tough is that, huh? Is it tough for you now?

Well, I played a lot of them. I played on the record. I played on a lot.

But, you know, that doesn't, you know, it's still, you know, his stuff is, is very eloquent and very elegant.

No matter how, you know, no matter how hard, you know, how hard the groove is and how simple it is on the surface, there's, you know, an elegant beauty to the, to the specificity of what's going on that you might not at first be aware of, but when you hear like that band play, if you break it down a little bit, you go, wow, they're not just messing around up there. It's not just a jam session. It sounds very free.

One of the guys who I loved listening to back in the 80s is on the record playing keys all over. Bernard Wright. How far does your affiliation with Bernard go back?

We did a contemporary Christian record back, and that's the first time I played with him, which was in the 80s. I was actually playing with Kirk Whaleham at the time in Texas, and Bernard was living in the Texas area.

And now he is again living in the Texas area.

But, you know, Bernard and then Bernard and I played together with Marcus Miller's band after that, and then we became very close during those, those years, you know, that was like the mid-90s. And he, I don't know, he's just truly one of the most gifted musicians that's ever walked the face of the earth, in my humble opinion.

Another great vocalist on here. I mean, we're going down, right? The roster of people. Layla Hathaway. And when did you first start getting into her music and wanted her on the record?

Well, you know, I heard her first place. I, Before I ever. Probably before I ever realized, you know, that she. Before she ever started singing. I bet I was a big fan of her dad's.

Oh, right. Yeah.

And so curiosity just caused me to want to, you know, obviously she had, she had a brief but rising star on like, the, you know, MTV sort of, you know, acts. Oh, I shouldn't say mtv. I should say The. On commercial television in terms of getting, you know, she had a. Her first record, had some hits.

Okay.

And it was, you know, but she wanted to do what she wanted to do and I really respect her for that.

Right.

As opposed to just, you know, being a sort of, you know, R and B flash in the pan or something, you know, you know, the sort of cookie cutter thing that they're doing now. And it's interesting because her voice has influenced so many subsequent singers to, you know, that are.

That have chosen that sort of narrower path, you know, and. But she's brilliant.

And I was very attracted to her first couple of, you know, those songs, even though they, you know, actually hear, you know, that first cd, you know, I'm. I'm kind of stepping all over myself here because her first CD has some very ambitious writing on it, but it is very R B oriented, you know.

Right.

But it's very. It's so dense, you know, some of the stuff that it was probably too much. Some of it for. For. Well, what is too much for radio?

You know, that's the problem, isn't it? I'm going to.

Oh, yeah. Hey, keep talking. I agree with you.

Yeah, yeah.

But Layla, you know, we met, you know, actually we met through Marcus Miller, but I had known her work previous to that and was amazed at, you know, not amazed, but just pleased at the fact that the good genes took, you know. Right.

So, you know, I really want to thank you for finally coming on the show. I mean, we always love to have you on.

So I look forward to someday coming up there and playing.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean that you have the open invitation. We'd love for you to come down. If you want to just come bring.

Your guitar or take that rain and use it.

Yeah. Will be here. Right here in Connecticut.

And if you're listening here on WVOF and just tuned in and missed out on the interview, we also will be airing this on our 24 hour Internet broadcast co hosted by myself and G. Dussault@upper roomwithjoekelley.com and you'll be hearing additional music from Groove Warrior and the debut CD from Dean Brown. And thanks so much.

Yeah, thank you very much for having me on. I appreciate it.

And we're going to go out with two in a row. We'll get some funk and some great guitar in there, break song and we'll seg right into Piggly Wiggly. And I just want to make a.

Ask you a quick question on this. I know there's a co writing Credit to Blackbird McKnight from the P funk scene. How did that work out?

Juju, the drummer, okay, he had said, listen, Dean, there's this. He sang it to me, you know, he sang me this groove. He went, don't. You're talking about the tune Piggly, right? Yeah, he sang this tune. He went, Right.

He sang that in my ear. And I said, oh, man, what is that? You know? And he goes, why? You know, Blackbird McKnight has this thing, man. You know, it's just.

It was just a groove of his. But he goes, but I put a little something different over it. And then I got this other section and I said, oh, cool.

And then we put a melody on it, and that was that, you know.

So I actually, you know, Obviously, I know BlackBerry's work from Herbie Hancock and this and that, you know, because, you know, all the stuff from Headhunters, you know. But I'd never met him. And so, you know, I guess I should say on the air, thanks, man, because that is killing.

But it was really Juju who brought my attention to that groove. That is just phenomenal.

Yeah, this is real nice. And one of many great songs off the new CD, Groove Warrior.

You can go to deanbrown.com also check out esc-records.de and we'll go with Break Song and right into Piggly Wiggly. So, thanks, Dean.

Yeah, thank you.