Black, Brown, and Blue

PIANIST ERIC REED CELEBRATES THE MUSIC of Black and Brown composers on his deeply personal new album Black, Brown, and Blue featuring a brilliant new trio with bassist Luca Alemanno and drummer Reggie Quinerly

Think of the songwriters whose work comprises the canon of jazz standards, and names like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin, and Porter immediately come to mind. On his new album, Black, Brown, and Blue, Eric Reed argues for a revision of that canon to focus on Black and Brown composers, songwriters whose work originates within the jazz realm rather than on the Broadway stage. Historically, many of the contributions and works of Black and Brown people have either been destroyed, devalued, or appropriated,” Reed writes in his liner notes.

Black, Brown, and Blue features music written by jazz masters like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Buddy Collette, and Buster Williams, along with jazz-conversant pop/R&B songwriters Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers.

“Where I am now in my life, I’m only concerned about conveying the most personal and heartfelt ideas through my music. Black, Brown, and Blue is the culmination of my life thus far.” What shines through on these performances is the deep well of emotion and feeling that Reed mines in his playing, his expression, and his ability to communicate on a profound level with his new trio.