"A drum is like a heartbeat, you have to put life to it." He said to me as I turned towards my mother's car. I had been talking with him for a long while, and I figured it was time to let him go and start packing up. I turned and smiled at the young drummer. "I'll remember that, Jaimeo."
And I do. I think of it every time I sit down to play my own drum set. I think of everything that he taught me.
I consider myself privileged to have met NYC resident Jaimeo Brown. (pronounced Jah-mayo) Not only is he one of the best up-an-coming new drummers in the country, but he's also one of the sweetest, kindest guys I have met.
You must be thinking "Who is this guy, anyway? A drummer for some rock band? I've heard about way to many of those." And yet you could rack your mind for any amount of time over rock and pop boy band drummers, and you'd still never find just one of the musicians Jaimeo has drummed with. That's because Jaimeo drums jazz.
Jaimeo Brown. Percussionist. Composer. Clinician. Producer. And amazingly gifted, modest young man. This New York City resident could boast about many things, but he doesn't. So I'll do it for him.
Jaimeo's resume is prestigious, and it would take me a long time to list all of the amazing groups he has played for. Perhaps you know a few of them, the likes of Carlos Santana (yes, you heard me...), Wynton Marsalis, Kaamal, Carl Craig, Kenny Garrett and the one and only Bob Hutcherson. It was with Bob Hutcherson that Jaimeo Brown shared his percussion skills with and gained his national reputation. At the age of 19.
And to top it all off, Stevie Wonder. It's a rare string that can say they played with Stevie Wonder. But, then again, Jaimeo is a rare breed.
Jaimeo Brown didn't just become ridiculously talented overnight, although. It started when he was six, with piano. Throughout his younger years, he played the piano and violin, until Jaimeo took up the drums when he was 16.
I suppose it helps growing up in a musical family, although. I don't mean musical by having supportive siblings and parents, I mean musical as in having father Dartanyn Brown, famed bassist and an all-around musical legacy, and mother Marcia Miget, styled pianist and woodwind specialist. Drum teacher Sly Randolph taught Jaimeo almost everything he knew. No biggy.
Jaimeo graduated from the vaunted jazz program at William Paterson University in 2001, and even after that achievement, he didn't sit down on his heels and rest. Almost straight afterwards, he accepted the offer to drum for the Charles Mingus Big Band.
Jazz is a genre of music with much integrity. Jaimeo seems to have taken that and brought it into his own life. He spends much of his time in sections of urban New Jersey giving free or very low-cost music lessons to kids who might not be able to have that experience growing older.
Jaimeo Brown is also a member of the NYC-based group of young artists called Esoterica. He and his band mates are exploring the 'future of jazz' while still keeping their African-American roots. Music fans world-wide are noticing this group, and critics are going crazy. It's really something to look out for.
Besides Esoterica, Jaimeo is also leading another group called Sound of Revelation, which have been on many tours worldwide, returning recently from one in Israel.
"I have to bring my own cymbals. I don't care where I am going to play, or which set I'm going to be playing on, I always use my cymbals." He told me. I had raised an eyebrow at him "Why?" "It's like...weird. Like using someone else's tooth brush, you know?" "Yeah, but you don't run your tongue all over the cymbals. I don't see your point."
He taught me many things on the night I had met him after a show. No matter how many people came up to him, telling him how amazing his skills were, he all greeted them the same. "Hello, my friend."
And as I watched him step start sliding his cymbals into his bag, he stopped one moment, and ran a finger lovingly around the dented edge. I could almost see all the time he had smashed into that cymbal, hearing the roar of the crowd, letting it's last tones echo out into the room.
Now I saw his point.
Glitsygrl
