Trumpet sensation Maurice “Mobetta” Brown orbits simultaneously through three worlds: contemporary jazz, blues-rock and cutting-edge hip hop. He’s a mastermind as a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and producer. When Maurice picks up his horn, his soulful melodies soar into a rarefied space that uniquely marries be-bop to hip-hop and rock, producing his own distinctive sound.

The Chicago area native won the national Miles Davis Trumpet Competition as a teenager, followed by a move to Louisiana to study under legendary clarinetist Alvin Batiste. His critically acclaimed debut, “HIP TO BOP”, recorded in New Orleans, foreshadowed Brown’s unique talent for creating fresh bop-inflected jazz with an urban pulse. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation forced Maurice to relocate, taking his horn to New York where he established himself by recording with Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, De La Soul, Macy Gray, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lettuce and The Roots.

His second album, THE CYCLE OF LOVE was named by NPR and the Huffington Post as one of the best records of the year. Brown embraced his be-bop roots with hip-hop hooks and laid raw his dogged insistence on charting his own musical course after a life uprooted post-Katrina. Maurice was then invited to join the newly formed Tedeschi-Trucks Band where he won a Grammy for his horn arrangements on the band’s debut album, “Revelator”. His trumpet was a wailing counterpoint to Derek Truck’s searing guitar wizardry and became a staple of the TTB sound. Continue reading →