Browns in Blues is the title of the
5 Browns third disc, but don't expect that the family of five pianists has put together an all-jazz album. This is their "chillout" album, definitely something of an eclectic mixture of works -- classical and jazz, old and new -- that somehow still manages to hang together enough to give off an overall laid-back, go-with-the-flow kind of vibe. As with their other albums, each of the
Browns heard in one or two solos as well as in two-piano, five-piano, and piano six-hands pieces. There are arrangements by Greg Anderson tailored to the
Browns, which add to the already classic melodies of
Rachmaninov's 18th Variation from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,
Debussy's Clair de Lune, and the bonus track where the
Browns accompany
Dean Martin in "Everybody Loves Somebody." The extra parts may be viewed as unnecessary puffery, but what Anderson did is no more than
Leopold Godowsky did to
Saint-Saëns' "The Swan" or
Earl Wild to
Gershwin's "Embraceable You," both heard here as solos by
Melody and
Desirae, respectively. In the case of the
Rachmaninov, the extra filling is more improvisational sounding, which then makes the group as a whole sound like it's not always together. Sometimes the pieces seem to plod along without too much of a sense of direction or purpose, or even a full understanding of the music, as in the case of Gretchen am Spinnrade as played by Ryan. But, then again, the point of the album is the mood, ranging from lushly romantic to melancholy to just plain mellow, and covering what otherwise would be a strange collection of composers, from
Schubert to
W.C. Handy. An exciting highlight is "Reflections on Shenandoah," commissioned by the
Browns from pianist/composer
John Novacek. It's a work that hauntingly renders the folk song as a mini-tone poem depiction of the river. The
Browns are also joined by guests
Gil Shaham in another selection from
Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals and
Chris Botti in an excerpt from
Gershwin's American in Paris.
In keeping with the low-key approach, the notes for the album are inconsequential on purpose, but for those who have them and actually read them, they can also be enigmatic. (Why is
Sibelius given a co-composer credit on
Vaughan Williams' "Dives and Lazarus," and is the
Dean Martin song deemed a "bonus" track just because it's not mentioned at all in the notes?) That, plus the unusual program and sometimes the interpretations prevent most of the hardcore classical world from ever taking the family seriously, but those who already are fans of the
5 Browns or are willing to try something different (and possibly fun) will definitely want to have this album. It is a chance to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music with them.