Carolyn Martin - A Platter of Brownies: The Music of Milton Brown (2014)

I was a little late in discovering this superb album. Though I’ve been aware of Carolyn Martin for several years, it was in September 2014 that I discovered for myself just how great she is. Gail Davies arranged a Pickin’ Party at her home to welcome me to Nashville and Carolyn was one of the several talented singers and musicians who played on that unforgettable evening. Many of the songs she sung were taken from this album and for the past few weeks this CD has rarely been absent from my CD player. I first became a fan of western swing music back in 1970 via Merle Haggard’s Bob Wills tribute album. Since then I’ve been an avid listener to all things western swing, to my mind an integral part of the vast country music canon which is either overlooked or too often mis-interpreted. This album by Carolyn Martin is not only a fond nod to the virtually forgotten Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies, but also a superb and genuine western swing album. Though Bob Wills is generally regarded as the ‘king of western swing,’ Brown and his band were the forerunners and also perfected the instrumentation that would characterise western swing as we know it. This was back in 1932, several years before Bob Wills came to the fore. Sadly, Milton Brown died in April 1936 in an automobile accident. At the time he and his group were Texas’ premier western swing band, but without their leader, the Musical Brownies disbanded before the year was out, leaving the path clear for Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

Western swing music was designed for the Texas dancehalls, and as such, the Musical Brownies’ repertoire was wide and varied and ranged from the popular hits of the day, string band favourites, blues and jazz along with influences from Texas’ German, Czech and Hispanic communities. Prior to recording this album, Carolyn and her band listened to Milton Brown’s complete recordings whilst on a tour of Canada. From that they selected the 16 tracks on the aptly titled A PLATTER OF BROWNIES, showcasing Carolyn as a classic singer of songs, who with her skilled musicians brings new dimensions to a set list from the pages of the great American songbook, creating nuances, passion and soul with a delivery that stamps them as her own. The album’s diverse tracks demonstrate her amazing interpretations of timeless material from a wide range of composers and genres: Tin Pan Alley works like Who’s Sorry Now, the jazzy Sweet Georgia Brown, a touch of blues in Wabash Blues and the country-ish Down By the Ohio with some hot fiddle, steel guitar, guitar, banjo and barroom piano.

The band’s sound is vintage and fresh, a modern take on old-time swing, country, blues and jazz. Not afraid to explore new sonic territory, deftly blending the band’s acoustic instruments with touches of percussion, electric guitar, piano, steel and more they bring together a swinging, sauntering collection of popular classics, swing tunes, rags, sultry ballads and torch songs. Bask in the force that emanates from this effort and you’ll soon be caught up in the natural enthusiasm and infectious spirit of this rather tasty collection.