NY Times -"Making His Mark on Well-Tilled Soil"

In a way, the trumpeter Maurice Brown exemplifies the state of young jazz musicians: he's trying to draw a continuous line between the music's old, fractured territories. Now 24, originally from Chicago and living in New Orleans, he has pushed toward a new, clipped version of R&B and funk; he has played free music, too, with mentors in Chicago like Fred Anderson and Ernest Dawkins. But his deepest interest is jazz's high-art mainstream, and he puts juice into it. Read More

Chicago Tribune -"Brown's Promise Becomes A Reality"

Brown has learned a lot about the depth of sound that every note in a great trumpet solo can convey, and he has mastered uniquely lilting Southern tempos and rhythms. But Brown adds to this deeply lyric impulse the urge to experiment and reinvent, characteristics ingrained in the music of the city whose music first shaped him -- Chicago. When Brown tore into one of his most challenging and satisfying compositions, "Rapture," there was no mistaking the aggressive rhythms, earthy swing, technical bravura and go-for-broke experimentation of Chicago jazz, in all its thundering glory.Read More

DownBeat Magazine -"BROWN RISES AS NEW ORLEANS STAR"

Brown is one of the most exciting young trumpeters in jazz--be it New Orleans or New York.  His improvisations are fresh, his chops dynamic and he’s writing what could very well become a new generation of hard-bop-meets-new-grooves standards. And given that he’s only played the horn for about 10 years, his potential to grow in the music is staggering ....Read More

Jazznow.com -"CD Review"

That hard bop lives is not in dispute; a quartet or a quintet is a lot easier to travel with than an orchestra (ask William Parker some time), and they can play smaller clubs. Sorry to put it in so bald a set of terms, but the concern exists. Last night I was watching Martin Scorcese's wonderful, sepia-toned film NEW YORK, NEW YORK and noted how the Robert de Niro character's aggressive tenor saxophone style - practically made for a quintet! Paul Gonsalves his 'Jimmy Doyle' wasn't - meshed only at an angle to the larger, more arranged 'big bands' his character attempted to join. De Niro's character in the movie marked the beginning of the end of the big traveling orchestras, and a wilder, less disciplined (and thus more adventurous in a different way) form's birth. Economics always play a part, whether we want them to or not.

Naturally, by and large everything grows an orthodoxy, though; even hard bop. So how to keep it fresh in the can? So to speak. Maurice Brown does very nicely here, taking his cue from somewhere to the left of Clifford Brown and has grown a friendly, machine-tooled approach that works well at most any speed. What's his secret? Hard work. No, you won't mistake this for a Grachan Moncur III release from the 1960s, but it's all originals, all singing, all dancing, no secrets. Some properly odd-sounding electric "wah" attachments slather the title ditty, for example, and Doug Bickel's easy-flipping electric piano washes in and out with no small allure, but wisely Brown saves the funk quote for the secondary theme, not the primary, and by the time you hear it, it's a dandy little surprise and not a yawn. Very cool. Bickel leaps out of the gate as would your favorite racehorse come the piano bit in "Look Ma No Hands," while Derek Douget sinks his tenor deep between the careful listener's ears in any number of places hereupon. I'll give highest marks to him on the closing "Call for All Angels," a Mingus like ballad with a long, cantilevered melody line. His drifting yet intense entry back into the theme is a treat. Most honorable mention must also go to Jason Stewart's tireless, busy bass and Adonis Rose's very unadorned but exactly right drumming. I even liked it when he kept straight time!

No, not a flub anywhere on HIP TO BOP. Which we always knew it was, but thanks for reminding us, Mr. Brown. Get this. --Kenneth Egbert

Amazon.com -"CD Review" February

In the early 20th century New Orleans jazz musicians traveled up the Mississippi River to Chicago. The talented 24-year-old Windy City trumpeter Maurice Brown has made the reverse migration to the Crescent City, where he's emerged as a phenom. His debut CD aurally illustrates his burgeoning, diamond-in-the-rough trumpet style, influenced by masters like Fats Navarro, and Wynton Marsalis, the man who discovered him. Backed by a quicksilver New Orleans combo featuring Los Hombres Calientes percussionist Bill Summers, Brown's material is modern, neo-classic, and surprisingly accessible. The melodically complex opener "Rapture," swings like Miles Davis's classic 1960s combos and "Mi Amor" is a mature ballad, while "It's a New Day" bops with funky backbeats that echo Donald Byrd's finest flights from the 1970s. Like Roy Hargrove and Russell Gunn before him, Maurice Brown keeps it real, and reels in new listeners with his tradition in transition approach. -- Eugene Holley, Jr.

Jazztimes Magazine -"CD Reviews Brass Tracks"

With Hip to Bop (Brown), the New Orleans-based 24-year-old Maurice Brown articulates a sound that's closer to Russell Gunn's acoustic work for HighNote. But the title track, a modern funk blues colored by Wurlitzer piano and wah-wah trumpet, complicates that assessment. So does the catchy soul-jazz of "It's a New Day," with guest percussionist (and "hombre caliente") Bill Summers. Brown's sidemen-Derek Douget on tenor sax, Doug Bickel on piano and keys, Jason Stewart on bass and Adonis Rose on drums-offer sturdy support and exceptional solos on this gratifying all-original set, which includes such idiosyncratic themes as "Conceptions" and "Look Ma No Hands" (the latter derived from Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap"). Brown harks back to Wynton Marsalis' aggressive "Knozz-Moe-King" days with the pregnant pauses and cued tempo changes of the opening "Rapture," but his more lyrical side emerges on "Mi Amor" and "A Call for All Angels." --David Adler

BET J  "HIP to Bop"

From King Oliver to Louis Armstrong, Fats Navarro to Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis to Freddie Hubbard, Roy Hargrove to Nicholas Payton, it seems that all great jazz trumpeters, regardless of generation or stylistic inclination, are drawn to the funk.  Each of those aforementioned artists – and there are many more – have steered jazz significantly by incorporating those sweaty, syncopated rhythms, edgy riffs and blues-based melodies we call funk. You can now add Maurice Brown to that illustrious list of jazz trumpeters.  His debut disc, Hip to Bop sublimely integrates the intricate improvisational burn of bebop with the pulsating rhythms of hip hop and R&B.  Read More

Gambit Weekly, 40 under 40

Each year, Gambit Weekly seeks to honor those individuals among us who are working to make the communities of metro New Orleans better places to live. As in past years, the 40 men and women honored in 2004 come from diverse backgrounds and offer diverse talents. From entrepreneurs to physicians, from writers and artists to community activists and organizers, from the Northshore to the West Bank and everything in between, the members of this year's class are living proof that life begins long before 40. The only thing more remarkable than what they each already have accomplished is the promise of what great things are still to come. Read More

Jazztimes Magazine

When Maurice Brown blows his trumpet, folks notice. His irrefutable energy, talent and focus continually surprise audiences like those at his weekly performances at New Orleans’ Snug Harbor club. “I get wrapped up in the music” is how Brown explains his exuberance, which also fills his self-released debut CD, Hip to Bop (Brown). “I’m always having fun on stage. That’s where I’m the happiest.” Read More

ASCAP Playback Magazine

At just 23 years old, Maurice Brown has quickly made a name for himself in Chicago, New Orleans and beyond. Growing up in Chicago, Brown began playing the trumpet and started to take music seriously when Wynton Marsalis singled him out at an eighth grade workshop. Wynton told him he had 'it' and he should "never stop playing." Brown, in turn, started practicing as much as possible - up to 16 hours a day! In his teenage years, he won NARAS' all state high school talent competition, which resulted in a performance with the National Grammy Band. Brown later went on to Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA to study with clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Read More

Offbeat

Trumpeter Maurice Brown is undeniable. He can blow. Consider this-the only names to appear weekly on Snug Harbor's schedule are Marsalis and Neville (Ellis and Charmaine, respectively) and Maurice Brown. That says a lot in this musical town.... Read More

Where Y'at Magazine

There is a new cat in town and he’s burning it up, causing all the Greats to turn their heads and watch. Hailed as an adventurous player that writes adventurous music, Maurice Brown has exploded into jazz scenes across the country and has been racking up praise wherever he goes since he started playing Chicago jazz clubs in high school. With solos described as “tonally brilliant and stylistically unorthodox,” Brown has leapt off the shoulders of jazz giants such as former teacher Wynton Marsalis with a vision for a new voice for the jazz of his generation... Read More

"There is a cat in Chicago burning up the place named Maurice Brown."
- Roy Hargrove

"Up and coming trumpeter Brown sabotaged expectations with the stop start rhythms and unexpected pauses of his "Rapture," while Brown's solos were tonally brilliant and stylistically unorthodox." He maintained the expressive ferocity and harmonic ingenuity that already have become his hallmarks."
- Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

"Maurice Brown is without a doubt the young trumpeter to watch."
- Bobby Broom

"I know for a fact that Maurice Brown has the most promise of all the trumpeters out there: I say this because I played with Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard when they were his age, and I see that promise in Brown."
- Curtis Fuller

"Maurice has a strong sense of harmony,, swing, blues, and a lot of passion and direction in his playing."
- Stephan Harris

"Maurice is the bomb!!"
- Jeff "Tain" Watts

"Maurice is an adventurous player that writes adventurous music."
- Jason Marsalis

"Maurice is the most talented trumpeter of the 21st century."
- Alvin Batiste

"Brownie is the young trumpeter to watch for sure. I see young cats all over the world and Maurice has it. I predict that soon everyone will be talking about the new Brownie."
- Clark Terry

"Maurice Brown is one of the most talented of his generation. He has the vision to bring a new voice, not only to his instrument, but to jazz in general."
- Terence Blanchard

"Maurice is a new and exciting young talent. He has the heart and soul needed for this music."
- Winard Harper

"Maurice has something really special and is a terrific trumpeter."
- Von Freeman

"His command of pitch is positively stunning and there are numerous spots where his gliding smears, jumbles of notes that congeal into a single gelid mass, sketch arching swathes across all registers of his horn. The degree of discipline balanced with flexing muscle reminds me of a young Freddie Hubbard with freer leanings. As a player still just in his early Twenties, Brown has the makings of an exemplary career ahead of him."

-Derek Taylor, Bagatellen.com

“Brown lurked in the darkened corners of the stage before jumping into the spotlight to drop his wild trumpet solos. Brown was a highlight, a character who jerked around like a marionette possessed by the intensity and perfection of everything he played”.

-Allison Augustyn, Chicago Sun-Times