MAGGIE BROWN
Entertainer!
A consummate artist with a 4-octave range, Maggie Brown was born into the entertainment business. Her father, poet, lyricist and vocalist (Oscar Brown, Jr.), handed down his legacy to Maggie. However, Maggie does more than hold her own as an entertainer. Born on the Southside of Chicago and one of his seven children, Maggie stands out as an artist. It has been said her voice, mannerisms and theatrical spirit were passed down from her infamous Dad yet, Maggie has her own strong voice. This seasoned performer encompasses every idiom of music from gospel to jazz to contemporary rap. She employs passion and conviction with a fluid vocal dynamic and professional persona which leaves fans yearning for more.
An accomplished singer, songwriter, actress, producer and educator. She is said to be “one of the most fiercely committed artists in Chicago” (H. Reich, Chicago Tribune). Maggie Brown embodies a powerful performance, whether she is presenting with her own trio, with a full 60 piece orchestra or in a classroom. Maggie has recorded with Abbey Lincoln, Jonathan Butler, Ramsey Lewis, Stevie Wonder and her legendary father.
In 1995 Maggie launched her own independent label MagPie Records releasing her first solo project FROM MY WINDOW. The CD was nominated for a Chicago Music Award for Best Jazz CD. Before his passing, Maggie produced a live concert recording with her father called WE’RE LIVE. The CD features her sister, vocalist Africa Brown and was re-released internationally on ESP Disk, available on iTunes.
In 2017, Maggie Brown was featured vocalist with a stellar ensemble in Poznan Poland for a re-imagined live performance of the historic Jazz recording- WE INSIST: Freedom Now Suite. WE INSIST was originally a ground-breaking collaboration with Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln and Oscar Brown, Jr.
That same year, Maggie enjoyed the spotlight of high profile performances including: Polyrhythms Jazz & Heritage Fest, in Quad-Cities Iowa; featuring with Chicago Jazz Philharmonic “Best Of” concert at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park; and mainstage at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. It is however, natural for Maggie to answer the call from grassroots organizations, and support social justice action, thus she has performed several times with her student musicians for North Side Action 4 Justice, Veteran’s for Peace Festival and Third World Press 50th Anniversary Annual Dinner.
This past year, while leading her own music ensembles and directing theatrical stage productions, Maggie has partnered with her sister, vocalist Africa Pace Brown, co-directing and curating the Oscar Brown, Jr. Archive Project at the Logan Center, on the campus of University of Chicago. Her attention to the publishing catalog of the Brown family, plus her work in African American history and musicology over several decades, now prepares her to lead the charge to carry on a literary and musical legacy-of which she is a committed steward.
The mother of three young adult boys, Maggie sees a need to use her gifts to work in educational entertainment or what her Dad called “edutainment.” Over the past two decades, Browns’ Master classes, Workshops and Artist-In-Residencies have included working in Illinois and the Quad Cities in Iowa, She is also presently a Board member of the Blue Gargoyle Youth Services Organization, and recently served as A-in-R with Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation at the Stony Island Arts Bank.
In her hometown Chicago, Maggie Brown is called on to bring authenticity and integrity to whatever the job calls for. Though her upbringing is rooted in jazz, she is comfortable singing various genres including blues, gospel, pop and even rapping- with impressive conviction and flow. It is hard to put entertainer Maggie Brown into any one category. Upon witnessing her performance, it is easy to see, Maggie is not just another singer.
