Maurice Brown & Saunders Sermons at Black Cat

Seating times: 6:30pm & 8:15pm. Doors open 30 minutes early.
$20/$30
JAZZ@theEDGE Festival! Featuring: Mobetta, Saunders Sermons, Thomas Pridgen, Parker McAllister, T Nava

Trumpet sensation Maurice “Mobetta” Brown orbits simultaneously through three worlds: contemporary jazz, blues-rock, and cutting-edge hip hop. Maurice is 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. Hurricane Katrina 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. ...

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Seating times: 6:30pm & 8:15pm. Doors open 30 minutes early.
$20/$30
JAZZ@theEDGE Festival! Featuring: Mobetta, Saunders Sermons, Thomas Pridgen, Parker McAllister, T Nava

Trumpet sensation Maurice “Mobetta” Brown orbits simultaneously through three worlds: contemporary jazz, blues-rock, and cutting-edge hip hop. Maurice is 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. Hurricane Katrina 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 TTB sound.

Brown’s immersion into hip hop as musician/producer/lyricist culminated into the 2014 release of “MAURICE vs. MOBETTA”. This groundbreaking alter-ego album remixed The Cycle of Love with fresh and innovative hip hop beats. Brown’s jazz roots were enhanced through the lens of a hip-hop perspective. Talib Kweli, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Consequence and Jean Grae’s spitting rhymes are met by Mobetta’s own, while his trumpet circles effortlessly throughout every track.

Brown left TTB to reignite his solo career as a musician/producer, setting up a second home in Los Angeles while performing internationally and producing tracks for Talib, Omar and Prodigy. Maurice’s third album “The Mood” mixed his instinctive jazz roots, soulful melodies and vocals, including the politically charged Stand Up, with guest artist Kweli and Maurice trading vocals powered by his potent trumpet.

In 2018, Maurice joined Grammy award-winning superstar Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals on their worldwide tours. He also performed on Ramsey Lewis and Kenny Garrett’s recent albums, while making his Broadway debut with Dave Chappelle along with .Paak and bassist extraordinaire, Thundercat. Maurice partnered with jazz megastar Kamasi Washington for his run of sold-out shows at Hollywood Bowl, Barclay’s Center and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Most recently, Maurice composed the horn arrangements on Grammy award-winning rapper Logic’s latest album. He has also appeared on the Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, The Daily Show and The Colbert Show.

The Maurice “Mobetta” Brown sound has become mainstream as he charts his own musical course with constant evolution, crossover fluidity, coupled with an intuitive vision that lights a fire under traditional jazz, adds sonic brass to rock ‘n’ roll and creatively pushes the production envelope in hip hop.

Saunders Sermons II is an American singer, trombonist, song writer and a two-time Grammy Award Winner. Born and raised in Miami, FL, Sermons began playing the trombone at the age of 11. Since then, he has grown to become an established independent artist with an admirable music career.

Majoring in jazz studies at the New School in New York City enabled Sermons to flesh out and hone his skills as a trombonist while encouraging him to branch out as a singer and songwriter. As a trombonist, Sermon’s vocals & trombone can be heard on Tedeschi Trucks Bands single “Part Of Me.” He has performed with hip hop and R&B icons such as 50 Cent, Diddy, and Snoop Dog, with whom Sermons toured Europe and North America, along with Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige.

Sermons has been a member of the Tedesci Trucks Band since 2010, a role that has earned him a second GRAMMY award.

In 2008 Saunders toured with R&B Grammy award vocalist Maxwell earning him his first Grammy. Sermons has also performed with jazz trumpet player Roy Hargrove. Fusing jazz with soul is Sermon’s own unique blend of artistry.” I want to bring elegance back to music and set a new standard for the industry like the greats, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong. “I also want to play multiple instruments,” says Sermons. When asked who he is influenced by, he quickly runs off a list of artists who came before him and inspired him: Prince, D’angelo, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra.

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