Born in Manchester (UK) he studied the trumpet at the Leeds College of Music and London’s Guildhall School of Music. In the 90’s Damon played and toured with many pop and dance stars including Paul Weller, Maxi Priest, The Specials, and The Pasadena’s. With the London Acid Jazz Group, Push and the DJ Gilles Peterson he made the first of many visits to Japan.

In the mid 90’s Damon formed his first jazz group, the Damon Brown Quintet and toured the UK. In 1998 the Quintet appeared at the Red Sea Jazz International Festival promoting Damon’s debut album A Rhythm Indicative (ZahZah 1998). Since this debut as composer, player and bandleader Damon has confirmed his place in the UK jazz scene: he has played over the years at all the UK’s leading clubs and festivals and has also performed internationally, particularly in Europe and the Far East, with his own groups.

His sideman credits include tours with international stars such as Benny Golson, Dave Liebman, Doug Raney , Big Jon Patten and other luminaries. He has also performed with many of the UK’s leading players such as Peter King, Stan Tracey, Claire Martin, Don Weller and Alan Barnes. A string of successful recordings in the last decade have cemented his reputation further and his collaborations with iconic tenor sax player Steve Grossman have been hugely popular with jazz audiences and critics alike . The Steve Grossman / Damon Brown Quintet recorded their first CD This Time, The Dreams On Me in 2008. It was released in 2009 to considerable critical acclaim.

In addition to his work with his Quintet, Damon has diversified his writing and playing in other formats. In 2007 the group Killer Shrimp, which he co-leads with Ed Jones, won the 2007 Best Live Jazz Group at the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Their first CD, Sincerely Whatever, was nominated for Best Jazz CD of the Year.

With Francesc Capella and Laia Porta he formed the Minimum Trio which has toured extensively in Europe and released two CDs. Damon continues to teach and perform in Europe and Russia and also in the Far East, most notably in Japan, where he has collaborated each year with the pianist Yutaka Shiina, and Americans Tim Armacost, (tenor sax) and Gene Jackson (drums).

Tonight Damon is presenting his Korean Trio. It’s been difficult to get much info on the other guys as most of text about them doesn’t translate well into English, but here goes!

Kang Woong (Guitar) trained in Seoul before going to the USA to study Jazz music at Berklee College of Music in Boston and New York University in NYC, USA studying under John Scofield, Don Friedman and Billy Drummond.

When he moved to New York he hitched with fellow Korean and bass player Park Jin Kyo (no pic). Kang and Park lived and studied together for 3 years in New York with two of the jazz greats on their instruments - Peter Bernstein and Ron Carter. Hence, when they returned to Seoul, they quickly became two of the busiest rhythm section men on the scene. They have played together ever since. In 2006 Kang led the Japan Jazz Sextet All-Stars with 2007 club concerts at Blue Note NYC, Garage, Smalls and Charlie's Den in Boston. In 2008: an exclusive concert at DS Hall, Seoul, Korea.

This tour with Damon celebrates the release of their new CD Walking On. After playing in South Korea over the past two years, the trio released their first CD on the Seoul-based Evans Label to great acclaim. A mixture of intimate standards and their originals with influences of Latin and soul proved a great hit with audiences and critics alike. This is part of a tour to promote the UK release of their CD on 33 Records. Damon will be singing and trumpeting in this project; it has a touch of Chet Baker about the music. It's very intimate obviously, but kind of quirky and has a lot of soul.

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