Banjoist Alison Brown’s reach is far and wide, with her skills catching the attention of performers such as Steve Martin and Alison Krauss, but her roots are firmly planted in La Jolla.
Brown — a Grammy Award-winning musician, Grammy-nominated producer, co-founder of Nashville-based Compass Records and more — will perform in a benefit concert for the Rotary Club of La Jolla on Wednesday, June 12, at La Jolla's Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. She will be joined by her touring group featuring John Ragusa on flute, Mason Embry on piano, Garry West on bass and Bryan Brock on drums.
Brown was born on the East Coast but grew up in La Jolla and graduated from La Jolla High School as a valedictorian. Her mother, Barbara, still lives in La Jolla and is the Rotary Club president .
Barbara Brown said Alison’s path to a successful music career was anything but straight and narrow.
“She went to Harvard to study pre-med to become a doctor,” she said with a laugh. “And she would have been a good one.”
But Alison switched her field of study to history and literature before getting a master’s degree in business administration.
Through it all, the banjo was there.
“I don’t think she ever put it down for long,” Barbara said. “She played with some musicians at Harvard and a Boston-based band. So she was always playing. It was almost an obsession.”
Barbara said Alison was introduced to music in childhood, when her now-late father, John, got a guitar as a gift.
“He wanted to learn to play ‘Buckdancer’s Choice,’” Barbara said. “He couldn’t learn it. He tried and tried but couldn't get it. It was shocking because he was musically talented.”
Alison’s parents then went on a month-long trip to France, leaving Alison and sister Meredith with a musically inclined family member.
When her parents returned, Alison said "I can play 'Buckdancer’s Choice,'" Barbara said. “I said, ‘Sure, sure, of course you can.' She kept telling me she could play it, so I sat down and listened. She ripped it off perfectly. I thought ‘Uh oh, this is different.’
"I told John we needed to get her guitar lessons. We took her to the person John took lessons with. They said her hands were too small and she was too young. But eventually, we got another person to teach her. She did really well and one day he brought his banjo and he brought a recording and Alison lit up. She loved it. That’s what started it. It was predestined.”
After a few years of performing professionally, Alison was contacted by bluegrass musician Krauss — who is known for her collaborations with Robert Plant and her recording of “Down to the River to Pray” from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack — because she needed someone to stand in with her band. Soon after, Brown was asked to join the band on a more consistent basis.
According to published reports, Brown in 1991 was the first woman to win an International Bluegrass Music Association award in an instrumental category. Ten years later, she won her first Grammy. She also is a Banjo Hall of Famer.
Over the course of her career, she befriended comedian, actor and banjoist Steve Martin, and the two have collaborated in recent years.
The upcoming concert at The Conrad is intended to help the Rotary Club of La Jolla fund or expand its list of projects.
Rotarian Cindy Goodman said the club has projects locally and internationally. Among them are efforts to support foster youths as they transition into their own housing by purchasing everything they might need to furnish an apartment. It also financially supports students in Tijuana as they make their way through school and in their efforts to learn English, provides supplies to military service members and more.
The club currently is involved in a project to install a “Welcome to La Jolla” sign on the median at the intersection of Torrey Pines Road and La Jolla Shores Drive. Though backers have reached their fundraising goal , there has been talk of creating an endowment fund to cover future maintenance and repairs. Now the proposal is being circulated in appropriate San Diego city departments.
Internationally, the club has partnered with other organizations to support emergency relief in places like Turkey, and it has projects in India and Africa.
“We have more requests than we can fulfill,” Goodman said. “The more we are able to raise, the more we are going to be able to help. We have been doing it, but not at the level I would like.”
Upfront costs for the concert have been covered by underwriters, and all ticket proceeds will go toward Rotary projects. Because the event is a fundraiser for a charitable organization, there is a tax deduction for some of the higher-tier ticket costs, Goodman said.
As a bonus, the first 100 buyers of top-tier tickets at $250 each will be invited to a reception with Alison Brown.
The Rotary Club is looking to send military members and veterans to the show for free, thus people who cannot attend can purchase a ticket for a service member.
“My personal passion is the military, because if it weren't for our service members, we aren't likely to live the way we live,” Goodman said. So far, 35 service members have tickets, with more expected.
Goodman said she wants people to see Brown perform “because she’s amazing. ... She will leave people smiling, and to leave having had a joyful evening would make me feel like a million bucks and totally fulfilled.”
Alison Brown benefit concert for Rotary Club of La Jolla
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 12
Where: Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla
Cost: $100-$250
Information: theconrad.org/events/23-24-rotary-club ◆
This story originally appeared in La Jolla Light .
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