Alison Brown has taken an unlikely path in establishing
herself as an internationally recognized banjoist. The former
investment banker (she has a bachelor’s degree from
Harvard and an MBA from UCLA) toured with Alison
Krauss and Union Station and Michelle Shocked before
forming her own group, The Alison Brown Quartet. She
has recorded eight critically acclaimed solo albums
including the Grammy-winning Fair Weather (2000 Best
Country Instrumental Performance). Alison has been
featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things
Considered and in The Wall Street Journal and The New
York Times.
Alison, together with her husband Garry West, cofounded the internationally recognized independent label Compass Records in 1995 to create an artist-friendly home for roots music and musicians. In a recent feature story, Billboard magazine called Compass “one of the greatest independent labels to emerge in the last decade.” In 2006, Compass Records Group acquired the 30-yearold Green Linnet label, becoming the largest label for Irish and Celtic music in the U.S.
Alison’s Irish roots extend back to her paternal greatgrandfather, Robert Brown, who emigrated from Ulster with his parents in 1880. Rumor has it that the family originated in County Roscommon but little more than that is known, except that her great-grandfather is said to have enjoyed his beer warm. Alison currently resides in Nashville with her husband Garry and their two children Hannah (5) and Brendan (6 months).
Alison, together with her husband Garry West, cofounded the internationally recognized independent label Compass Records in 1995 to create an artist-friendly home for roots music and musicians. In a recent feature story, Billboard magazine called Compass “one of the greatest independent labels to emerge in the last decade.” In 2006, Compass Records Group acquired the 30-yearold Green Linnet label, becoming the largest label for Irish and Celtic music in the U.S.
Alison’s Irish roots extend back to her paternal greatgrandfather, Robert Brown, who emigrated from Ulster with his parents in 1880. Rumor has it that the family originated in County Roscommon but little more than that is known, except that her great-grandfather is said to have enjoyed his beer warm. Alison currently resides in Nashville with her husband Garry and their two children Hannah (5) and Brendan (6 months).