Born in South Bend Indiana in 1960, Michael is the son of English professors whose love of music and poetry inspired them to take their nine year old son to the great jazz, blues and folk clubs in their adopted home of Montreal. It was there that the young Browne first heard the likes of Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee and Lightnin' Hopkins. By the age of fourteen he was performing professionally on the seventies coffeehouse scene playing guitar, banjo and harmonica and singing.

Now MJB tours all over the world. See him on stage at major festivals in: Canada, U.K., Australia, Europe and the United States.

Michael Jerome Browne has three releases, all of them Juno nominated. The self-titled, “Michael Jerome Browne”, an accomplished debut album highlighting MJB's musical influences, from Big Bill Broonzy to Jimi Hendrix, from David Byrne to Dennis McGee. MJB lays down amazing banjo, fiddle, guitar, tenor guitar, harmonica and vocal tracks.

“Drive On”, a life-long love affair with blues and early jazz results in a seamless blend of original, public domain and new interpretations. Evidence of a profound intellectual and artistic understanding of the roots and influences of these important musical forms.

“Michael Jerome Browne and The Twin Rivers String Band”. This release unleashes Michael's passion for old-time string band, Cajun and classic country music. A stunning assortment of fiddles, banjos, lap steel guitars, mandolins, Cajun triangles and yodels.

Michael's talents as a multi-instrumentalist, composer and teacher mean you'll find him playing live at Carnegie Hall with Kate and Anna McGarrigle, in the studio with Taj Mahal and Eric Bibb, performing live with Guy Davis, teaching at music camps and songwriting workshops, and more.... and Crossroads Blues couldn't be happier to track him down for a few questions. Enjoy our interview with a truly gifted musician, Michael Jerome Browne...

CB: Hi Michael. From being a street musician to becoming a full-time member of the acclaimed Stephen Barry Band, you're now enjoying a great solo career. Can you give us a little bit of a history of what brought you to where you are today? Where - and how - did it all begin?

MJB: My family moved from Indiana to Montreal when I was quite small. My parents were literary academics and American folk music was one of the things we heard around the house. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were the first blues artists I heard, both live and on record. After hearing them live at about 9 years old, I knew what I wanted to do. Starting on harmonica at 9, guitar at 12, banjo at 13 and fiddle at 18, I gradually got interested in all kinds of Southern music. By my early 20s I was doing a one-man-band street show that I continued to do for over ten years, even after I had joined the Stephen Barry Band in 1984. I learned a lot in the band. 14 years with the same people, and you really sound like a unit. I really got into the electric guitar during this period, although I brought a country-blues element to the band that hadn’t been there before.

In 1996 my house burned down and I met Bee Markus, with whom I would later write songs, and eventually have children. In 1998 I decided to record my first solo CD, on the Bros label, and left the band the following year. Since then it’s been mostly acoustic music for me, but I recently did an electric show with the old SBB rhythm section (Stephen Barry and John McColgan) plus guests Bharath Rajakumar and Sue Foley. The songwriting with Bee has been very interesting for me. It’s a bit like the classic songwriting teams; she writes the words, and I write the music. We often try to write songs that sound old, that will fit with the rest of the repertoire. I think the writing just keeps getting better,

CB: Let’s talk about your latest album with the Twin Rivers String Band. Who are the musicians who played on the album?

MJB:  The core of the group is Michael Ball, fiddle and viola, and Jody Benjamin, vocals, guitar and Cajun triangle (“ti-fer”). They live in Ottawa and have a duo called “Ball & Chain” which plays classic country, old-time and Cajun music. They’re my touring band. The CD also features Mary Gick, a great banjo player from Ottawa, and Montreal’s own Jordan Officer on fiddle, guitar and lap-steel.

I used a rhythm section on a few tunes, Stephen Barry (bass) and R. D. Harris (drums). Penny Lang also makes a guest appearance on one song.

CB: A variety of instruments can be heard on this recording. Which instruments do you play on the album?

MJB: I play mostly fiddle and guitar, and there are some solo tunes where I play my fretless gourd banjo. I also play mandolin and Hawaiian guitar on a couple of things.

CB: How was it recorded? Live off the floor?

MJB: We did most of it live at Victor Studio over a 3-day period. The only song with overdubs was the one with Penny Lang. Her voice, my harmony and the Hawaiian guitar were the only things added. I generally like to work live in the studio. When you layer things, it’s hard to tell if it has any life; when it’s live, you can tell right away. Things have a spark that’s hard to duplicate.

CB: How would you describe the musical style of the album?

MJB: I’ve been calling it acoustic folk-roots, to cover all the bases, because it’s quite eclectic, although I think it’s less so than my other two albums. There’s a bit of old-time, a bit of classic country, a bit of Cajun, some African-American-style banjo playing, some borderline country blues, one western swing tune, and even some acoustic country-rock (“Just Look Up”).

CB: How would you say this new album compares and contrasts to your debut self-titled and “Drive on” albums?

MJB: Like I said, I think it’s less eclectic. You might say it focuses on the whiter side of my repertoire, although that African-American influence is never far away. I think the blues is the thread that links the different styles. That was my first love, and when I got into other styles, it was because of the blues element.

CB: You’ve received award recognition in your home province with Quebec Lys Blues Folk/Blues artist nominations, as well as a string of nominations and a win from the Toronto based Maple Blues Awards. How do you feel about such recognition?

MJB: It’s great to get the recognition from the people in the business. I wish it translated into more work in Ontario and Quebec. Although I definitely have a following in those two provinces, it seems a little harder to get things happening than in other parts of the country.

CB: Of course, the Twin Rivers String Band album received a nomination for a 2005 JUNO Award, a distinction that you have received twice in the past for your first two albums. How has such national recognition impacted on your career?

MJB: It’s helped a lot. I went from being a Quebec artist to a Canadian artist almost over night, and I’ve managed to build a following in Western Canada that would have taken a lot longer without that kind of exposure.

CB: You’ve played all over the world. Are there areas that you have visited that you never thought you’d ever see? Which ones are your favourites?

MJB: Australia and Morocco are places I didn’t expect to go to. Kuujjuaqq in Northern Quebec was ironically the most foreign, both culturally and in terms of landscape. I have trouble picking favourites, though. I seem to get a bit more respect overseas (Australia, U.K., Europe), but some of the best gigs I’ve ever done were right here in Canada.

CB: With all the shows you play, you must have some humorous live performance stories. Can you share one with us?

MJB: I think falling asleep while playing a one-chord Bo Diddley tune is a pretty good one. This was with the Stephen Barry Band, a long time ago. I was leading the song and I gave the solo to guitarist Andrew Cowan. I didn’t stop playing; I kept chugging away at that one chord. I just remember waking up, Andrew had finished his solo and everyone was looking at me, wondering what’s next, because I was leading the tune.

CB: You’ve collaborated with a number of artists throughout your career. Which ones stand out for you?

MJB: Going back to my early days, Big Moose Walker was really important. He was a Mississippi-born Chicago-based piano player who had been Earl Hooker’s travelling and musical partner. I played with him quite a bit over a number of years and that was a huge education in blues. We hardly ever rehearsed, but when you hit the stage he laid it down in such a strong way that you couldn’t help but follow. He was also responsible for bringing Hubert Sumlin to town, and we backed him up. That was unforgettable. Much later, Vann “Piano Man” Walls played a similar role, in a rather different style.

More Recently, playing with Eric Bibb has been great, he’s such a good singer, and he puts on a great show in such an intimate way. Through him I got to play a song live in the studio with Taj Mahal. How cool is that?

CB: For those interested in acoustic roots music, can you name some key albums that you feel are essential listening?

MJB: I would say start with Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian Folkways). It’s a six-CD set of commercial recordings from about 1925-1932, ranging stylistically from Charlie Patton to Charlie Poole. I grew up on the vinyl version and it’s a great starting-off point, as well as a fabulous listen even after all these decades. Yazoo records has a similar series of compilations with fabulous sound, particularly “Times Ain’t Like They Used To Be”, in eight separate volumes. Both of these collections do no segregate black and white music, and flow seamlessly from track to track. The connections between all Southern music become apparent, and the music’s unbeatable.

CB: What’s next for you? Any new projects in the works?

MJB: In the short term, Borealis Records wants to re-issue my first CD from 1998, perhaps with some bonus tracks from a live recording I made a few days ago with a bunch of friends. In the longer term, Bee and I have a bunch of original songs I want to record in the studio, and we’re waiting on the funding to do it right. I’m sure I’ll return to Europe and Australia within the next 18 months, and I hope to do some producing for a few other artists as well.

CB: Any final thoughts for the Crossroads Blues readers?

MJB: Don’t forget where the blues came from!

It’s thanks to fine musicians like Michael J. Browne that the blues are kept very much alive. Be sure to visit his site at www.michaeljeromebrowne.com