“There’s nothing about the way he plays that boxes him into any particular era or camp” – Modern Drummer

“I cannot think of a more highly anticipated debut by an artist right now that is also a lynchpin in today’s creative music scene. I will be first to listen” – WBGO

Born in Richmond, California (USA), drummer Justin Brown is one of the most versatile and sought after drummers of this generation. After years as an essential member of groups led by Ambrose Akinmusire, Thundercat, and Flying Lotus – he’s also been tapped to round out the sound for Esperanza Spalding, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Terence Blanchard, Bilal, Vijay Iyer, and many others – Brown is finally ready to extend his reach beyond the drum set to lead his own band, NYEUSI.

Justin started drumming at two years-old  in church and began his formal jazz education at 10 with the Young Musician’s Program at UC Berkeley and later Berkeley High. Encouraged to attend Juilliard after being awarded a full scholarship, he moved to New York in 2004, but withdrew on the first day to pursue a life-changing career experience over education, playing on the road with Kenny Garrett and Josh Roseman.

In June 2018 Justin released his first album as a leader ‘NYEUSI’ on Biophilia Records. Rounding out NYEUSI are Jason Lindner (Now vs Now, Donny McCaslin, David Bowie) and Fabian Almazan (Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet, Terence Blanchard) on keys, Burniss Earl Travis (Robert Glasper) on bass, and Mark Shim (Mingus Big Band) on wind controller. Brown on drums is the engine propelling an intoxicating synthesis of varying influences that offers deep groove and heavy charged improvisations.

NYEUSI, pronounced Nee-Yo-See, is Swahili for the word black. It’s also the word Brown uses to describe the sound of the upcoming album NYEUSI. “The color black alone has so much beauty and darkness. That’s ultimately what I’m trying to convey,” he says. “I’m a black man living in a black/dark time. My experiences through that color always come up, always rooted in blackness.”

NYEUSI is a modern-sounding and forward-thinking record in every respect, not defined by genre, style, or groove. Brown himself says: “it’s a jazz album, it’s a hip hop album, it’s an instrumental album. Jazz is living in the now.” He says he can’t help adapting to all kinds of styles. “You have to have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, and that’s what I hope for people to hear when they hear this album.”