Bio
“While it might be rude to tell a random person they have ‘big ears,’ to a musician, that is high praise. Elise has big ears. They do a wonderful job adapting to the music where and when it’s at, and then breathe new life into the arrangement where space provides. No overplaying, no overthinking, no soft steps, just guts.”
– Alex and Troy, Old Tom & The Lookouts
Elise Brown is a multi-instrumentalist and educator based in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. They play a combination of vocals, guitar, ukulele, banjo, electric bass, and – their true love – harmonica in The Goddamn Brass Band, a project of the Fork & Shoe Theatre Cooperative. As both sideman and bandleader, musicians trust Elise to be adaptable, quick on their feet, and a joyful, energetic presence. As a teacher, students praise Elise for their infectious enthusiasm and their ability to make complex ideas feel accessible and engaging. Their ear for harmony and firm grasp of blues vocabulary helps them skillfully navigate a wide variety of genres: whether they're playing in an intimate jazz combo, a rootsy folk duo, a rock covers group, or a blues jam, they feel right at home.
Elise has been playing diatonic harmonica (“blues harp”) since they were a teenager in an Oregon suburb. Initially inspired by Bob Dylan, they went down the rabbit hole of his influences and eventually became an acolyte of Little Walter, James Cotton, Sonny Terry, and Paul Butterfield, as well as more recent players such as Indiara Sfair and Christelle Berthon. At Wellesley College, where Elise double-majored in political science and music, they were the jazz program’s first (and so far, only) blues harp player! Since then, they’ve taken lessons and workshops from harp innovators including Catriona Sturton, Jason Ricci, Ronnie Shellist, and Shane Sager, and they love seizing opportunities to share some of that wealth of knowledge with new players. Elise is also passionate about building solidarity among fellow LGBTQ+ musicians, and they have become one of the loudest voices in the harmonica community speaking out against queerphobia and transphobia.
Elise's curiosity and eclectic taste has led them to proficiency in several instruments. They have played guitar since middle school, and during undergrad, they studied blues, bossa nova, bebop, and funk techniques with Steven Kirby. During the 2020 lockdowns, they got the cheapest electric bass they could find and learned to hold down a groove. As a frequent music director for Fork & Shoe Theatre Cooperative shows, they love opportunities to get "good enough" at whatever instrument is needed for a production's particular soundscape, from five-string banjo to marching snare to glockenspiel. Their skills on "banjolele" – a small banjo body with ukulele tuning – are a particular crowd-pleaser. Inspired by their lifelong love affair with the work of Brian Wilson, they can quickly learn (or create) harmony vocal lines on stage, and they can create meticulous vocal or horn arrangements when the situation calls for one. All in all, Elise strives to be a musician's musician.
In addition to playing in GDBB, Elise also plays in Harpageddon (Annie Raines’ harmonica ensemble at Club Passim); frequently sits in with local Americana acts such as and Think Twice; and hangs out at blues, R&B, and jazz jams across Greater Boston.