Brown vs Brown, an Amsterdam-based avant-jazz-rock quartet, plays jagged avant-jazz-rock that mixes herky-jerky rhythms with tightly constructed and executed ensemble interplay and exploratory sonic interludes that include moderate, but not excessive, amounts of improvisation. The band is comprised of Dutch alto/baritone saxophonist Dirk Bruinsma, a veteran of the longstanding ensemble Blast; Dutch guitarist Jeroen Kimman; Austrian drummer/percussionist Gerri Jager; and Finnish bassist Viljam Nybacka. Jager and Nybacka arrived in Amsterdam for conservatory training. They soon became involved in Amsterdam’s varied music scene and joined Bruinsma, Kimman and Nybacka in Brown vs Brown 2004. The quartet started gigging in Amsterdam and other parts of the Netherlands in spring 2005. By 2006, they had expanded their repertoire to include shows in major European cities like Berlin, Rome, and Vienna. Brown vs Brown recorded and mixed their debut CD, Twitch and Shout in Vienna in February 2007. The group then premiered a quintet with Wolter Wierbos, an ICP Orchestra trombonist, at Amsterdam’s Bimhuis. In the fall 2007, Twitch and Shout was released by Austria’s PAO label. The band continued their European tour in November, including stops in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Brown vs Brown recorded their second CD Odds and Unevens in December 2008 with Bob Drake, a noted avant-prog guitarist (Thinking Plague), 5uu’s and the Science Group). The band’s 2009 calendar included scattered live dates. Odds and Unevens was released by Cuneiform in January 2010. It received widespread distribution. The band members were still involved in a variety of projects. However, they also composed new material for a third Brown vs Brown CD. They announced several live European dates for spring 2010. After that announcement, the group said it would “be back with a vengeance”. The quartet announced in August that they were taking a “bit of a break” due to their involvement with other projects, and some members moving out of the Netherlands. They also stated that they did not know when they would return under the Brown vs Brown banner. They said goodbye on their website: “Bye for now ….” at i-Tunes
