Ben Brown
Drums, Percussion & Producer
“Ben Brown is, without doubt, one of my favourite young jazz drummers. He is musically interactive, highly creative and really listens and supports a performance from beginning to end with great imagination. This young man has a great future of music making ahead of him"
- Jean Toussaint
Thank you for visiting the website of drummer, percussionist and producer Ben Brown. Having studied at the Royal Academy of Music, Ben's creative output encompasses anything jazz and hip hop to electronic music, with particular leaning towards African & Latin American folk music styles. He's been lucky enough to tour the world with various top international artists like Alfa Mist, Mulatu Astatke, Ashley Henry, Judi Jackson, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Rebello, Dizraeli and many others as far as Australasia, Africa, Asia and across Europe.
His own band Waaju has released two internationally acclaimed albums, where he acts as producer and composer. Both albums were named "Essential Jazz Albums of the Year" upon release across numerous European platforms and the band has been consistently championed by the likes of Jordan Rakei, Gilles Peterson, Jungle, Jazz FM and Worldwide FM.
“He has a poetic delicate balance and bounce with sticks in hand” - Art of Jazz
"Brown's playing is on fire" - Songlines Magazine
Projects
Rhythms pulse. Skins Resonate. Feet shuffle and heartbeats quicken. Waaju’s energy builds, weaving psychedelic soundscapes through potent beats, transcending the stage and melting into bodies. With a unique approach to a familiar sound, they rise from London’s rich cultural palette, proving UK Jazz doesn’t have to sound the way we expect it to.
Ben Brown - drums, composition & producer
Sam Rapley - tenor saxophone
Tal Janes - guitar
Joe Downard - bass
Ernesto Marichales - percussion
For more info, please visit www.waaju.co.uk
Other Projects...
Remote Recording
I have a fully equipped home studio from which I've recorded many drum and percussion tracks for creative and commercial music, posing an often more financially or logistically viable option than hiring a studio. Please get in touch for rates or a list of my equipment.
Find below some sample recordings:
For more information, please contact me at:
Discography
My Favourite Things
Film Score
EP
Jazz Just Wants to Have Fun
EP
Mime Music
Holy Boy
EP
Imprints
The Realm
Waaju
8 Songs
Freewheelin'
Film Score
Lanterns
Twoism
Grown
The Way We Watched the Landscape
Live in Cambridge
Yewoulen
Reflector
Orla
Life Long
Dream Dancing
Krëodylia (single)
Live
Alive at the End of the World
Terra Boa
Songs for Sisters, Brothers & Others
Fictions
Bär
Joy Machine
Songs for Them EP
We Ascend EP
Mulatu of Ethiopia (single)
Fallout
Alouane
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
2015
2015
2016
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2018
2018
2018
2019
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
2020
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2023
2023
2023
2023
2023
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024 (yet to be released)
2024 (yet to be released)
2024 (yet to be released)
2024 (yet to be released)
2024 (yet to be released)
2024 (yet to be released)
Drums
Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Compositions, Production, Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Compositions, Production, Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Composition, Drums & Percussion
Composition, Production,
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums
Drums
Composition, Production, Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums & Percussion
Drums
Drums
Drums & Percussion
some recordings include...
My Favourite Things
Middle East Side Story
Renny Jackson
Beverley Beirne
Twospeak
Sam Watts
Holy Boy
Caravela
Bahla
Tom Neale
Waaju
Liran Donin's 1000 Boats
Braceman
Mirror Mirror
Jana
Twospeak
Waaju
Liran Donin's 1000 Boats
The Brass Funkeys
Awale Jant Band
Twospeak
Caravela
Bahla
Beverley Beirne
Laura Guarch
Waaju
Dizraeli
Jonny Wickham
Jean Toussaint
Twospeak
Johanna Burnheart
Dizraeli
Irini Arabatzi
The Radicant
Skinshape
Lophae
Waaju feat. Majid Bekkas
Twospeak
Alakati
Lophae
Bend
Karlos Seck
Media
Waaju live at London Jazz Cafe
Dizraeli live in Bristol
Alfa Mist live in Barcelona
Bahla live at Pizza Express Club, London