In many musical worlds, there exists a perception of tension between tradition and innovation. Whether it’s a classic rock loyalist arguing nobody has hit a truly great riff since early Sabbath, or an old-school hip-hop head asserting the lyrical superiority of peak Rakim, any genre that has been around long enough to change is likely to have a subset of fans who prefer the ‘golden era,’ whatever that era may be. While that is all well and good (Rakim and Sabbath are great, after all), it can lead some fans to miss out on cool and exciting innovations and discoveries in the genres they love.
Few genres tend to inspire as strong (and varied) opinions on Innovation, tradition, and history as Jazz. Perhaps in part because the music has such a deep history, and one that’s often grappling with innovation in one way or another, jazz has inspired countless passionate conversations around innovation, its meanings, and its implications.
Few players in 2025 embody the spirit of modern innovation and creativity in jazz like Maurice “Mobetta” Brown. A skilled and creative trumpet player, writer, composer, and arranger, Mobetta’s music synthesizes his strong jazz background with Hip-Hop, R&B, and Pop influences. Known by many as a key component of Anderson .Paak’s genre-busting live band The Free Nationals, as well as the acclaimed Silk Sonic band, Mobetta brings a unique, eclectic, and thoroughly modern vision to his music and performance.
All of this and more is reflected in his excellent August release Betta Days. Though Mobetta has always been a creative and innovative player, Betta Days represents a culmination of sorts of his work and influences up to this point. Both Cohesive and stylistically wide-ranging, Betta Days is filled with sharp and soulful compositions. The playing and execution are at a high level, even by his own high standards. Whether vocal or instrumental, or leaning more towards R&B or Jazz, each song hits differently but feels a part of a cohesive whole. A Dynamic record from a dynamic player, Betta Days represents a new and evolving vision from a player who never stops evolving. Featuring guests from across the musical spectrum (Kendra Foster, Cimafunk, Kamasi Washington among others), Betta Days has something for everyone.
In addition to his skills as a player and composer, Mobetta has a reputation as a charismatic performer, sharpened by his time on the road with some of the best performers in the business. Twin Cities fans will get a chance to catch the full Mobetta experience Wednesday December 17th at Icehouse for a Betta Days release party. With a red-hot band of players in tow, and with rising local jazz group room3 also on the bill, it promises to be one for the books. This is not one to sleep on.
Below is an interview with Maurice “Mobetta” Brown. The following has been edited for consistency.
Music in Minnesota:I’m curious, with the Betta Days record, what changed the most in your music since you released The Mood in 2017. It was a long time between those records.
Maurice Brown: I think mostly what changed was my perspective. I spent most of that time touring the world. I’ve been nonstop playing really big places, touring a lot with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals. The music has affected me differently as well, the way I hear it, and the way it’s going to be interpreted when people hear it. I feel like that’s the biggest change, It just feels clearer.
MIM: I Love the energy of it. You’ve always been somebody who is stylistically drawing from a lot of different places. This record to me feels cohesive and diverse in such a cool way. I want to ask about a couple of songs in particular from the album. One of the more beautiful songs on the album is the title track. What inspired that tune? It’s a beautiful reflective number.
MB: “Betta Days” was actually the first song I composed for the album. That’s when I first sat down, during the pandemic, and said “I’m want to make a new record.” I had this time, I was at home, and wanted to start something. So I got to picking up the flugelhorn, the horn was Roy Hargrove’s before he passed away-I Hadn’t really touched it until then. I went into the booth and composed a song that felt really beautiful. I was thinking of it as a tribute to Roy when I was playing, I was trying to channel him. I remember not knowing exactly how I wanted the melody to come out, but I was trying to figure out a place where I Could basically play a melody, then take a solo, then play the melody again-very traditionally-but I got so caught up in the melody and it kept developing. Next thing you know, the song was over. I was like “I Didn’t even take a solo” (Laughs). It was there in one take.
MIM: That’s incredible, I know Roy was such an inspiration to you and so many in so many ways.
MB: For sure, I worked on RH Factor with him, playing trumpet and singing. That really changed my life as far as production, working with live musicians, making cool stuff out of nothing.
MIM: I know you’re from Chicago, who else were some of your early mentors?
MB: Von Freeman, Ramsey Lewis, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller. I toured with all of these guys, and they took me around the world. I got to see the world with these people. I got a chance to play with some of these greats which really molded me at a young age. I started playing professionally when I was sixteen, and it’s been nonstop ever since.
MIM: Those guys you mentioned, those are real Jazz Heavy hitters. In the last several years, or more that that, you’ve toured with Paak, Silk Sonic, Tedeschi Trucks Band and more. How do those experiences in all of those different world inform you performance?
MB: I think all of those experiences are me. I think as an artist, you have to lean in to your life experiences. So when I’m going to compose music, that’s what I’m pulling from. Pulling from all of those years with Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Lettuce, with my own band traveling all over the world, Anderson Paak, Harry Styles and all this stuff. Everything to me these days is less technical and more about a feeling. I want people to feel something. I want to awaken something inside of people. That’s my whole goal when I’m making music. If I can tap into something that hasn’t been touched in a long time, or maybe has never been touched, I’m just trying to let it resonate and touch your heart. That’s what I’m trying to go for when I’m composing music.
MIM: The music for me certainly taps in to something. I think that, as cliché as it is for me to say on my end, it’s as important as ever to tap into that human energy.
MB: One hundred percent agree.
MIM: Back to the album, I want to ask about one other song. The single “Odyssey” is on the other end of the spectrum. It’s brimming with energy. The performances on the song are great, especially Mononeon on Bass. The whole song and composition is fantastic. How did that song come about?
MB: We were actually already on the road. We had a day off. I was at the studio in New York. I said “let’s record at the studio.” We were doing a run at the Blue Note. I made that song and I thought it was cool, Mono Just killed it right off jump. I just wanted to make it fuller after that-I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I had the melody, and I kept thinking “This is a song I want to feature Kamasi on.” I had played with Kamasi and his band the West Coast Get Down. So I called Kamsi and told him I had a song for him. I Just left an open space after the melody. I never planned to take a solo, I had originally planned to feature Kamasi, because I heard him so clearly. When I showed him the song, he loved it instantly. I said “Thanks, do you want to play on it?” and he said he’d love to. So I asked him when he was next in New York. He found a time to come to New York. I wasn’t in town, I was in another country. He just laid this monster beautiful solo down and I came back and I was like “wow this is amazing, I guess I have to solo” (Laughs).
MIM:I think with that song, the proof is in the pudding, it’s definitely a moving, kinetic piece.
MB: We’ve got Pedrito Martinez Playing Percussion on there and also Weedie on Djembe, so you have that with Blaque Dynamite on drums all going at one time. And that shaker, Pedrito was playing that shaker through the whole song. That’s how everything was cut, there wasn’t a whole lot of editing.
MIM: Is that a change for you compared to your other solo albums or how you’ve recorded before?
MB: No, if anything there was more post-production on this, making it thicker afterwords. Usually, I’m more “whatever we record, that’s the take.” Pretty much like a Jazz record. On this particular project, I took my time because during the pandemic I had the time. Before I never had the time-I’m always on the road. I have my own studio, so I was able to really sit with it, make it feel the way I wanted it to feel.
MIM: Are you still based in Chicago?
MB: Right now, I’m actually based in New York.
MIM: Both of those places have so much inspiring music, especially jazz, and a lot of forward-thinking music.
MB: Definitely. My time growing up in Chicago, I can’t express how much it opened me up. Being able to play with Jazz Greats on both ends of the spectrum as far as straight ahead and playing avant-garde. It helped me see what was actually possible.
MIM: You also spent time in New Orleans.
MB: Yes, I was there for awhile, I was there until Hurricane Katrina, that’s when I moved to new York.
MIM: Those are three of the best American Music Cities, I imagine there’s so much to learn from all of them.
MB: Yep, It’s all in the veins (laughs).
MIM: I want to ask about a couple different collaborations from your career. You mentioned you collaborated with Harry Styles, what’s your connection to him?
MB: I did his iheart performance. His whole backing band for that was actually The Free Nationals. It was super cool.
MIM: He’s a super charismatic performer.
MB: When he turns it on it’s on (laughs).
MIM: You also had a connection to Aretha.
MB: Yeah, I did a couple of shows and a few records with her. Queen of Jewels with her and John Legend. I did the horn arrangements on that.
MIM: What was that like?
MB: She’s always an amazing performer and singer, but with some great legendary musicians you can just feel that energy. She definitely has that Queen Energy, the same way you feel around like Chaka Khan (laughs), or Mariah energy.
MIM: You spent a lot of time with Tedeschi Trucks band. There’s always so much talent in that group. What was your biggest takeaway from working with them?
MB: I think my biggest takeaway from Tedeschi Trucks was that I like the infrastructure that they have. Everything Is in house. I figure if you can set stuff up like that, that’s the best way to go. He has a studio right there, if you have an idea you can go right to it and lay it down, everyone in the camp has been there for years and feels great. It feels like a family environment. And to see Derek Trucks, and to get to play with him night after night, it definitely raises the bar as a soloist. He passes you the solo with a head nod, and you’re literally mesmerized on stage following that (laughs). But yeah, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi and the whole camp, much love to them. The way that came about, believe it or not, was through my affiliation with Lettuce. Derek had his band, Susan had her band, and then they put their bands together to make Tedeschi Trucks Band. I was an original member of Tedeschi Trucks Band. Eric Krasno recommended me because he’s tight with Derek.
MIM: Another really talented band you’ve been a part of is that Silk Sonic Band. So many great performers in that band.
MB: Silk Sonic was definitely life changing for me. The work ethic of Bruno Mars is something I carry with me forever now. It definitely changed my perspective on putting shows together and composing music. And thinking more about the whole pie instead of one part of it. A lot of times you get so caught up in what you are doing. If you step back, and think about the whole vision, you can execute the show way better. I never rehearsed for anything as much as I did for that. We did months of rehearsal for that. Months (laughs). Dance steps. To this day, if I did that show tomorrow, I know all of those dance steps-It’s ingrained in my DNA. I just remember them like that (laughs). It was definitely an experience.
MIM: You have a big show coming up at Icehouse. For people who haven’t seen you before, or have only seen you with some of these other projects, what can they expect?
MB: People can expect for me to come in with an amazing group of musicians-all very top notch- Chelsea Baratz on Tenor Sax, Marcus Machado on Guitar, Kwinton Gray on Keys, Joe Cleavland on Bass, and Blaque Dynamite on Drums. You can expect to see a one-of-a kind show. Also know that I’m going to be playing that show like it’s my last show ever. I Play every show like it’s my last time. I just want to spread love, and celebrate the holidays with everybody. I’m just happy to be of service to be able to bring positive light.
