Butcher Brown

Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Butcher Brown channel the spirit of 1970s progressive jazz-funk ensembles while infusing their work with contemporary flair. Their approach fuses present-day jazz with hip-hop, garage punk, and future funk textures. All Purpose Music surfaced in 2014, with Grown Folk arriving the next year. The band tracked The Healer for a 2017 Bandcamp release, while the Gearbox-issued Live at Vagabond also emerged that year. Gearbox followed with the Camden Session EP in 2018 and the AfroKuti: A Tribute to Fela EP in 2019. Concord secured the group for 2020’s #KingButch and later for 2022’s Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey featuring Tennishu and R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND. Conceived initially as a hip-hop project, the latter shifted during sessions into a wide-ranging homage to big-band jazz. Solar Music, released in 2023, featured appearances by Keyon Harrold, Braxton Cook, Nappy Nina, Charlie Hunter, and additional guests.

DJ Harrison (keys, producer, and engineer), Andrew Randazzo (bass), and Corey Fonville (drums) established Butcher Brown in 2012, later expanding to a quartet through the inclusion of Marcus Tenney (reeds, brass, MC) and Morgan Burrs (guitar). The founding trio revolved around sessions at Harrison’s analog Jellowstone Studios in Richmond, where they collectively honed material and developed high-energy jazz-funk and hip-hop performances that animated every venue they reached. Their first full-length effort, All Purpose Music, came out via Jellowstone (through Ropeadope) in 2014, followed by the self-released beat tape GrownFolk the subsequent year.

After building a regional following, the group extended its reach nationwide once word of their dynamic live shows circulated through independent outlets and online platforms. The self-released Virginia Noir arrived in 2016, its favorable reception—bolstered by continued roadwork—paving the way for the January 2017 appearance of Afrokuti: A Tribute to Fela EP and The Healer in March. Internet buzz and the band’s active SoundCloud and Bandcamp presence drew Gearbox’s interest, prompting the label to issue Live at Vagabond and secure opening slots alongside Galactic and Kamasi Washington. In 2018 Gearbox put out Camden Session, recorded direct-to-disc at Mark Ronson’s London facility. The band then joined the Universal-distributed Concord Jazz roster and delivered #KingButch in 2020. Tenney handled vocals, sharing one track with guest rapper Fly Anakin, while the instrumentals offered fresh takes on pieces connected to Mtume and Ronnie Laws.

During pandemic isolation, Tennishu—the group’s emcee who also plays saxophone and trumpet—began crafting beats at home for several Richmond-based acts, among them Butcher Brown. His original aim was to supply a rhythmic foundation for a collective hip-hop album. As recording progressed, the other members expanded these foundations with layered instrumentation, intricate arrangements, and rich production values. The outcome became MC Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey featuring Tennishu and R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND, the ensemble’s electro-futurist reinterpretation of jazz big bands.

This integrative method guided the composition, arrangement, production, and tracking of the 17-track Solar Music in 2023. Although still anchored in twenty-first-century progressive jazz, the set incorporated strands of hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk, and pop. To broaden their creative scope, the musicians recruited a notable roster of contributors, among them instrumentalists Keyon Harrold, Charlie Hunter, and Braxton Cook; rappers Michael Millions, Nappy Nina, and Pink Siifu; and vocalists Vanisha Gould and Julia Shuren.