Brian Woodbury is a Los Angeles songwriter, composer and bandleader, who has just released his 9th solo album Rhapsody & Filigree, the Final Volume of his Anthems & Antithets tetralogy, each volume in a distinct musical mood: comic, personal, political & arty. Brian Woodbury is also the name of a Utah-based jazz trombonist, who last year released his first solo album Dream Feeder.

Except, according to the streaming platforms, they’re both the same person.

When Utah Brian put out his album, LA Brian found his own music and artist profile on Spotify, YouTube, etc. conflated with Utah Brian’s. LA Brian tried to sort out the mess, and reached out to Utah Brian to enlist his help. They figured if they both contacted the streaming platforms, it would be simple to disentangle their online identities.

Not so simple, in fact. Even getting through to someone at the streaming platforms was a challenge. And once they got through, the process for disentangling their identities was frustratingly difficult.

As a joke, LA Brian suggested they really confuse the algorithms by making a song together. They both thought this was a funny idea but then they actually did it.

LA Brian wrote lyrics for “The Other Brian Woodbury,” the true tale of being mistaken for somebody with the same name. In the style of pre-war swing jazz, LA Brian wrote music for an Intro and a Verse and then handed it off to Utah Brian to write music for a Bridge. Together they created an extended Instrumental section, indulging their experimental sides.

They arranged it together, but recorded it in separate studios, with LA Brian singing and bringing in pianist David Witham, bassist Edwin Livingston and drummer Andy Sanesi; and Utah Brian overdubbing himself on 8 trombones, creating a big band horn choir.

LA Brian says, “It’s really a song for anyone about whom misinformation has been perpetuated on the internet. Which, I think, is just about everyone.”

The resulting song is now out as the second track on LA Brian’s newly-released Rhapsody & Filigree album. And since the collaboration worked out so well, LA Brian invited Utah Brian to play trombone on 3 other songs that appear on the album. 

 

COLUMNS

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