Linda Kosut gives tribute to Oscar Brown, Jr.

“Long As You’re Living” show and CD Release at San Francisco’s Empire Plush Room

  It is interesting to see how artists evolve and grow. It is also fascinating how artists (whether they are singers, writers, painters, etc.) influence one another. This seems evident when talking to singer Linda Kosut who will present a tribute show and CD Release on Oct. 29 at the Empire Plush Room, in honor of songwriter and performer extraordinaire Oscar Brown, Jr. She has been performing this show for a year and now brings it and the CD accompanying it, back home to San Francisco.

“It was always the lyrics that got me, along with his presentation that was penetrating,” said Kosut. A native of New York City, Kosut has been performing in the San Francisco Bay Area and the East Cost at cabaret and jazz venues for many years. She now lives in San Francisco and considers it her home.

When Brown died in May of 2005, Richard Harrington of the Washington Post wrote that Brown  “spun magic (on stage)…transforming himself into the phantasmagoria of characters who inhabited his exquisite creations.”

Kosut first heard Brown’s music as a teenager with the song “Dat Dere,” of an inquisitive child, one among the many characters Brown created with his writing.

Brown was not only a singer/songwriter; he was a performer, poet and an activist. His debut albums “Sin & Soul” and “Between Heaven & Hell” were, according to Harrington, “astonishing.” As a socially conscious work, Brown spoke candidly about the realities of life for people of color in America.  “Brown did it first in a way that managed to be both entertaining and serious, melding soul, jazz and musical theater into a body of work that always deserved far more recognition.”  

The son of a lawyer and political activist, in college Brown studied poetry and theater. He drew his inspiration for his narrative lyrics and poetry from the culture of life within the African-American community that he knew so well in Chicago.

His friendship with playwright Lorraine Hansberry led him to sign a contract with Columbia Records. Brown was fortunate to have his narratives well received by musicians and singers alike. Well-known vocalists such as Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Tony Bennett and Ricki Lee Jones recorded his songs.

Kosut is in good company as a vocalist. Composer and songwriter Norman Curtis who collaborated with Brown and co-wrote several of Brown’s early tunes, praised Kosut’s effort to bring Brown’s songs to the stage again. As he said. “I am sure Oscar would have been delighted to hear (Linda's rendition) of “Dat Dere.”

Kosut has done much research into what she calls “the treasure chest” of Oscar Brown, Jr.’s material. “Along the way, I have met the most wonderful people,” said Kosut.  

The people who know him and his work have been most generous to Kosut, as she has also had the privilege of receiving encouragement and support from his daughter, jazz vocalist Maggie Brown.

Kosut admitted while in school she was not much for studying, yet her research into the life and work of Brown has been a most rewarding experience. “I did not know the breadth of the man’s legacy – more than a dozen plays, albums, and over 1000 poems and songs. His political leanings, commitment to youth, all of it touched me.  He was a thinker, a passionate man about many areas of life,” said Kosut.

Referring to Brown as “ahead of his time,” Kosut considers him very unique. “He was wise, witty and wry – more so than his lyrics can say,” said Kosut. “He has even been considered the grand-daddy of rap,” she said.  

She believes, like Harrington and many of his admirers, that “Oscar could not be classified in any category.”

Kosut hopes that she and her tribute show and album are judged on how well they communicate the life and material of a great performer and artist. “I believe that people will find they did not realize who he really was and the impact he made,” said Kosut.

Kosut will perform with the Max Perkoff Band on Monday. Oct. 29, 8:00pm at The Empire Plush Room, 940 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Reservations www.theempireplushroom.com. For more information visit: www.lindakosut.com