Robert Northern (b 1934), known professionally as "Brother Ah," was born in Kinston, NC, and grew up in the Bronx. Northern played the French Horn in Thelonious Monk's 1959 Town Hall band which rehearsed in the loft with Hall Overton. In multiple interviews, Robert "Brother Ah" Northern discusses his family's background, including being forced to leave North Carolina after his father had an altercation with the Ku Klux Klan. He goes into detail about his musical development and his involvement with the jazz scene in New York. In particular, Northern talks about performing with Thelonious Monk at the Town Hall concert in 1959, Hall Overton's work as a composer and arranger, his own experience as an educator and performer, and his time spent in the Korean War.
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JL Interview, R Northern.doc