Alison Brown has composed and played her way into the affections of fans of jazz-hued acoustic music and bluegrass alike with a unique voice on a relatively unexplored instrument, the 5-string banjo. She has made her name not only as a virtuosic instrumentalist, but as an accomplished, jazz-influenced composer, a combination that earned plenty of comparisons to Béla Fleck and David Grisman. Brown began playing the banjo before reaching her teens and developed quickly, winning numerous contests and even getting a chance to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Alison gained her first wide exposure as a member of Alison Krauss' Union Station, covering the banjo slot from Krauss' 1987 debut album through 1990. A 2000 Grammy Award winner for Best Country Instrumental (“Leaving Cottondale”, with Béla Fleck), Alison Brown has come a long way in a short time to assume a prominent place in the new acoustic movement.