Brown, Marion (Jr.)
Brown, Marion (Jr.)
Brown, Marion (Jr.) jazz alto saxophonist; b. Atlanta, Ga., Sept. 8, 1935. He studied music and history and economics at Clark Coll. and Howard Univ. He reportedly played with Johnny Hodges in the 1950s before moving to N.Y. His first job was with Archie Shepp. He led his own groups on and off from 1965. He recorded with B. Dixon and John Coltrane, played with Sun Ra, then toured Europe, where he played and recorded with Gunter Hampel and Jeanne Lee. On his return, he became involved in education and formed a duo with trumpeter L. Smith in the 1970s; he also performed solo. His recordings reflect his interest in and absorption with African and African-American folk music and traditional rhythms and songs. In the 1990s, he occasionally performed and read his poetry at Studio 5C in N.Y. He was reported ill in 1999 and living at the Bethany Methodist Home, Brooklyn.
Discography
Coltrane: Ascension (1965); Why Not? (1966); Three for Shepp (1966); Marion Brown Quartet (1966); Juba- Lee (1966); Porto Nova (1967); Afternoon of a Georgia Faun (1970); Geechee Recollections (1973); Duets (1973); Sweet Earth Flying (1974); Vista (1975); La Placita / Live in Willisau (1977); Reed ’n Vibes (1978); Back to Paris (1980); Gemini (1983); Recollections: Ballads and Blue (1985); Native Land (1990).
Writings
Recollections: Essays, Drawings, Miscellanea (Frankfurt, Schmitt, 1984).
—Lewis Porter