Brown, Ray(mond Matthews)

Brown, Ray(mond Matthews), renowed jazz bassist; b. Pittsburgh, Oct. 13, 1926. He is one ofthe most recorded bassists in jazz. He moved to N.Y. around 1945 and performed and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell in the late 1940s. Brown played in Gillespie’s big band (1946–47) and is seen onscreen with the band in the film jivin’ in Bebop. He was married to Ella Fitzgerald and accompanied her (1948–52). In 1951, he performed and recorded with the Milt Jackson Quartet, forerunner of the Modern Jazz Quartet. He was a member of the Oscar Peterson trio (1951–66), which brought him international recognition and a popular following; for more than a decade, he dominated jazz popularity polls for the double bass. He played on numerous albums on Norman Granz’s Verve label. Following the example of Oscar Pettiford, he took up the cello. In 1960, he had a hybrid instrument combining features of the cello and double bass made for him, which was a forerunner of the piccolo bass. After leaving Peterson, Brown settled on the West Coast and became active as a freelance and studio musician, recording frequently for the Concord label; he co-led a group with Milt Jackson, recorded two albums with Jimmie Rowles and at least nine albums with the L.A. Four. Brown also managed other artists, including Quincy Jones, and produced concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. He did hundreds of recording sessions as a sideman, many for Granz’s Pablo Records. He recorded as a leader for the Verve (1956–65) and Concord (1975-present) labels. In 1972, he recorded an album with Duke Ellington, in which the two men recreated the latter’s well-known performances with Jimmy Blan-ton. During the late 1980s, he toured in a trio with Gene Harris and Mickey Roker; in the 1990s, the trio’s personnel was often Benny Green and Geoff Keezer.

Discography

Bass Hit! (1956); This Is Ray Brown (1958); Ray Brown with the All Star Big Band (1962); Featuring Cannonball Adderley (1962); Much in Common (1964); Ray Brown with Milt Jackson (1965); As Good As It Gets (1977); Live at the Concord Jazz Festival (1979); Ray Brown Three (1982); Milt Jackson-Ray Brown Jam (1982); Red Hot Ray Brown Trio (1985); Two Bass Hits (1991). D. Gillespie: “One Bass Hit” (1946); “Two Bass Hit” (1947). O. Peterson: The Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival (1956); Porgy and Bess (1959); Some of My Best Friends Are (1994). J. Rowles: Jazz Cello (1960); Brown’s Bag (c. 1976); As Good as It Gets (c. 1978); Tasty! (1979). D. Ellington: This One’s for Blanton (1972). L. A. Four: Montage (1981); Soular Energy (1984); Don’t Forget the Blues (1985).

—Lewis Porter/Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue