Ray Brown

In the thirty-odd years that Ray Brown, born in Pittsburgh in 1926, has been making music, he has played in every major night club and concert hall in the world. He has performed with numerous recording greats including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Peggy Lee.

His formal musical training began at the age of eight with the study of piano. By the time Brown was in high school, he had already become an accomplished pianist. Thinking that the bass would be easier than the piano, Brown began playing it by ear and soon was playing professionally around town. After high school, Brown joined the Jimmy Hinsely Sextet and traveled with the group on the road for six months. The following year he joined the Snookum Russell band, playing larger clubs throughout the United States. He departed Russell's band at the age of 20 to make his way as a freelance musician in New York City.

Ray Brown's reputation as an accomplished musician preceded him to New York. Immediately upon his arrival, he was asked by Dizzy Gillespie to play a rehearsal. Dizzy was so impressed with Brown that he hired him on the spot. He played in Dizzy's band for the next two years with Charlie Parker and Bud Powell. His experiences with Dizzy Gillespie led Ray around the world, playing, learning and composing his own music. In 1948, Brown left the band to form his own trio with Hank Jones and Charlie Smith.

During those early "Big Band" years, Brown also discovered Jazz at the Philharmonic-and was himself discovered by Norman Granz. Later in his career, Brown toured with JATP for 18 years playing in Europe, the Far East and the US, appearing in nearly every major club and concert hall. He met many musicians during his tour with JATP; one in particular was piano virtuoso, Oscar Peterson. Their musical and personal rapport has spanned over fifteen years. Brown was a member of the Oscar Peterson trio until it disbanded in 1966. In the late '60s, Brown composed "Gravy Waltz". The tune became the Steve Allen Show's theme song and a best-selling record that won him a Grammy Award.

Ray Brown was the bassist for all of Frank Sinatra's specials, and has been a part of some of the most outstanding television musical events in the business. He guided the Hollywood Bowl Association in producing jazz concerts, was Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival for two years, and was Music Director for the Concord Summer Festival in 1976 and 1977. He has been honored with innumerable awards including the All-Star Poll Award in Playboy every year since its inception in 1958. The unparalleled bassist has received Grammy Awards, Downbeat Reader's Poll Awards, Jazz Critic's Poll Awards and many, many others.

Ray Brown first appeared on the Telarc label in 1989 with André Previn and Mundell Lowe on After Hours. In 1993, Ray Brown's own trio with Benny Green and Jeff Hamilton recorded their first album for Telarc called Bass Face. The world's premier bassist, Brown's high-profile activities made him one of the most visible artists in the jazz world. In 1999, he won Acoustic Bassist of the Year again in Downbeat's Readers Poll and later released Christmas Songs with the Ray Brown Trio, his first holiday recording as a leader.

He also joined forces with Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson for 1999's The Very Tall Band, a landmark collaboration recorded live at the Blue Note in November 1998. Some of My Best Friends Are...The Trumpet Players, with Terence Blanchard, Jon Faddis, Roy Hargrove, James Morrison, Nicholas Payton and Clark Terry, was the latest installment in Ray Brown's Some of My Best Friends Are... series and was released in September 2000.

In February 2001, The Ray Brown Trio presented the first ever Live at Starbucks recording, which features Geoff Keezer on piano and Karriem Riggins on drums.