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He's the epitome of forethought. Sympathetic forethought. As for his solos... do you know his solo on 'How High the Moon' in our Stratford album? Well, that should be put in a time capsule and sealed up. Because that's it. That's it!
-Oscar Peterson 1
Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1926. His talent on the double bass was first recognized when he moved to New York in 1945. During recording sessions with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell, Ray Brown contributed much to early bop music and played with Gillespie's band regularly in 1946-47. In 1948, he married Ella Fitzgerald and, during the next few years, took the reins as her musical director.
Ray Brown and Oscar Peterson first played together during a Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) performance at Carnegie Hall in 1949. (Oscar Peterson was called out of the audience to perform a duo with Ray.) They played Fine and Dandy and Tenderly, (the latter eventually became their first hit record) to a captivated audience. Ray followed Oscar to Canada and they worked together as a duo until 1952, when the first Oscar Peterson Trio was formed. The duo went through three guitarists (Kenny Burrell, Irving Ashby, and Barney Kessel) before Herb Ellis arrived in 1953. With this trio, the band quickly gained international recognition and is still considered the best Oscar Peterson Trio ever formed. For the next 10 years, Ray won successive jazz popularity polls for double bass. 2
In the early 1960s, he co-founded the Advanced School of Contemporary Music with Oscar Peterson, Phil Nimmons, Ed Thigpen and Butch Watanabe. In 1966, he left the trio to settle in California as a freelance musician and studio performer. During this period, he worked with such artists as Duke Ellington, the L.A. Four, and Jimmie Rowles.
In 1990, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson and Herb Ellis reunited for performances at the Blue Note clubs in Japan and New York. Four live albums, Live at the Blue Note, Saturday Night at the Blue Note, Last Call at the Blue Note, and Encore at the Blue Note were the result of this reunion. Over their careers, Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown recorded 240 albums together.
During his prolific career, Ray Brown established himself as a leading bassist in the bop style and will be remembered for his "tonal beauty, precise playing style and tasteful solos." 3
Selected Recordings:
The Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival (1956, Verve 8024)
Porgy and Bess, with Oscar Peterson trio (1959, Verve 8340)
One Bass Hit, with Dizzy Gillespie (1946, Musi. 404)
Jazz Cello (1960, Verve 68390)
Brown's Bag (1976, Conc.19)
Footnotes
1 Claghorn, Charles. Biographical Dictionary of Jazz. London: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1982.
2 Lees, Gene. Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing. Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing & Communications, 1990.
3 Kernfeld, Barry. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1988.
O.P. & Friends
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