"Seven for Saturday" is a great way to see some of the legendary men and women of jazz in action.
Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, PA, moved to New York around 1945 and immediately became part of the musical establishment. He took part in a number of early bop recording sessions with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and others, and played in Gillespie's big band (1946-47). Thereafter he toured for several years as the music director for Ella Fitzgerald, who was his wife at the time.
In 1951, he performed and recorded with the Milt Jackson Quartet (the forerunner of the Modern Jazz Quartet) and began a long affiliation with Oscar Peterson's trio, which brought him international recognition and a popular following; for more than a decade he dominated jazz popularity polls for the double bass. Following the example of Oscar Pettiford, he took up the cello, and in 1960 he had made for him a hybrid instrument combining features of the cello and double bass, which was a forerunner of the piccolo bass.
After leaving Peterson's trio in 1966, Brown settled on the West Coast, where he became active as a freelance and studio musician, recording frequently for the Concord label; he made two albums of duos with pianist Jimmie Rowles and at least nine albums with The L.A. Four.
In 1972, he recorded an album with Duke Ellington, in which the two men re-created the latter's well-known perfomances of 1939-40 with Jimmy Blanton.
In the 1980s and 1990s he led his own trios and continued to refine his bass playing style. In his later years he recorded and toured extensively with pianist Gene Harris.
The last edition of the Ray Brown Trio was that with pianist Larry Fuller and drummer George Fludas, that performed in Indianapolis at The Jazz Kitchen.
He continued to perform until his death in 2002; he died in his sleep, after having played golf, before a show in Indianapolis.
In 2003, Brown was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
The last video is part of an hour long tribute paid to Mr. Brown in September 2010 in Detroit. You can see the entire concert by clicking here. Enjoy!
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(source: "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz