Ray Brown Trio
Ray Brown – born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – was a jazz double bassist best known for his work with Ella Fitzgerald (who he was briefly married to), Dizzy Gillespie, and Oscar Peterson. Originally, Brown took piano lessons but switched to upright bass in high school. During his early years, he became known in Pittsburg jazz circles while playing with bands like the Jimmy Hinsley Sextet and the Snookum Russell Band. Brown relocated to New York when he was 20 and joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band. In 1947, Ella Fitzgerald joined Gillespie on a tour and by the end of the year, Ray Brown and Ella Fitzgerald were married (they divorced in 1953 but continued to work together on occasion). Brown played with Gillespie until 1951 before leaving and joining the Oscar Peterson Trio. He also pursued a career as a session musician, working with artists like Ben Webster, Lester Young & Harry Edison, Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, and many others. Brown returned to recording albums as a leader in 1956 with Bass Hit! He won a Grammy Award in 1961 for his track “Gravy Waltz”, which was later used as the theme to The Steve Allen Show. After years of solo recordings, session work, and collaborations, Ray Brown finally formed his own trio. However, instead of having a stable line-up, Ray Brown worked with many different musicians throughout the course of his trio recordings. The Ray Brown Trio released the album Live at the Concord Jazz Festival featuring Ernestine Anderson in 1979. Their studio releases included Echoes from the West (1981), Bye Bye Blackbird (1984), Soular Energy (1985), The Red-Hot Ray Brown Trio (1987), and more. In late ‘90s and early ‘00s, the Ray Brown Trio released a several albums in the Some of My Best Friends Are… series (1998’s …Singers, 2000’s …Trumpet Players, and 2002’s …Guitarists) in which the trio backed popular jazz artists. Ray Brown died on July 2, 2002, at the age of 75.
©Copyright Music Story Stephen Schnee 2023
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Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Live At The Loa - Summer Wind (Live)
Jazz - Released by Concord Records on 1 Jul 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live From New York To Tokyo
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 25 Mar 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live At Scullers (Live At Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA / October 17-18, 1996)
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 18 Nov 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Bassics: The Best Of The Ray Brown Trio (1977-2000)
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 24 Oct 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Some Of My Best Friends Are… Singers
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 29 Sep 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Some Of My Best Friends Are… Guitarists
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 25 Jun 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Songs With The Ray Brown Trio
Christmas Music - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Some Of My Best Friends Are… The Sax Players
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 1 May 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live At The Concord Jazz Festival 1979 (Live From The Concord Jazz Festival, Concord, CA / 1979)
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bassface (Live at Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz, CA / April 1-2, 1993)
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 28 Sep 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Some Of My Best Friends Are… The Trumpet Players
Jazz - Released by Telarc on 26 Sep 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -