Ray Brown — His Life and Music, by bassist, podcaster, and author Jay Sweet, paints a vivid and engaging portrait of the jazz world as experienced by a journeyman bassist who rose to become one of the most respected and admired musicians of his generation. Sweet meticulously documents Ray Brown’s journey, weaving together a dizzying array of dates, personnel details, and discographical information. While the wealth of data occasionally feels overwhelming, the details mirror the relentless work ethic that defined Brown’s life. Sweet also includes his own interviews with Brown’s musical colleagues and contemporaries, adding a personal and intimate dimension to the textbook-like narrative.
The book provides a comprehensive timeline of Brown’s 60-year career, drawing from historical publications, liner notes, interviews, and recordings. Sweet explores Brown’s recorded legacy with insight and depth, highlighting pivotal moments and classic sessions that rank among the finest in jazz history, while also giving attention to lesser-known yet significant performances.
Sweet delves into every phase of Brown’s life, offering a detailed account of a driven musician striving for excellence. As a key player on the world-famous Jazz at the Philharmonic tours and recordings, Brown catapulted to stardom in the early ’50s. His partnership with Oscar Peterson, which coincided with JATP, led to the formation of the Oscar Peterson Trio. The trio performed and recorded extensively from the early ’50s to 1965, with occasional collaborations afterward. In a 1990 Downbeat Magazine interview, Brown recalled their intense preparation, saying, “You’ve got to realize we had a repertoire of maybe 200 arrangements … We would rehearse as much as six hours a day in addition to playing at night.”
Brown’s marriage to Ella Fitzgerald reflects the challenge of finding work-life balance in the jazz world. The couple, married for seven years, continued to collaborate even after their divorce in 1953. Their adopted son, Ray Brown Jr., described his father as “fair, just and inspiring.” Brown’s second marriage to Cecilia Connor in 1954 lasted nearly 48 years until his passing, underscoring the stability he eventually found.
Brown’s move to the L.A. studio scene in the late ’60s led to groundbreaking work with the jazz chamber group L.A. Four in the mid-’70s. By the late ’70s and early ’80s, Brown’s leadership emerged through numerous recordings under his name, culminating in the formation of the classic Ray Brown Trio. Featuring an evolving cast of talented sidemen including Gene Harris, Jeff Hamilton, Benny Green, and Gregory Hutchinson, Brown’s trio became a platform for mentoring young talent while cementing his status as an elder statesman.
Sweet dedicates an entire chapter to Brown’s multi-bass supergroup, Superbass!, interviewing close friends and protégés John Clayton and Christian McBride to recount the group’s development. Brown’s later collaborations also extended to the series Some of My Best Friends Are …, which celebrated fellow musicians with albums featuring The Piano Players, The Sax Players, Singers, Trumpet Players, and Guitarists.
Sweet’s book uncovers fascinating anecdotes about Brown’s life and career: In 1945, Brown left the Snookum Russell band and moved to New York, where he found himself playing alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Max Roach on his second night in town. In 1960, Brown, Peterson, and Ed Thigpen founded the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, which inspired Brown’s excellent instructional manual, Ray Brown’s Bass Method. Additionally, his composition “Gravy Waltz,” a theme for The Steve Allen Show with lyrics by Steve Allen, won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition.
Sweet’s book resonates deeply, not only as an excellent portrayal but also because of my personal experiences working alongside Ray Brown. The first time I met Ray, I was performing in 1989 with the American Jazz Orchestra led by John Lewis at Cooper Union Hall in New York. Lewis, who had worked with Brown over the years in Dizzy’s band and the original incarnation of the Modern Jazz Quartet, invited Brown to play with the AJO as soloist on some of the Jimmie Blanton features from the 1940s Ellington repertoire. I was intimidated because I had to follow Mr. Brown for the second set, though likely too young and cocky to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Ray was a consummate professional, gracious and encouraging, intensely focused on the Blanton melodies and lines. For me, it was a brush with the best of the best.
Later, after I joined the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, John Clayton organized a Superbass! project featuring Clayton, Christian McBride, and Ray Brown alongside our band. Clayton kindly included me in the proceedings, allowing me to “walk the dog” while these three bass legends showcased their arrangements. When I asked Ray for advice, he said, “Make sure when I stop walking and you start walking, no one notices any difference!” It was a brief yet profound tip, reflecting Brown’s philosophy of encouraging young players up to rise to his level. I came close to replicating his sound, but of course, no one can truly capture Ray’s essence and power.
Ray Brown was a gentleman, virtuoso bassist, mentor, entrepreneur, and visionary. Jay Sweet’s thorough documentation honors Brown’s legacy with an engaging and comprehensive portrait of a jazz legend. Highly recommended.
Bassist John Goldsby recently bid farewell to the WDR Big Band, wrapping up a stellar 30-year collaboration. During his 50-year bass journey spanning the globe, he’s played with jazz legends and made his mark as a sideman and bandleader on recordings and stages worldwide. This is the second of a pair of articles about Ray Brown. In the first, John Goldsby surveyed Brown’s legacy through UKJN’s ‘Ten Tracks format.
‘Ray Brown – His Life and Music’ is out now.
