Bio

Ray Brown was born in 1926 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started playing upright when he was in his high school jazz band. Ray Brown’s career began when he moved to New York City at age 20. He played with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Jones, Charlie Parker, and Art Tatum. After this early period in New York, Ray Brown became the regular bassist in both iterations of the Oscar Peterson Trio. He married Ella Fitzgerald in 1947, and the two adopted a child together. Ray Brown’s style of bass playing is one of the richest of the 20th century. With the largest sound and the best accuracy for intonation, his swinging style has been the lynchpin of so many incredible bands throughout the 20th century. Some of the other musicians that Ray Brown played with over his long career are, Ella Fitzgerald, Ed Thigpen, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, and Grady Tate.