Raymond Harry Brown


Raymond Harry "Ray" Brown is an American composer, arranger, trumpeter, and jazz educator. He has performed as a trumpet player and arranged music for Stan Kenton, Bill Watrous, Bill Berry, Frank Capp, Nat Pierce, and the Full Faith and Credit Big Band.

Career

Brown joined Stan Kenton in September 1971, succeeding Gary Lee Pack, holding the jazz trumpet chair and serving as an improvisation clinician. The Kenton trumpet section included Mike Vax, Jay Saunders, and Dennis Noday. Brown also contributed arrangements for Kenton, including "Mi Burrito" and "Neverbird". Brown remained with the Kenton Orchestra until November 1972.
Before joining the Kenton Orchestra, Brown had served as arranger and trumpeter with the Studio Band of the United States Army Field Band at Fort Meade, Maryland. His tenure with the Army Band and Kenton coincided closely with that of Jay Saunders — trumpet player, and jazz educator, who, while with the Kenton Orchestra, eventually played lead trumpet.
Brown currently leads his own big band, the Great Big Band, which has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival, the Lake Tahoe Music Festival, and jazz venues in the San Francisco Bay area.

Early career

Musical family

Ray's wife, Sue Brown, is a violinist and teacher of strings - violin, viola, chamber music, and orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College and a Master of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied with Dorothy DeLay. She also did post-grad work at the University of Colorado. Ray and Sue were married on August 26, 1973, and together, they have three daughters, one of whom, Karin, is a violist and is married to cellist Daniel Levitov. Karin earned degrees in music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Juilliard. Daniel is a member of the preparatory faculty at the Peabody Institute.
Ray, born 1946 in Oceanside, New York, grew up in Freeport, New York. He has three older brothers, Glenn Edward Brown, Stephen Charles Brown, Roger V. Brown and a younger sister, Jeanne De Martino.
  • Glenn taught music for 28 years.
  • Steve is a jazz guitarist, bassist, drummer, composer, and arranger. For 45 years, Steve was professor of music and director of jazz studies at the Ithaca College School of Music. One of Steve's many life achievements is that he formalized jazz studies in 1968 at Ithaca College School of Music, a long-standing, well-known music institution within a well-known liberal arts college that was founded in 1892 solely as a conservatory of music.
  • Roger, a civil engineer, played bass. He did two tours with Astrud Gilberto.
  • Jeanne, a pre-school teacher, played flute.
Glenn, Steve, and Ray all earned music degrees from Ithaca College - Steve: Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music ; Ray: Bachelor of Music. Ray's nephew - Miles Brown - is a jazz bassist, performer, and music educator.
Ray's father, Glenn Earl Brown, was the District Music Supervisor of Public Schools for Long Beach, New York. He was also director of bands at Long Beach Jr. Sr. High School from 1938 to 1965. As a pioneer in jazz education at the scholastic level, he introduced stage bands to Long Beach public schools in 1939. He also ran a music camp — Lake Shore Music Score — at Lake Winnipesaukee, Center Harbor, New Hampshire. Glenn Brown had been, for more than 14 years, a marimba soloist with the Xavier Cugat Orchestra.
Ray's mother, Marie Brown, taught English at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside for 28 years, where, before retiring from the Oceanside School District in 1982, she served as curriculum coordinator and English department chairwoman. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Ithaca College School of Music in 1935, where she played piano, saxophone, and clarinet. She also held a Masters in English from Hofstra University.

Selected compositions/arrangements

Compositions/arrangements for the Stan Kenton Orchestra
  • "Call Me Mister"
  • "Hit and Run" – EP305104 © 1972 V1718P086
  • "Is There Anything Still There?" – EP304505 © 1972 V1718P086
  • "Mi Burrito" – EP354892 © 1973 V1718P086
  • "Neverbird"
Arrangement for the Stan Kenton Orchestra
Other compositions/arrangements
  • "Route 81 North"
  • "Clyde's Glides"
  • "Double Fault Blues"
  • "AfterThoughts"
  • "The Opener"
  • "My Man Willie"
  • "Tomas Gatos"
  • "Arthur Author"
  • "Two Rare T-Bones"
  • "Procrastination City" – copyright no. EP354893 © 1973 V1718P086
  • "Big D and Me" – copyright no. PA0000398365 © 1988
  • "Blues for the two K's" – copyright no. PAu000444456 © 1982
  • "Got the time?" – PA0000398368 © 1985
  • "Haziness" – copyright no. PA0000250024 © 1984
  • "Hop, skip, and a Jump" – copyright no. PAu000313614 © 1981
  • "Little Jeannette Leigh" – copyright no. PA0000250023 © 1983
  • "No Timeouts Left" – copyright no. PA0000398361 © 1988
  • "Spectrum" – copyright no. PA0000250025 © 1984
  • "Three to go" – copyright no. PA0000398367 © 1985
  • "Straightahead City"
  • "Bossa Barbara" by Steve Brown, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Embraceable You/Quasimodo" – Gershwin / Charlie Parker, arr. Ray Brown
  • "The Telephone Song" – Music by Menescal, Portuguese words by Boscoli, English words by Gimbel, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Bittersweet" – Willie Maiden, transcribed by Ray Brown
  • "Our Love Is Here To Stay" – George Gershwin, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Del Sasser" – Sam Jones, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Kayak" – Kenny Wheeler, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Barbara" – Horace Silver, arr. Ray Brown
  • "I Could Write a Book" – Rodgers & Hart, arr. Ray Brown
  • "The Thumb" – Wes Montgomery, arr. Ray Brown
  • "The Ballad of Thelonious Monk" – Jimmy Rowles, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Stella By Starlight" – Victor Young, arr. Ray Brown
  • "I.C. Light" – Ray Brown
  • "Turn Out The Stars", by Bill Evans, arr. Ray Brown
  • "Louie's Prima"

Selected discography

The Session, Studio Band of the United States Army Field Band, recorded Washington, D.C., Nov. 1972
  1. "Route 81 North", arr. Ray Brown
  2. "Is There Anything Still There?" arr. Ray Brown
As a member of the Stan Kenton OrchestraStan Kenton Today, originally released in 1972 by Creative World Inc., re-released by Dutton Vocalion, 2005
  1. , by Hank Levy
  4. The Four Freshmen: Live at Butler University, with Stan Kenton and his Orchestra, Creative World Inc., 1972; re-released by GNP Crescendo Records, 1986National Anthems Of The World, Creative World Inc., 1972Clearwater 72,, 2002Rhapsody in Blue, 1972
Arrangement recorded by the Stan Kenton OrchestraKenton For Collectors Vol. 3, Dynaflow
  1. "Angel Eyes", by Matt Dennis & Tom Adair, arr Ray Brown
As a member of the Full Faith & Credit Big BandDebut, Palo Alto Records, 1980 ; JazzFaire, with Madeline Eastman, Palo Alto Records, 1983 ;
  1. "Hop, Skip & a Jump", arr Ray Brown
  2. "Like Someone in Love", arr Ray Brown
  3. "I remember Clifford", arr Ray Brown
  4. "Barbara", arr Ray Brown
  5. "A Time for Love", arr Ray Brown
  6. "Can't Handle It", arr Ray BrownFF&C III, Sea Breeze, 1988; re-released by, 1994
As leader of Ray Brown's Great Big BandImpressions of Point Lobos,, Ithaca, NY, 1997; Kayak, Ithaca, NY, 2009;
Other recordings

Other published works

An Introduction to Jazz Improvisation, by Ray Brown and Steve Brown, Piedmont Music ;

Selected film- and videoography

The Music of Stan Kenton Swing Shift, 1984 film A Tribute to Count Basie, filmed at Kan-i Hoken Hall, Tokyo, November 11, 1989 Fujitsu Concord Jazz Festival, filmed at Kan-i Hoken Hall, Japan, November 11, 1990

Honors and awards

Ithaca College School of Music
14th Annual Gail Rich Awards — Cultural Council Associates
  • Ray and Sue Brown were two of seven being honored — they were being honored for their creative work as music teachers