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| Vernon Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 6, 1907 Venice, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1979 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instruments | Trombone |
Vernon Brown (January 6, 1907 – May 18, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist that was the trombonist with Benny Goodman for 21 years, and helped participate in several major songs, such as Sing, Sing, Sing and One O'Clock Jump.
Career
Brown played in St. Louis with Frankie Trumbauer in 1925–26, and moved through a variety of groups in the late 1920s and 1930s, including those of Jean Goldkette (1928), Benny Meroff, and Mezz Mezzrow (1937). Brown joined Benny Goodman's orchestra in 1937 and remained there until 1940; while he only soloed occasionally with Goodman, he became particularly well known through this association. Following this he worked with Artie Shaw (1940–41), Jan Savitt, Muggsy Spanier (1941–42), and the Casa Loma Orchestra.
In the 1940s, Brown switched focus from swing to Dixieland, playing often in studio recordings and working with Sidney Bechet.
Brown performed with Louis Armstrong and his All Stars for the ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The concert was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 7, 1953. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Earl Bostic, Nat "King" Cole, and Shorty Rogers and his Orchestra.
He led his own band in the Pacific Northwest in 1950 and did reunion tours with Goodman in that decade. He worked with Tony Parenti in 1963, and remained a studio musician into the early-1970s.
Personal life
Later in his life, Brown lived in Roslyn Heights, New York. He died in Los Angeles in 1979.
References
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 350. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- “Satchmo Band Spice To Open Air Show” Article, Los Angeles Sentinel, May 28, 1953.
- "Vernon Brown Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
- "Vernon Brown, 72, Trombonist With Shaw, Goodman, Spanier". The New York Times. 1979-05-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-24.