Jimmy Brown (musician)
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Earle Brown was an American
trumpet
er, saxophonist
and singer, who was the first husband of R&B
singer Ruth Brown
. He was also known as Jumpin' Jimmy Brown from his performing style of jumping from the stage into the audience with his trumpet. In his early career he played trumpet with Paul Williams
and his Hucklebuckers. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater
in Harlem
in the 1950s and also recorded for Atlantic Records
when Ruth Brown
's career started. Later he worked with Etta James
, Nat King Cole
, was music director for Debbie Reynolds
and played lead trumpet with the Count Basie
Orchestra. He moved to Minnesota
in the 1960s performing in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul), and later led a band called Rio Pardo in Duluth
and northern Minnesota in the 1970s and 1980s. He continued performing in Duluth until moving to the Twin Cities in 1994, and performed occasionally until his death.
He died in Maple Grove
in December 2006, from an infection, at the age of 80.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er, saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and singer, who was the first husband of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...
. He was also known as Jumpin' Jimmy Brown from his performing style of jumping from the stage into the audience with his trumpet. In his early career he played trumpet with Paul Williams
Paul Williams (saxophonist)
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams was an American blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist and songwriter. In his Honkers and Shouters, Arnold Shaw credits Williams as one of the first to employ the honking tenor sax solo that became the hallmark of rhythm and blues and rock and roll in the 1950s and...
and his Hucklebuckers. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
in the 1950s and also recorded for Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
when Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...
's career started. Later he worked with Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, was music director for Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
and played lead trumpet with the Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
Orchestra. He moved to Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in the 1960s performing in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul), and later led a band called Rio Pardo in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
and northern Minnesota in the 1970s and 1980s. He continued performing in Duluth until moving to the Twin Cities in 1994, and performed occasionally until his death.
He died in Maple Grove
Maple Grove, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 50,365 people , 17,532 households, and 13,955 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.3 people per square mile . There were 17,745 housing units at an average density of 539.9 per square mile...
in December 2006, from an infection, at the age of 80.
External links
- Obituary, Minneapolis Star Tribune 27Dec2006 http://www.startribune.com/466/story/899542.html
- Obituary, Duluth News Tribune 24Dec2006 http://www.legacy.com/DuluthSuperior/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=20381525