Ray Brown

Jazz Double Bassist and Composer

Not to be confused with Los Angeles session trumpet/flugelhorn player Ray Brown (2). American jazz trumpeter, arranger, composer, bandleader and teacher born November 7, 1946 in Oceanside, New York. Ray Brown earned his trumpet chops touring with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Based in Northern California since 1975, he has played with or arranged for a variety of groups, including bands fronted by Bill Watrous, Frank Capp & Nat Pierce, Bill Berry And The LA Band and the Full Faith & Credit Big Band, which he also conducted and wrote most of the music for three projects. His Great Big Band debuted in 1994 with "Impressions of Point Lobos", a written and executed recording of contemporary big band jazz. The band performed for 27 years, playing its final show in late 2016. For over the past 40 years, Brown has also been an educator, composer, and jazz instructor at Cabrillo College in Aptos and at UC-Santa Cruz. In 1999, Brown teamed up with his wife, Sue Brown (2), also a music educator at Cabrillo College and a classical violinist, to work with trumpeter Roy Hargrove on a project titled "Hargrove with Strings". Sue Brown, concertmaster of the Monterey Jazz Festival's chamber orchestra, led the ensemble backing Hargrove while husband Ray conducted the recording sessions.