Leland Nelson Presents: 100 Years of Ray Brown

This October marks what would have been the 100th birthday of the bulwark of the upright bass, Ray Brown. Born in Pittsburgh on October 13, 1926, Brown began his professional career early, riding the 1940s wave of bebop that reshaped American music. His post-war success began in 1946 as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's Jazz Orchestra, quickly followed by the formation of his trio with pianist Hank Jones and Charlie Smith in 1948. Perhaps his most commonly known accolades emerged that same year when he married the inimitable Ella Fitzgerald and became her musical director until their separation in 1952. The year prior, Brown joined forces with Montreal's own Oscar Peterson and ushered in a gold standard for the piano trio sound, eventually joined by Ed Thigpen on drums and cymbals. Records such as Night Train , We Get Requests , and Live in Chicago are but a few samplings of the tour de force that was the Oscar Peterson Trio. As his time with Oscar drew to a close in the mid 60s, Brown reunited with another alum of the Dizzy Orchestra, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, with whom he had played in the Milt Jackson Quartet, a precursor to the Modern Jazz Quartet, and collaborated on records such as Ray Brown / Milt Jackson and Memphis Jackson . Shortly following this collaboration, Brown assumed the helm of his own trio in the 1970s, which continued for the remainder of the 20th century and featured a rotating cast of characters including pianists Gene Harris and Benny Green, as well as drummers Jeff Hamilton and Gregory Hutchinson. Some of the most cherished work of his later years came in the 1990s, with a record series known as Some of my Best Friends Are... which brought together the multitude of players who had shared the bandstand with Brown. Though Brown passed away in 2002, his leadership and intensity are still heard through the playing of his protégés John Clayton and Christian McBride, who themselves have assumed prominence on the global jazz stage. Hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Leland Nelson has developed an impressive body of work as a bass player in the Nashville area. As a former NYC resident his primary focus is jazz and jazz-adjacent styles, having worked alongside New York musicians such as pianist Matt Baker and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. His focus on these styles continues in Nashville, as shown through his work with The Sofia Goodman Group, Trulah, Josh Karas, Ted Ludwig, Marc Payne, Liz and Cynthea Kelley and Marguerite Beane. He is the proud host of The Spotlite Sessions at Living Waters Brewing, and is also a founding member of one of Nashville's newest jazz fusion bands, Gratuitous Mr. Mayo!