Marshall Brown

The early 1960s pairing of valve trombonist and educator Marshall Brown, whose rigorous methods reflected his highly disciplined and organized nature, with clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, whose impulsive style aligned with his reputation as a very spontaneous alcoholic, struck many observers as an unlikely match. Nevertheless, their short-lived association proved advantageous to both. Under Brown's guidance, Russell tackled forward-looking material by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman and benefited from sympathetic charts that highlighted his playing, while Brown himself garnered greater visibility than at any prior point in his career. Largely self-taught, Brown earned a music degree from New York University in 1949. For the ensuing eight years he served as a high school band director in New York; his student ensemble drew favorable notice with a strong showing at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. Accompanying George Wein to Europe, Brown helped select players for the International Youth Band, which appeared at the Brussels World's Fair and returned to Newport the next year. He later assembled the Newport Youth Band, which performed at the festival in 1959 and 1960. Several then-obscure talents who passed through these ensembles included Albert Mangelsdorff, George Gruntz, Gabor Szabo, Eddie Gomez, Jimmy Owens, and Dusko Goykovic. A versatile valve trombonist equally at home in cool, bop, and Dixieland contexts, Brown played mainstream jazz alongside Ruby Braff from 1960 to 1961, collaborated intermittently with Pee Wee Russell between 1961 and 1965 until clashing temperaments ended the partnership, and also worked with Bobby Hackett and Lee Konitz. Although he never led a recording session under his own name, Brown appeared on dates with his Newport groups, Braff, and Russell. He remained active as a teacher for the rest of his life.