Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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BROWN, Marion

(b 8 September 1931, Atlanta GA; d 18 October 2010, Hollywood FL) Alto sax, composer in contemporary black music. Wayman Carver was an early teacher; he played with Johnny Hodges in Atlanta '57; to NYC, worked with Archie Shepp. With JCOA '64, had his own group '65 and made a USIA film with Bill Dixon the same year. Records with Dixon, John Coltrane (Ascension '65); played with Sun Ra, toured Europe, formed duo with Leo Smith. Entered education, at Wesleyan U mid-'70s studying ethnic instruments and black fife-and-drum corps in the Southern states.

Brown's own records as a leader began '65-6 on ESP with Marion Brown Quartet followed by 'Jazz Improvisation' on The East Village Other, a collage of free playing. Other records included some privately made, unaccompanied alto solos on LP Gesprachsfetzen '68, made in Munich with the Gunter Hampel Quintet; film soundtrack Le Temps Fou '68; also The Visitor and Three For Shepp '66, with Grachan Moncur III, Kenny Burrell and others; Porto Novo '67, a trio set made in Holland (duo with Smith '70 added on the Black Lion CD edition); Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun '70 on ECM, with Anthony Braxton, Andrew Cyrille, Chick Corea, etc; Soundways '73, duets with Elliott Schwartz on various instruments at Bowdoin College; Geechee Reflections '73 with Smith on Impulse; Sweet Earth Flying and Vista '74-5 also on Impulse; Awofofora and Zenzile '76; La Placita '77 live in Switzerland; Solo Saxophone '77 on Sweet Earth label; Reeds 'n Vibes '78 with Hampel; Passion Flower '78; Soul Eyes '78 with Kenny Barron, Cecil McBee, Philly Joe Jones; November Cotton Flower '79; Marion Brown Live '79, Back To Paris '80, quartet with Freddy Waits.

Recollections: Essays, Drawings, Miscellanea '84 was published in Germany including a long interview with Brown, and a Marion Brown Discography '85 in Brussels, by DeCraen and Janssens. He collaborated in duos with Steve Lacy; Songs Of Love And Regret '85 was followed by trouble with his teeth; he came back with Much More! '88, both on French Freelance, both duos with Mal Waldron. Bop/Latin Jazz Cussion '90 on Native Land was done with the German quintet of that name.