Donald Brown (musician)

Donald Brown
Svoy, Donald Brown, Kenny Garrett & Vernell Brown, Jr. at Sear Sound Recording, NYC
Background information
Birth name	Donald Ray Brown
Born	(1954-03-28) March 28, 1954 Hernando, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Music producer, musician
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1972–2020
Labels	Muse, Sunnyside, Evidence, Space Time
Website	Official website

Donald Ray Brown (born March 28, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and producer.

Brown was born in Hernando, Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play trumpet and drums in his youth. From 1972 to 1975, he was a student at Memphis State University, by which time he had made piano his primary instrument. He was with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1981 to 1982, then took teaching positions at Berklee College of Music from 1983 to 1985 and the University of Tennessee from 1988. Brown has recorded for Evidence, Muse, and Sunnyside.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded	Title	Label	Personnel/Notes
1987	Early Bird	Sunnyside	Sextet, with Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Donald Harrison (flute), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Bob Hurst (bass), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)
1988	The Sweetest Sounds	Evidence	Quartet, with Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Charnett Moffett (bass), Alan Dawson (drums)
1989	Sources of Inspiration	Muse	Quintet, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet, flugelhorn), Gary Bartz (soprano sax, alto sax), Buster Williams (bass), Carl Allen (drums)
1990	People Music	Muse	With Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn), Vincent Herring (flute, soprano sax, alto sax), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Robert Hurst (bass), Samurai Celestial (drums, vocals), Daniel G. Sadownick (percussion); Lenora Helm (vocals) added on one track
1991?	Cause and Effect	Muse	With Joe Henderson (tenor sax), James Spaulding (flute), Steve Nelson (vibraphone, marimba), Ron Carter (bass), Carl Allen, Kenny Washington (drums), Rudy Bird, Donald Eaton (percussion), Marlon Saunders and Lenora Helm (vocals)
1992	Send One Your Love	Muse	With Steve Wilson (flute, soprano sax, alto sax), Tom Williams (flugelhorn), Charnett Moffett (bass), Eric Walker and Louis Hayes (drums; separately), Rudy Bird (percussion)
1992	A Season of Ballads	Space Time	Trio, with Ray Drummond (bass), Alan Dawson (drums); album shared with Harold Mabern and Charles Thomas trios
1993	Cartunes	Muse	With Don Braden (flute, tenor sax), Steve Wilson (soprano sax, alto sax), Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Carl Allen (drums, tambourine), Rudy Bird (percussion), Harold Mabern (vocals)
1995	Piano Short Stories	Space Time	Solo piano
1997	The Classic Introvert	Space Time	Solo piano; released 2004
1998?	Wurd on the Street	Space Time
1999	Enchanté!	Space Time	With Stephane Belmondo (trumpet, flugelhorn), Bill Easley (alto sax, flute, clarinet), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Higgins (drums), Daniel Sadownick (percussion)
1999	At This Point in My Life	Space Time	Septet, with Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jean Toussaint (soprano sax, tenor sax), Jérôme Barde (guitar), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums), Angá Diaz (percussion)
2000	French Kiss	Space Time	Quintet, with Jérôme Barde (guitar), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums), Angá Diaz (percussion)
2000	Autumn in New York	Space Time	Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums)
2003?	Continuum	Space Time
2008?	Fast Forward to the Past	Space Time	With Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Steve Nelson (vibes), Danny Walsh (flute, alto sax, tenor sax), Jean Toussaint (soprano sax, tenor sax), Lionel Loueke and Mark Boling (guitar), Robert Hurst and Essiet Essiet (bass), Eric Harland and Kenny Brown (drums)
2013?	Born to Be Blue	Space Time	With Kenny Garrett (alto sax, soprano sax), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax, soprano sax), Emily Mathis (flute), Vance Thompson (flugelhorn), Mark Boling (guitar), Robert Hurst (bass), Marcus Gilmore and Kenneth Brown (drums; separately), Rudy Bird (percussion)

As sideman

With Art Blakey

• Killer Joe with George Kawaguchi (Union Jazz, 1981)
• Keystone 3 (Concord Jazz, 1982)
• Feeling Good (Delos, 1986)

With Donald Byrd

• Getting Down to Business (Landmark, 1989)
• A City Called Heaven (Landmark, 1991)

With Ricky Ford

• Tenor Madness Too! (Muse, 1992)

With Wallace Roney

• Obsession (Muse, 1990)

As producer

With Kenny Garrett

• African Exchange Student (Atlantic, 1990)
• Black Hope (Warner Bros., 1992)
• Triology (Warner Bros. 1995)
• Songbook (Warner Bros., 1997)
• Seeds from the Underground (Mack Avenue, 2012)
• Pushing the World Away (Mack Avenue, 2013)
• Do Your Dance! (Mack Avenue, 2016)
• Sounds from the Ancestors (Mack Avenue, 2021)

With Scott Tixier

• Cosmic Adventure (Sunnyside, 2016)