Raymond Harry "Ray" Brown (born November 7, 1946) is an American composer, arranger, trumpet player, and jazz educator. He has performed as trumpet player and arranged music for Stan Kenton (early 1970s), Bill Watrous, Bill Berry, Frank Capp – Nat Pierce (Juggernaut Big Band), and the Full Faith and Credit Big Band.
Career
Brown joined Kenton in September 1971, succeeding Gary Lee Pack [b. 1950; Director of Jazz Studies (retired), University of Southern Maine], holding the jazz trumpet chair and serving as an improv clinician. The Kenton trumpet section included Mike Vax, Jay Saunders, and Dennis Noday. Brown also contributed arrangements for Kenton, including "Mi Burrito" and "Neverbird." Brown remained with the Kenton Orchestra until November 1972.
Before joining the Kenton Orchestra, Brown had served as arranger and trumpeter with the Studio Band of The United States Army Field Band at Fort Meade, Maryland (1968–71). His tenure with the Army Band and Kenton coincided closely with that of Jay Saunders — trumpet player, and jazz educator, who, while with the Kenton Orchestra, eventually played lead trumpet.
Brown also has performed with Mundell Lowe, Leroy Vinnegar, Ray Brown, Thad Jones, Jimmy Heath, Steve Gadd, and Billy Hart.
Brown conducted the recording session of the Roy Hargrove Quintet entitled Roy Hargrove with Strings, Moment to Moment, released May 2000 on Verve. He has appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival frequently as conductor of his wife Susan Cahill Brown's Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra in collaboration with Charlie Haden, Kenny Barron, Michael Brecker, Ralph Towner, Gary Burton, and Terence Blanchard.
Brown currently leads his own big band, the Great Big Band, which has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival, the Lake Tahoe Music Festival, and jazz venues in the San Francisco Bay area.
Ray is currently on the faculty of Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, teaching jazz improvisation, arranging, and jazz ensembles.
Formal education
1964 — graduated Freeport High School (New York) 1968 — Bachelor of Music, Ithaca College School of Music (attended 1964–68) 19?? — Master of Science, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University 19?? — arranging lessons from Willie Maiden 19?? — arranging lessons from Manny Albam 19?? — arranging lessons from Rayburn Wright (1922–1990) 19?? — arranging lessons from Hank Levy 19?? — arranging lessons from Glenn Earl Brown (Ray's father) 19??-?? — four summers, Lake Shore Music Camp, headed by Ray's father, Glenn Earl Brown
Early career
1968-71 — arranger and trumpet player for the Studio Band of The United States Army Field Band, Fort Meade, Maryland Sept. 1971 – Nov. 1972 — trumpet player (jazz chair) and improv clinician with the Stan Kenton Orchestra 1973 — became a member of ASCAP 1973-74 — trumpet player for Bill Watrous Band in New York 1973-75 — led own rehearsal band in New York City Mar. 1975 — Grant: Jazz, Category I, National Endowment for the Arts (to write a composition for the rehearsal band) 1974-75 — teacher of improv. in nine New Jersey schools through a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts 1974-75 — faculty member (teaching arranging, improv, brass), Five Towns College, Merrick, NY 1974-79 — played trumpet with the New York Orchestra, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Ray Brown (bassist), Leroy Vinnegar, Mundell Lowe, Bill Berry (William Richard Berry) Big Band 1980 — Nat Pierce & Frankie Capp Big Band
Musical family
Ray's wife, Sue Brown (b. 1949, New York), is a violinist and teacher of strings – violin, viola, chamber music, and orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College (1971) and a Master of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College (1974), where she studied with Dorothy DeLay. She also did post-grad work at the University of Colorado (1975). Ray and Sue were married on August 26, 1973, and together, they have three daughters, one of whom, Karin, is a violinist and is married to cellist Daniel Levitov. Karin earned degrees in music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music (1998) and Juilliard. Daniel is a member of the preparatory faculty at the Peabody Institute.