John Thomas Brown (April 2, 1918 – November 24, 1969) was an American

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while t ...

of the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

era. He was variously billed as Saxman Brown, J. T. (Big Boy) Brown, Bep Brown, Nature Boy Brown and J.T. "Blow It" Brown.Büttner, Armin; Robert Campbell, and Robert Pruter (2020)
"The Parrot and Blue Lake Labels".
Red Saunders Research Foundation. Retrieved 12 December 2022.

Biography

Born John Thomas Brown in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, he was a member of the Rabbit's Foot Minstrels and spent some time in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, before moving to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He worked as a session musician for several artists and made some records on

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, among other

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

, in the 1950s. "Round House Boogie" / "Kickin' the Blues Around", "Sax-ony Boogie", and "Dumb Woman Blues" were issued under various band names by

Meteor Records Meteor Records was a Memphis-based R&B record label ran by Lester Bihari, one of the Bihari brothers, owners of Modern Records in Los Angeles. Founded in 1952, the label was a bold experiment to broaden the talent base by focusing on signing and ...

in this period. Brown later played and recorded with

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

and Howlin Wolf. He also recorded as a leader for several independent record labels, including

JOB Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

and

. He appeared on several tracks of Fleetwood Mac's 1969 album '' Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2'', on which he sang his own composition, "Black Jack Blues". He died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in November 1969, at the age of 51. He was interred at the

Burr Oak Cemetery Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in Alsip, Illinois, United States, a suburb southwest of Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1927, Burr Oak was one of the few early Chicago cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, ...

, in

Worth, Illinois Worth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,970. Geography Worth is located at (41.688827, -87.792659). According to the 2010 census, Worth has a total area of , o ...

. On May 14, 2011, the fourth annual White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in

Whitehall, Michigan Whitehall is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,706 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the southwest corner of Whitehall Township. Montague is its neighbor. It is located on White Lake (act ...

. The concert was organized by executive producer Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues, to raise money to honor Brown's unmarked grave with a headstone. The event was a success, and a headstone was placed in June 2011.

Discography

As bandleader *''Windy City Boogie'' (Pearl 977 Compilation *''The Chronological J.T. Brown 1950-54'' (Classics

005 ''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...

With Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon,

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

Honeyboy Edwards Honey Boy may refer to: People * Honeyboy Edwards (1915–2011), American Delta blues guitarist and singer from Mississippi *George "Honey Boy" Evans George Evans (10 March 1870 – 5 March 1915) known as "Honey Boy" Evans was a Welsh-born songw ...

and S.P. Leary *''Blues Jam in Chicago Vol. One'' ( Blue Horizon

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

*''Blues Jam at

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

'' ( Blue Horizon

With Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon,

and S.P. Leary *''Blues Jam in Chicago Vol. Two'' ( Blue Horizon

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th yea ...

With

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

*''

The Real Folk Blues ''The Real Folk Blues'' is a series of blues albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, later reissued MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Mudd ...

'' (Chess, 1956-64 965

References

1918 births 1969 deaths American blues saxophonists Chicago blues musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi People from Mississippi 20th-century American musicians 20th-century saxophonists United Records artists Meteor Records artists {{US-blues-musician-stub

Biography

Discography

See also

References