Jazbo Brown was, according to legend, a black

delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

musician from around the turn of the 20th century.

Biography

Jazbo Brown is semi-legendary, referred to in DuBose Heyward's ''Jasbo Brown and Selected Poems'' (1924) as an "itinerant negro player along the Mississippi and later in

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

cabarets". This book also states that the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music genre has possibly taken its name from this travelling musician. Jazbo Brown is featured in the song "Jazzbo Brown from Memphis Town", composed by George Brooks and performed by

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

. He also appears in the opening scene of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'', with the spelling 'Jasbo Brown'. He takes no part in the plot, but plays "a low-down blues" on the piano while couples dance. This goes on for several minutes, expanding as the chorus and orchestra join in, before transitioning into the song " Summertime".''Porgy and Bess''. Vocal score, pp. 4-15. New York: WB Music Corp., 1935.

References

American blues pianists American male pianists American male jazz musicians People whose existence is disputed Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{Chicago-stub

Biography

See also

References