Leonard Louis "Lenny" McBrowne (January 24, 1933 – October 4, 1980) was an American

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 ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

. He was a prolific

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

drummer with a recording career that started in the 1950s and ended in the mid 1970s. As a bandleader he fronted Lenny McBrowne and the Four Souls, which released two albums in 1960. A disciple of

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

, McBrowne was often compared to

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...

due to the "suavely exotic tendencies of his solo work". Among McBrowne's own disciples is avant-garde drummer

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

Life and career

Leonard Louis McBrowne was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on January 24, 1933. Influenced by his father Arnold, who was a drummer, Lenny took up drums at a young age, playing in street

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

s between ages 12 and 15, while also taking lessons on the bass. Having finished high school in 1951, he studied under

(for one year) and

Sticks Evans Samuel "Sticks" Evans (5 February 1923 – 11 April 1994) was an American drummer, percussionist, music teacher, arranger and musical director. He was credited variously as Sammy "Stick" Evans, Samie Evans, Sammy Evans, Sammie Evans, Stick E ...

. McBrowne began his professional career in

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Bro ...

's group, which featured

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

. He also played with

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

and

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

in various Brooklyn clubs, and with Paul Bley's Trio in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. In 1956 he played with

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

in New York, and continued performing with Paul Bley in a college tour that led to his relocation to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His first West Coast dates included the likes of

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffor ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...

Fred Katz Frederick Carl Katz (21 May 1877 – 13 December 1960) was an Australian trade unionist and politician. He had a long association with the Australian labour movement, holding senior leadership positions with the Federated Clerks' Union, Feder ...

and

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

. In 1959, McBrowne formed his own group, The Four Souls, with pianist

Terry Trotter Terry William Trotter (born October 5, 1940) is an American jazz pianist and piano teacher living in Los Angeles. He has recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Larry Carlton, and many others. Tro ...

, bassist

Herbie Lewis Herbie Lewis (February 17, 1941 – May 18, 2007) was an American jazz double bassist. He played or recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Harold Land, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, Tete Mo ...

, tenor saxophonist and composer Daniel Jackson, and trumpeter

Donald Sleet Donald Clayborn Sleet (November 27, 1938 – December 31, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was a member of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars and Lenny McBrowne and the Four Souls. Widely considered a gifted musician, compared to the lik ...

. Between January and March 1960, the band recorded their debut album ''Lenny McBrowne and the 4 Souls'', released by

Pacific Jazz Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...

. Shortly after they relocated to New York, where they recorded their second and final album ''Eastern Lights'' on October 13, 1960, with

Jimmy Bond Jimmy Bond is a fictional character in the American Fox television shows ''The Lone Gunmen'' and ''The X-Files'', two science fiction shows about government conspiracies to hide or deny the truth from the people. Portrayed by American actor ...

on bass and

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

as producer and supervisor. Notably, McBrowne introduced bassist

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

, having previously introduced him to

. Two pieces from ''Eastern Lights'' were released as a single by Riverside. McBrowne and his band received coverage from the leading jazz magazines, including '' High Fidelity'', ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', ''

Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

'' and ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...

''. The group was described as "a highly close-knit and well-rehearsed combo" with "fluid and competent soloing". After the dissolution of the band, McBrowne free-lanced with

Sal Salvador Sal Salvador (November 21, 1925 – September 22, 1999) was an American bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator. He was born in Monson, Massachusetts, United States, and began his professional career in New York City. He eventually mo ...

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...

and

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

. In the 1960s, he played with

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, Randy Weston,

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

, and he toured Japan with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

. In the second half of the 1960s, McBrowne played primarily with Ervin's band. He then relocated to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and began to perform with

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

on a regular basis until 1976, when he made his last recording.

Discography

As leader

* 1960 : ''Lenny McBrowne and the 4 Souls'' (Pacific Jazz) * 1960 : ''Eastern Lights'' (Riverside)

As sideman

With

*'' Lady Sings the Blues'' (Clef, 1956) With

*''The Touch of Tony Scott'' (RCA Victor, 1956) With

*''

Solemn Meditation ''Solemn Meditation'' is the third album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley featuring tracks recorded in 1957 and released on the GNP Crescendo Record Co., GNP Crescendo label.Fred Katz Frederick Carl Katz (21 May 1877 – 13 December 1960) was an Australian trade unionist and politician. He had a long association with the Australian labour movement, holding senior leadership positions with the Federated Clerks' Union, Feder ...

*''

Fred Katz and his Jammers ''Fred Katz and his Jammers'' is an album by Fred Katz originally released on Decca in 1959.Fred Katz Catalog< ...

'' (Decca, 1959) With

*''

The Hard Swing ''The Hard Swing'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt's Quartet recorded in 1959 and released on the Verve label.Sonny Stitt Swings the Most ''Sonny Stitt Swings the Most'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt recorded in 1959 and released on the Verve Records, Verve label.So Doggone Good ''So Doggone Good'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt recorded in 1972 and released on the Prestige label.Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

*''

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

'' (Bakton, 1963) *''Blues'' (Trip Jazz, 1974) *''

Berkshire Blues ''Berkshire Blues'' is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston, recorded in 1965 and released on the Freedom label in 1977. The title track, in the waltz tempo characteristic of many Weston compositions, was written in 1962 and recorded in ...

'' (Freedom, 1977) *''

Monterey '66 ''Monterey '66'' is a live album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1966 at the Monterey Jazz Festival but not released on the Verve label until 1994. Reception Allmusic awarded the album 4½ stars, with its review by Al Campbe ...

'' (Verve, 1994) With

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss wa ...

*'' Up, Up and Away'' (Prestige, 1967) *'' Saturday Morning'' (Xanadu, 1975) With

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and then ...

*'' It's All Right!'' (Prestige, 1967) With

*''

Structurally Sound ''Structurally Sound'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin recorded in 1966 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1967) *'' Booker 'n' Brass'' (Pacific Jazz, 1967) *'' The In Between'' (Blue Note, 1968) With

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

*'' Luminescence!'' (Prestige, 1967) With

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

*'' Trust in Me'' (Prestige, 1967) With

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

*''

East! ''East!'' is the third album by guitarist Pat Martino recorded in 1968 and released on the Prestige label. Reception AllMusic's Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Despite the title and the cover of this CD reissue (which makes it a ...

'' (Prestige, 1968) With Charles McPherson *''

From This Moment On! ''From This Moment On!'' is the fourth album led by saxophonist Charles McPherson recorded in 1968 and released on the Prestige label.Fitzgerald, MJazzdiscography: Charles McPherson Leader Entryaccessed May 15, 2018 Reception Allmusic awarded t ...

'' (Prestige, 1968) With

*''Monk in Tokyo'' (Far East, 1970) With

*'' 'Round Midnight'' (Fantasy, 1972) *''

Both Feet on the Ground ''Both Feet on the Ground'' is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell recorded in 1973 and released on the Fantasy Records label.

'' (Fantasy, 1973) *'' Up the Street, 'Round the Corner, Down the Block'' (Fantasy, 1974) *'' Prime: Live at the Downtown Room'' (HighNote, 1976

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

*''

Stormy Monday "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast blu ...

'' (Fantasy, 1978) With

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

*'' The Quota'' (MPS, 1971

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

With

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

*''Tell Me the Truth'' (Xanadu, 1975) With

Sam Noto Sam Noto (born April 17, 1930) is an American jazz trumpeter born in Buffalo, New York, perhaps best known for his work with Stan Kenton during the 1950s. Select discography * 1975 ''Entrance!'' ( Xanadu) * 1975 ''Act One'' (Xanadu) * 1977 ''Not ...

*''Entrance'' (Xanadu, 1975)

References

External links

"Lenny McBrowne"
''

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

''. Retrieved September 24, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:McBrowne, Lenny 1933 births 1980 deaths African-American drummers American jazz drummers American jazz bandleaders Hard bop drummers Musicians from Brooklyn Riverside Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians