Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) 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 ...

alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongside musicians such as

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, and

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he st ...

. He performed on Coltrane's landmark 1965 album '' Ascension''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

described him as "one of the brightest and most lyrical voices of the 1960s avant-garde."

Biography

Early life

Brown, the grandson of an escaped slave from Georgia's Sea Islands, was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 1931 and was raised by a single mother. He began studying the saxophone at an early age, inspired by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. He left high school in the 10th grade and joined the army. During his three-year enlistment, he played alto saxophone, clarinet, and baritone saxophone, and was stationed in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

for some time. In 1956, he returned to Atlanta and enrolled at

Clark College Clark College is a public community college in Vancouver, Washington. With 11,500 students, Clark College is the largest institution of higher education in southwest Washington. Founded in 1933 as a private two-year junior college, Clark Colleg ...

, where he studied music, taking lessons from Wayman Carver. After graduating, he moved to Washington, DC, where he enrolled at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

's law school. During this time, he began listening to musicians such as

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 ...

, and

, all of whom he would soon meet and come to know.

Early career

In 1962, Brown left Howard and moved to

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 ...

, where he befriended a number of musicians, as well as writers such as

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

(then known as LeRoi Jones), who was also a Howard drop-out, and A. B. Spellman, a Howard graduate. According to Brown, "The writers who listened to me and liked my playing, they inspired me to be better, and I inspired them to keep listening. LeRoi Jones opened the door for me; he introduced me to the world. He was a very beautiful and very smart person." He also met

and

, and introduced Shepp to Baraka. Brown recalled that Shepp "offered me the opportunity to play with him. But I didn't have a saxophone, so Ornette Coleman let me use his white plastic saxophone to get started." According to writer Aldon Lynn Nielsen, Brown's "conversations with Baraka and Shepp aided them in their thinking through of the relationships between the American jazz avant-garde and African musical traditions." Brown later played a minor acting role in the original production of Baraka's '' Dutchman''. In 1964, Brown performed with Shepp and

Bill Dixon William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...

in ''Four Days in December'', a series sponsored by the Jazz Composers Guild. The following year, he participated in the recording of Shepp's '' Fire Music'' as well as

's '' Ascension''. According to Brown, he was introduced to Coltrane by Shepp: "Archie told him about my music and he started to listen to it and he liked it. And then, several times, he would come to hear me play and he liked that. So when he decided to do ''Ascension'', I fit the picture of somebody that he wanted in it." Regarding the music on ''Ascension'', Brown stated: "You could use this record to heat up your apartment on a cold morning." Regarding the recording session, he recalled: "We did two takes, and they both had that kind of thing in them that makes people scream. The people who were in the studio were screaming. I don't know how the engineers kept the screams out of the record. Spontaneity was the thing. Trane had obviously thought a lot about what he wanted to do, but he wrote most of it out in the studio. Then he told everybody what he wanted: he played this line and he said that everybody would play that line in the ensembles. Then he said he wanted crescendi until we were together, and then we got into it." During the mid-1960s, Brown began recording under his own name '' Marion Brown Quartet'', was recorded in 1965 and released on ESP the following year; '' Why Not?'', recorded in 1966 and released on ESP in 1968; '' Juba-Lee'', recorded in 1966 and released on Fontana in 1967; and ''

Three for Shepp ''Three for Shepp'' is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.

'', recorded and released in 1966 on

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

.). Coltrane had used his influence at Impulse! to secure Brown his own recording date with the label. Brown also performed with

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

and

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

, and recorded with

Burton Greene Burton Greene (June 14, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium. Biogra ...

on the album ''Burton Greene Quartet''.

In Europe

In 1967, Brown moved to Europe, where he continued performing and recording, and where he developed an interest in architecture,

Impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

art,

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

and the music of

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

. He was an American Fellow in Music Composition and Performance at the

Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximately ...

in Paris. On a show on French television, he played a version of Sound Structure with drummer

Eddy Gaumont Eddy Gaumont, born Édouard Jean-Marie Émile Gaumont on August 14, 1946 in Cayenne, died on November 22, 1971 in Paris, was a drummer of jazz and free-jazz. Biography Eddy Gaumont is the sixth of nine siblings. He is the son of the politici ...

. Late that year, while in Holland, he recorded ''

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

'' with

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

and

Maarten Altena Maarten van Regteren Altena (born January 22, 1943) is a Dutch composer and contrabassist. Altena attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (he studied contrabass) and graduated in 1968. Between 1980 and 1985, he studied composition with Robert ...

. While in Europe, Brown met and befriended

Gunter Hampel Gunter Hampel (born 31 August 1937) is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist, and composer. He became dedicated to free jazz in the 1960s, developing a record label (Birth Records) and working with Jeanne Lee, ...

, and in 1968 they recorded the soundtrack for

Marcel Camus Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

' film ''Le temps fou'', with a band featuring Steve McCall,

Barre Phillips Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972, he has been based in south ...

, and Ambrose Jackson. Brown and Hampel recorded two more albums, ''Gesprächsfetzen'' (in 1968) and ''Marion Brown In Sommerhausen'' (in 1969). While in Europe, Brown also performed in duos with Leo Smith, recording ''Creative Improvisation Ensemble''.

Return to U.S.

In 1970, Brown returned to the United States, settling in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, where he at first worked in elementary schools, "teaching children how to make instruments and create their own music," and where he continued his musical partnership with Leo Smith. He composed and performed

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for a

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

play, ''Woyzeck''. From 1971 to 1976, he taught at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

, and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, and in 1976 he earned a Master's degree in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

. His master's thesis was entitled "Faces and Places: The Music and Travels of a Contemporary Jazz Musician". During this time, he also studied South Indian flute with P. Vishwanathan. In the early 1970s, Brown also recorded a trilogy of albums influenced by poet

Jean Toomer Jean Toomer (born Nathan Pinchback Toomer; December 26, 1894 – March 30, 1967) was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the association, and with modernism. His reputatio ...

, reflecting on his southern upbringing, in which "images of the Georgia countryside, many of them drawn from Toomer's poetry, and improvisational techniques of African, AfroAmerican, and European provenance enrich and revivify one another:" ''

Afternoon of a Georgia Faun ''Afternoon of a Georgia Faun'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded in 1970 and released on the ECM label.

'' (1970, ECM), which featured

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...

Bennie Maupin Bennie Maupin (born August 29, 1940) is an American jazz multireedist who performs on various saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet. Maupin was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He is known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandi ...

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, and

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 ...

among others; ''

Geechee Recollections ''Geechee Recollections'' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded in 1973 and released on the Impulse! label.

'' (1973,

), which featured Leo Smith and Steve McCall among others; and '' Sweet Earth Flying'' (1974,

, named after a line in a Toomer poem), which featured

Muhal Richard Abrams Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the Uni ...

and Steve McCall among others. Reviewer Robert Palmer wrote: "The trilogy as a whole is an exemplary demonstration of how... a thoughtful artist can explore a 'subject' through a variety of techniques, processes, and formal disciplines. The shifting of perspective and approach from work to work is reminiscent of Durrell's ''Alexandria Quartet'' and indeed Brown's examination of the emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic ramifications of his origins is the sort of thing one finds frequently in literature and rarely in improvisional music. During the 1970s, Brown also recorded with

('' Attica Blues'', 1972 and ''Attica Blues Big Band Live At The Palais Des Glaces'', 1979), Leo Smith (''Duets'', 1973),

Elliott Schwartz Elliott Shelling Schwartz (January 19, 1936 – December 7, 2016) was an American composer. A graduate of Columbia University, he was Beckwith Professor Emeritus of music at Bowdoin College joining the faculty in 1964. In 2006, the Library of ...

(''Duets'' and ''Soundways'', both 1973),

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interest ...

(''

Regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

'', 1975),

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the l ...

(''

The Pavilion of Dreams ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', 1976), and

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

(''Shadows'', 1977). He also released ten albums under his own name. In 1972 and 1976, Brown received grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which he used to compose and publish several pieces for solo piano, one of which was based on poetry from

's book ''Cane''. He also transcribed some piano and organ music by

including his '' Messe des pauvres'' and ''Pages mysterieuses'', and arranged the composer's ''

Le Fils des étoiles ''Le Fils des étoiles'' (''The Son of the Stars'') is an incidental music score composed in December 1891 by Erik Satie to accompany a three-act poetic drama of the same name by Joséphin Péladan. It is a key work of Satie's "Rosicrucian" pe ...

'' for two guitars and violin. In the 1980s, Brown continued recording, and also began focusing on drawing and painting, exhibiting his artwork at a number of shows. His charcoal portrait of blues guitarist

Blind Lemon Jefferson Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929)Some sources indicate Jefferson was born on October 26, 1894. was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues sing ...

was included in an art show called ''Jus' Jass'' at Kenkeleba Gallery in New York City, which also included works by artists such as

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City a ...

Charles Searles Charles Robert Searles (July 11, 1937 – November 27, 2004) was an African American artist born in Philadelphia in 1937. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was active from the 1960s until he died in 2004 from complications fr ...

and Joe Overstreet. In 1984, he published an autobiography titled "Recollections". In the 1990s, he occasionally performed and read his poetry at Studio 5C in New York.

Final Years

By the late 1990s, Brown had fallen ill; due to a series of surgeries and a partial leg amputation, Brown resided for a time in the Bethany Methodist Home, Brooklyn. He spent his final years in an assisted living facility in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, where he died in 2010, aged 79. In September 2010,

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

, then governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, issued a proclamation naming September 15 "Marion Brown Day."

Influence

Pianist

Amina Claudine Myers Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger. Biography Born in Blackwell, Arkansas, "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a c ...

' debut album '' Poems for Piano: The Piano Music of Marion Brown'' (Sweet Earth, 1979) predominantly featured Brown's compositions. Aside from his influence in the jazz avant-garde, several other areas of music have taken interest in Brown's music. Indie rockers

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...

included a song called "Song for Marion Brown" on their album ''

Indoor Living ''Indoor Living'' is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Superchunk, released by Merge Records in 1997. It was recorded at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, Indiana, and mixed at Overdub Lane, Durham, North Carolina. It was eng ...

'', and

Savath and Savalas Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups Sa ...

released a piece entitled "Two Blues for Marion Brown" as part of

Hefty Records Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III,His Name Is Alive His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warre ...

performed a tribute concert in 2004, performing solely Brown's music. In 2007, High Two released portions of the concert with studio versions as '' Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown''.

Thoughts on Music

"It is wrong to say that free jazz does not swing. It swings to a high number of beats. It is polyrhythmic. But it is hard for people listening to it to realize that... Free jazz is closer to African beats than bop or swing were; African rhythm is very complex." "My reference is the blues, and that's where my music comes from. I do listen to music of other cultures, but I just find them interesting. I don't have to borrow from them. My music and my past are rich enough. B.B. King is my Ravi Shankar".

Discography

As leader

* 1966: '' Marion Brown Quartet'' (

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

/ Fontana) * 1967: '' Juba-Lee'' (Fontana) * 1967: ''

Three for Shepp ''Three for Shepp'' is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.

'' (

) * 1967: ''

'' ( Arista) * 1968: '' Why Not?'' (ESP-Disk) * 1968: ''Gesprächsfetzen'' with

(Calig) * 1968: ''Le Temps Fou'' with

, Ambrose Jackson, Steve McCall, and

(Polydor) * 1969: ''In Sommerhausen'' with Gunter Hampel and

(Calig) * 1970: ''

Afternoon of a Georgia Faun ''Afternoon of a Georgia Faun'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded in 1970 and released on the ECM label.

'' ( ECM) * 1973: ''Soundways'' with

(Bowdoin College Music Press) * 1973: ''

Geechee Recollections ''Geechee Recollections'' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded in 1973 and released on the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!) * 1974: '' Sweet Earth Flying'' (Impulse!) * 1975: ''Creative Improvisation Ensemble'' with Leo Smith (Freedom) * 1975: ''Duets'' with Leo Smith and

(

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

) * 1975: ''

Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

'' (Impulse!) * 1976: ''Awofofora'' (Discomate) * 1977: ''Wildflowers 2 (The New York Loft Jazz Sessions)'' (Douglas / Casablanca); Brown appears on one track; reissued in 1999 by Knit Classics on '' Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions – Complete'' * 1977: ''Zenzile Featuring Marion Brown'' (

Baystate Baystate was a Japanese jazz record label. Some of these album were also released on the Japanese labels Victor and Horo Records. Almost none have been reissued on LP or CD. Discography 6000s *RVJ-6001: M'Boom - '' Re: Percussion'' *RVJ-60 ...

) * 1977: ''La Placita / Live in Willisau'' ( Timeless Muse) * 1977: ''Solo Saxophone'' (Sweet Earth) * 1978: ''Reeds 'n Vibes'' with

(

Improvising Artists Improvising Artists Inc. known as IAI is a production company created by jazz pianist, 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 ...

) * 1978: ''Passion Flower'' (Baystate) * 1979: ''Soul Eyes'' (Baystate) * 1979: ''November Cotton Flower'' (Baystate) * 1979: ''79118 Live'' (DIW) * 1980: ''Back to Paris'' (

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

) * 1982: ''Solo Saxophone (Yale University, 1981)'' (Other Ear) * 1983: ''Gemini'' (Birth) * 1985: ''Recollections'' (Creative Works) * 1986: ''Songs of Love and Regret'' with

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

(Freelance) * 1988: ''Much More'' with

(Freelance) * 1993: ''Offering'' (Venus) * 1993: ''Gemini + play Sun Ra "live" in concert'' with

(Birth) * 1993: ''Mirante Do Vale ~ Offering II'' (Venus) * 2000: ''Echoes Of Blue'' (Double Moon) * 2016: ''Five Improvisations'' (B.Free) * 2018: ''Live At The Black Musicians' Conference, 1981'' with

Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United Sta ...

(NoBusiness) * 2019: ''Capricorn Moon to Juba Lee Revisited'' (ezz-thetics) * 2020: ''Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited'' (ezz-thetics)

As sideman

With

* ''

'' ( Editions EG, 1976) * '' Luxa'' (All Saints, 1996) With

* '' Ascension'' (Impulse!, 1965) With

* ''

'' ( Strata-East, 1976) With

* ''Burton Greene Quartet'' (ESP Disk, 1966) With The Group (

Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with wa ...

, Brown, Billy Bang,

Sirone Sirone ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,270 and an area of .Al ...

Fred Hopkins Fred Hopkins (October 11, 1947 – January 7, 1999) was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and S ...

) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' (No Business Records, 2012) With the

All Stars * ''Jubilation '' (Birth, 1983) With

* ''Shadows'' (Denon, 1977) With

* '' Fire Music'' (Impulse!, 1965) * ''

The New Wave in Jazz ''The New Wave in Jazz'' is a live album recorded on March 28, 1965 at the Village Gate in New York City. It features groups led by major avant-garde jazz artists performing at a concert for the benefit of The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School fo ...

'' (Impulse!, 1965) – one track * '' Attica Blues'' (Impulse!, 1972) * ''Attica Blues Big Band Live at the Palais des Glaces'' (Blue Marge, 1993)

Filmography

* ''You See What I'm Trying To Say?'' (Henry English, 1967) * ''See The Music (Inside The Creative Improvisation Ensemble)'' (Theodor Kotulla, 1971) * ''Jazz Is Our Religion'' (John Jeremy, 1972) *
Inside Out In The Open
' (Alan Roth, 2001) * ''Meditations on Revolution V: Foreign City'' (Robert Fenz, 2003)

References

External links

* ttp://discog.piezoelektric.org/marionbrown/ Marion Brown Discography {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Marion 1931 births 2010 deaths Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists American musicologists Howard University alumni Wesleyan University alumni Brandeis University faculty Bowdoin College faculty Colby College faculty Amherst College faculty Freedom Records artists ESP-Disk artists Timeless Records artists Impulse! Records artists DIW Records artists ECM Records artists American male jazz musicians Improvising Artists Records artists NoBusiness Records artists