Alexander Brown (25 February 1929 – 15 March 1975) was a Scottish jazz clarinetist, band leader, and acoustic engineer, who performed mostly New Orleans-style and

mainstream jazz Mainstream jazz is a term coined in the 1950s by music journalist Stanley Dance, who considered anything within the popular jazz of the Swing Era "mainstream",McRae, Barry. 2005. "Sound Investment: Mainstream." ''Jazz Journal International'', Au ...

. He had a particular interest in African music, which was reflected in his compositions.

Biography

Brown was born of Scottish parents in Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, where his father was a railway engineer. In the early 1930s, the family relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Brown was later educated at the Royal High School. He taught himself clarinet from the age of twelve. After national service he studied architecture at Edinburgh College of Art. While there, in 1949, he also started a band with his old schoolfriend

Al Fairweather Alastair Fairweather (12 June 1927 – 21 June 1993) was a British jazz trumpeter, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Educated at the city's Royal High School and Edinburgh College of Art, Fairweather served his National Service in Egypt. In 194 ...

. The two achieved national recognition following a concert at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, in February 1952.Sandy Brown Biography
AllMusic Retrieved 9 June 2020. In 1953, the band travelled south and played among other places at the newly built

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in London. Brown returned to finish his studies in Edinburgh, but Fairweather decided to stay in London. On completing his studies, Brown obtained a position as an acoustic engineer with the BBC and moved to London, where he reformed his band. In 1957, he collaborated with Al Fairweather in recording the landmark album ''McJazz'', hailed by critic Steve Race as being one of his top dozen jazz recordings of all time. In 1974, he travelled to New York and recorded with members of Count Basie's band. Other artists whom Brown played with during his career included George Chisholm, Kenny Wheeler, Henry "Red" Allen, Diz Disley, Humphrey Lyttelton,

Earle Warren Earle Warren (born Earl Ronald Warren; July 1, 1914 – June 4, 1994) was an American saxophonist. He was part of the Count Basie Orchestra from 1937. Early life Warren was born in Springfield, Ohio, on July 1, 1914. "He played piano, banjo, and ...

, Eddie Durham, Sammy Price and Pee Wee Russell. In his last months he took an exhausting trip to Africa on architectural business. Soon after, while watching England beating Scotland at

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

on television, a glass of whisky in his hand, he died at home of a heart attack brought about by malignant

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

, aged just 46. A collection of his writings, ''The McJazz Manuscripts'', was published by Faber & Faber in 1979. He formed two professional practices: Sandy Brown Associates, architects and acoustic engineers, and Sandy Brown MSU, building services engineers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Sandy Dixieland clarinetists Scottish jazz clarinetists People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Musicians from Edinburgh 1929 births 1975 deaths Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art 20th-century Scottish musicians