Archives West Finding Aid

Raymond Matthews Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in October 13, 1926. He was a jazz double bassist, cellist, and composer. Ray Brown played in Dizzy Gillespie's band from 1946 to 1951. Along with the pianist John Lewis, drummer Kenny Clarke, and vibraphonist Milt Jackson, he formed the Modern Jazz Quartet. He was married to singer Ella Fitzgerald from 1947 to 1952. They adopted Fitzgerald's half-sister's son Ray Brown, Jr., who is a jazz and blues pianist and singer.

Mr. Brown played in the Oscar Peterson trio from 1951 to 1966. He moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and was a founding member of the LA Four, which included drummer Shelly Mann, acoustic guitarist Laurindo Almeida, and Bud Shank on flute and alto saxophone. During Ray Brown's impressive career, he also played with Diana Krall, Jazz at the Philharmonic, Tony Bennett, among others. He died in Indianapolis, Indiana, in July 2, 2002. He was married to Cecelia Brown for 48 years. In 2003 Mr. Brown was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

Lionel Hampton was a jazz musician and composer who began his career in the late 1920s. He and his orchestra recorded most of their albums between the late 1930s and mid-1950s. During Hampton's career he had releases under several different labels (e.g. Decca, Vogue Productions, and Clef Records) and performed with multiple small groups when not performing with his orchestra.

Stanley Newcomb Kenton was a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was born in Wichita, Kansas on December 15, 1911 and died in Los Angeles, California on August 25, 1979. From 1941 to 1948 Mr. Kenton led his own band, the Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra, which gained a national reputation after Capitol released the album "Artistry in Rhythm," in 1943. In 1950 Kenton assembled his largest band, a 39-piece orchestra named Innovations in Modern Music. Soon after, however, he returned to his usual 19-piece lineup. His last successful experiment was his mellophonium band of 1960-1963. In later years, he dedicated his time to teaching jazz to young musicians.