Clifford Brown

Known for the rich sound and full range of his trumpet playing, Clifford Brown, whose nickname was Brownie, was an American jazz musician whose promising career was cut short when he died in a car accident, along with his wife Nancy, aged 25 in 1956. Born in Delaware, he learned to play the trumpet as a boy and studied with renowned music teacher Robert 'Boysie' Lowery and at Maryland State College where he played in the Maryland State Band. After being injured in a car accident in 1950, he met jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie who encouraged him to continue to perform and after lengthy recuperation he performed with the bands of Chris Powell, J.J. Johnson, Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey.

Focusing on hard-bop jazz, he formed a quintet with drummer Max Roach that at different times featured saxophone players Harold Land and Sonny Rollins. Despite the brevity of his career, Brown made many recordings with eleven releases in 1953 and 12 in 1954. An album that features his first recordings and his last, titled 'Beginning and the End' was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1973.