J. T. Brown (musician)

John Thomas "J. T." Brown (April 2, 1918 – November 24, 1969)[1] was an American tenor saxophonist of the Chicago blues era. He was variously billed as Saxman Brown, J. T. (Big Boy) Brown and Bep Brown.[2]

Biography

Born John Thomas Brown in Mississippi, he was a member of a minstrel group before moving to Chicago.[2] He worked as a session musician for several artists and made some records on the Harlem label in the 1950s.[1] "Round House Boogie" / "Kickin' the Blues Around", "Sax-ony Boogie", and "Dumb Woman Blues" were issued under various band names by Meteor Records in this period.[1]

Brown later played and recorded with Elmore James and Howlin Wolf.[3] He also recorded as a leader for several independent record labels, including JOB and United. He appeared on several tracks of Fleetwood Mac's 1969 album Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2, on which he sang his own composition, "Black Jack Blues".[1]

He died in Chicago in November 1969, at the age of 51. He was interred at the Burr Oak Cemetery, in Worth, Illinois.[1][2]

On May 14, 2011, the fourth annual White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in Whitehall, Michigan. The concert was organized by executive producer Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues, to raise money to honor Brown's unmarked grave with a headstone. The event was a success, and a headstone was placed in June 2011.

Discography

As bandleader

  • Windy City Boogie (Pearl [1977])

Compilation

  • The Chronological J.T. Brown 1950-54 (Classics [2005])

With Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Big Walter Horton, Buddy Guy, Honeyboy Edwards and S.P. Leary

With Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Honeyboy Edwards and S.P. Leary

With Howlin' Wolf

See also

References
  1. "Biography by Bill Dahl". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  2. "The Dead Rock Stars Club - The 1960s". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. Robert Palmer. Deep Blues. Penguin Books. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6.
  4. "J.T. Brown". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.


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