Tom Brown

by Ron WynnOne of traditional New Orleans first players and bandleaders to set up shop in Chicago. Brown first played violin, then switched to trombone. He played in Papa Jack Laine's Reliance Band, then became a bandleader in 1910 and took his band to Chicago in 1915. He later that year formed a short-lived vaudeville group in New York. When it folded, he returned to Chicago, where he headed more bands. Brown alternated between Chicago and New York for recording and performing engagements in the early '20s. After working with Ray Miller in Chicago from 1922 - 1923, he moved back to New Orleans, where he recorded with Johnny Bayersdorffer and Norman Brownlee among others in the '20s. He began doubling as a bassist in the '30s and in the '40s was a freelance session musician on both trombone and bass. He recorded with Johnny Wiggs and Harry Shields in the '50s.