J.t. Brown

J.T. Brown's tenor saxophone emitted a braying tone that prompted the mocking observation his horn resembled a "nanny goat." The remark failed to deter Elmore James from enlisting him on several landmark dates for Meteor and Modern, where Brown's highly individual approach proved indispensable.

John T. Brown, born in Mississippi, had already toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels in the South before settling in Chicago. From 1945 onward he supplied backing for pianist Roosevelt Sykes and singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden, then accompanied Eddie Boyd and Washboard Sam on RCA Victor. He first appeared as a leader in 1950 on the Harlem label and continued with further sessions for Chicago's United imprint and JOB in 1951 and 1952.

Additional sideman work placed him beside slide guitarist Elmore James and pianist Little Johnny Jones on 1952 and 1953 releases for the Bihari brothers' Meteor and Flair labels. During the same span Meteor issued two singles under variant billing: "Round House Boogie"/"Kickin' the Blues Around" credited to the Bep Brown Orchestra, and "Sax-ony Boogie" attributed to Saxman Brown, its vocal flip "Dumb Woman Blues" listed as by J.T. (Big Boy) Brown. All four selections later surfaced on Flair's four-disc James box set.

A final United date from 1956 stayed unissued at the time, after which Brown's studio appearances were confined to supporting roles. In January 1969 he joined the ensemble for Fleetwood Mac's Blues Jam at Chess album and even sang on one track, yet he died before the year ended.