Tom Brown

Brown ranks among the earliest New Orleans traditionalists to establish a presence in Chicago. He began on violin before taking up trombone and performed with Papa Jack Laine’s Reliance Band. In 1910 he assumed leadership of his own ensemble and relocated it to Chicago five years later. Later in 1915 he assembled a short-lived vaudeville troupe in New York; once that venture collapsed he returned to Chicago and directed additional groups. Throughout the early 1920s he shuttled between Chicago and New York for recording dates and live engagements. Following a stint with Ray Miller in Chicago during 1922–1923, Brown resettled in New Orleans and cut sides with Johnny Bayersdorffer, Norman Brownlee, and others throughout the decade. He added string bass to his duties in the 1930s and worked the 1940s as a freelance session player on both trombone and bass. In the 1950s he recorded again with Johnny Wiggs and Harry Shields.