Brown, Pud (Albert)

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Brown, Pud (Albert)

Brown, Pud (Albert), early jazz reeds player; b. Wilmington, Del., Jan. 22, 1917; d. May 27, 1996. Both parents (and brothers and sisters) were musical. First toured in Brown Family Band in 1927, billed as “World’s Youngest Saxophone Player.” He worked in theatre orchestras during the early 1930s, then did spells with Count Balooki, Marshall Van Poole, Lou Clanc, and Phil Levant. Brown moved to Chicago and worked with Bud Freeman, Jimmy Dorsey, Bud Jacobson, and Pete Daily. He gigged in Shreveport, La., from 1945-49, then moved to Los Angeles. In Calif, from 1949-73, he worked with Nappy Lamare, Jack Teagarden, Teddy Buckner, and Kid Ory, also led his own band. He began doubling Shreveport in 1973; worked a on cornet and trumpet in the early 1960s. Brown recorded with his own all-star band in 1977. During his career, he occasionally played string-bass.

—John Chilton, Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter