Clifford Brown Jazz Trumpet T-Shirt

Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter. He died tragically at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years worth of recordings. He was also a composer of note: his compositions "Sandu," "Joy Spring," and "Daahoud" have become jazz standards. Brown won the Down Beat critics' poll for New Star of the Year in 1954; he was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1972 in the critics' poll. He was one of the most influential trumpeter of his era having influenced later jazz trumpeters such as Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan. Brown was influenced and encouraged by Fats Navarro, whom he first met at the age of 15, sharing Navarro's virtuosic technique and brilliance of invention. His sound was warm and round, and notably consistent across the full range of the instrument. He could articulate every note, even at very fast tempos which seemed to present no difficulty to him; this served to enhance the impression of his speed of execution. His sense of harmony was highly developed, enabling him to deliver bold statements through complex harmonic progressions (chord changes), and embodying the linear, "algebraic" terms of bebop harmony. In addition to his up-tempo prowess, he could express himself deeply in a ballad performance. The clean-living Brown escaped the influence of drugs and alcohol on the jazz world. Brown stayed away from drugs and was not fond of alcohol. Sonny Rollins, who was recovering from drug addiction, said that "Clifford was a profound influence on my personal life. He showed me that it was possible to live a good, clean life and still be a good jazz musician."