International Archives For The Jazz Organ (IAJO) - The Jazz Organ Scene USA

Odell Brown

Brown was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He started playing the piano aged 4 as his mother was a part-time piano teacher. His father bought him a baby grand piano. After playing in various junior and senior high school bands, he went to Nashville, Tennessee and met musicians attending Tennessee State A&M. Wishing to enroll himself, his plans were soon curtailed when he was drafted into the army where he joined the Army Post Band. During this period, he gained valuable insight into arranging and orchestrating.

After leaving the army, Brown moved to Chicago where he was re-united with some of the musicians from his Nashville days. They formed a band becoming known as "The Organ-Izers" and within two years, were signed to Chess Records' jazz subsidiary label, Cadet. The band's personnel was O'Dell Brown, organ, Artee "Duke" Payne and Tommy Purvis, tenor saxophones, Curtis Prince, drums. Their debut album was titled 'Raising The Roof' in 1966 followed by their most popular record, 1967's 'Mellow Yellow', which reached #173 on the Billboard 200. Third album, 'Ducky' was the last to feature the band.

While at Chess, Brown was not only signed to the label but also worked as a staff musician playing and arranging for a wealth of other artists and gaining great insight and expertise into other styles of music. After the death of Leonard Chess in 1969, Brown decided not to re-sign with the label and during the 1970s, pursued a solo career as an independent arranger, producer and studio musician. During this period, he worked with artists such as Minnie Ripperton, Curtis Mayfield, Johnny Nash and Marvin Gaye. He went on to receive further awards recognising his many talents, later in life.

Brown had been living in Richfield, Minnesota since the early 1990s, to stabilize his professional and personal life. He died there on May 3, 2011.

source: Wikipedia

Soul In The Night Cadet LPS-770 released 1966 recorded April 1966 in Chicago, IL/USA	Sonny Stitt, alto sax Bunky Green, alto sax Odell Brown, organ Bryce Roberson, guitar Maurice White, drums
Raising The Roof Cadet LPS-775 released 1966 recorded July 1966 in Chicago, IL/USA	Odell Brown, organ Artee Payne, alto sax, tenor sax Thomas Purvis, tenor sax Curtis Prince, drums
Mellow Yellow Cadet LPS-788 released 1967 recorded January 1967 in Chicago, IL/USA	Odell Brown, organ Tommy Purvis, tenor saxes Artee Payne, tenor sax Louis Satterfield, bass Curtis Prince, drums Henry Gibson, congas
Ducky Cadet LPS-800 released 1967	Odell Brown, organ Artee Payne, flute, alto sax, tenor sax Tommy Purvis, tenor sax Phil Upchurch, bass Curtis Prince, drums Henry Gibson, congas
Plays Otis Redding Cadet LPS-823 released 1969	Odell Brown, organ Gene Barge, sax big band c/ Gene Barge
Free Delivery Cadet LPS-800 released 1970	Odell Brown, organ Phil Upchurch, guitar Louis Satterfield, bass Cash McCall, guitar Morris Jennings, drums Henry Gibson, percussion Gene Barge, alto sax John Board, baritone sax Donald Myrick, tenor sax Johnny Cameron, tenor sax Morris Ellis, trombone Burgess Gardner, trumpet Maury Watson, trumpet Paul Serrano, trumpet
Odell Brown Paula Records LPS 4005 released 1974	Odell Brown, Fender Rhodes
Plenty Good Eaton Black Jazz Records BJQD/20 released 1975 recorded July 1974 in Chicago, IL/USA	Cleveland Eaton, bass, vocals Arie Brown, tenor sax Edwin Daugherty, tenor sax, flute Artee "Duke" Payne, tenor sax, flute John Watson, trombone Steve Galloway, bass trombone Derf Raheen, flute, congas Ernest Johnson, guitar Odell Brown, organ, piano Kenneth Prince, piano Bobby Christian, vibes Ed Greene, violin, viola Morris Jennings, percussion
That Is Why You're Overweight Atlantic SD 1683 released 1976	Eddie Harris, sax, synthesizer, vocals Delbert Hill, tenor sax, baritone sax, oboe Willie Henderson, baritone sax Steve Halloway, trombone All Hall jr., trombone Maurice Spears, trombone, bass trombone Burgess Gardner, trumpet Lou Gonzales, trumpet, flugelhorn Frank Gordon, trumpet Joe Romano, trumpet, flugelhorn Ronald Muldrow, guitar, vocals Richard Abrams, piano Odell Brown, organ Bob Ramey, synthesizer, vocals Bradley Bobo, synthesizer, bass, vocals string section Allen Jackson, bass Don Pate, bass Rufus Reid, bass Calvin Barnes, drums, percussion, vocals Paul Humphrey, drums Ralph Penland, drums Terry Thompson, drums William Clarke, percussion Marshall Thompson, percussion Karen Patterson, vocals Stephana Loeb, vocals Nancy Shanks, vocals
The Reason Why I'm Talking S--t Atlantic SD 18165 released 1976 recorded 1975	Eddie Harris, tenor sax Bradley Bobo, bass Paul Humphrey, drums Ronald Muldrow, guitar Odell Brown, organ Calvin Barnes, percussion

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homepage:	www.odellbrown.com

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