# Donald Brown (musician)

Donald Ray Brown (born March 28, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and producer.
Brown was born in Hernando, Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play trumpet and drums in his youth. From 1972 to 1975, he was a student at Memphis State University, by which time he had made piano his primary instrument. He was with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1981 to 1982, then took teaching positions at Berklee College of Music from 1983 to 1985 and the University of Tennessee from 1988. Brown has recorded for Evidence, Muse, and Sunnyside.

## Discography
### As leader/co-leader

| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
| 1987 | Early Bird | Sunnyside | Sextet, with Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Donald Harrison (flute), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Bob Hurst (bass), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums) |
| 1988 | The Sweetest Sounds | Evidence | Quartet, with Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Charnett Moffett (bass), Alan Dawson (drums) |
| 1989 | Sources of Inspiration | Muse | Quintet, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet, flugelhorn), Gary Bartz (soprano sax, alto sax), Buster Williams (bass), Carl Allen (drums) |
| 1990 | People Music | Muse | With Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn), Vincent Herring (flute, soprano sax, alto sax), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Robert Hurst (bass), Samurai Celestial (drums, vocals), Daniel G. Sadownick (percussion); Lenora Helm (vocals) added on one track |
| 1991? | Cause and Effect | Muse | With Joe Henderson (tenor sax), James Spaulding (flute), Steve Nelson (vibraphone, marimba), Ron Carter (bass), Carl Allen, Kenny Washington (drums), Rudy Bird, Donald Eaton (percussion), Marlon Saunders and Lenora Helm (vocals) |
| 1992 | Send One Your Love | Muse | With Steve Wilson (flute, soprano sax, alto sax), Tom Williams (flugelhorn), Charnett Moffett (bass), Eric Walker and Louis Hayes (drums; separately), Rudy Bird (percussion) |
| 1992 | A Season of Ballads | Space Time | Trio, with Ray Drummond (bass), Alan Dawson (drums); album shared with Harold Mabern and Charles Thomas trios |
| 1993 | Cartunes | Muse | With Don Braden (flute, tenor sax), Steve Wilson (soprano sax, alto sax), Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Carl Allen (drums, tambourine), Rudy Bird (percussion), Harold Mabern (vocals) |
| 1995 | Piano Short Stories | Space Time | Solo piano |
| 1997 | The Classic Introvert | Space Time | Solo piano; released 2004 |
| 1998? | Wurd on the Street | Space Time | |
| 1999 | Enchanté! | Space Time | With Stephane Belmondo (trumpet, flugelhorn), Bill Easley (alto sax, flute, clarinet), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Higgins (drums), Daniel Sadownick (percussion) |
| 1999 | At This Point in My Life | Space Time | Septet, with Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jean Toussaint (soprano sax, tenor sax), Jérôme Barde (guitar), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums), Angá Diaz (percussion) |
| 2000 | French Kiss | Space Time | Quintet, with Jérôme Barde (guitar), Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums), Angá Diaz (percussion) |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | Space Time | Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Billy Kilson (drums) |
| 2003? | Continuum | Space Time | |
| 2008? | Fast Forward to the Past | Space Time | With Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Steve Nelson (vibes), Danny Walsh (flute, alto sax, tenor sax), Jean Toussaint (soprano sax, tenor sax), Lionel Loueke and Mark Boling (guitar), Robert Hurst and Essiet Essiet (bass), Eric Harland and Kenny Brown (drums) |
| 2013? | Born to Be Blue | Space Time | With Kenny Garrett (alto sax, soprano sax), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax, soprano sax), Emily Mathis (flute), Vance Thompson (flugelhorn), Mark Boling (guitar), Robert Hurst (bass), Marcus Gilmore and Kenneth Brown (drums; separately), Rudy Bird (percussion) |

### As sideman

With Art Blakey
* Killer Joe with George Kawaguchi (Union Jazz, 1981)
* Keystone 3 (Concord Jazz, 1982)
* Feeling Good (Delos, 1986)
With Donald Byrd
* Getting Down to Business (Landmark, 1989)
* A City Called Heaven (Landmark, 1991)
With Ricky Ford
* Tenor Madness Too! (Muse, 1992)
With Wallace Roney
* Obsession (Muse, 1990)

### As producer

With Kenny Garrett
* African Exchange Student (Atlantic, 1990)
* Black Hope (Warner Bros., 1992)
* Triology (Warner Bros. 1995)
* Songbook (Warner Bros., 1997)
* Seeds from the Underground (Mack Avenue, 2012)
* Pushing the World Away (Mack Avenue, 2013)
* Do Your Dance! (Mack Avenue, 2016)
* Sounds from the Ancestors (Mack Avenue, 2021)
With Scott Tixier
* Cosmic Adventure (Sunnyside, 2016)