Lawrence Brown

Lawrence Olin Brown was a trombonist in the Duke Ellington orchestra.

He was born on August 3, 1907 in Kansas, Lawrence began his career with jazz players including Charlie Echols before joining the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1932.

On August 9, 1933, Lawrence married actress Fredericka ("Fredi") Washington in Manhattan, New York.

Lawrence left Ellington's band in 1952 to join that of John Hodges until 1955, when he started working as a session leader for CBS station. He rejoined Ellington as a vocalist and stayed with him until 1970, when he decided to stop perfoming.

Lawrence and Fredi were married until their divorce in 1951.

Lawrence Brown died on September 5, 1988 in Los Angeles, California.

(Source: Guion, David M.. A History of the Trombone. United States: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.)