Sandy Brown
b. Alexander Brown, 25 February 1929, Izatnagar, Bareilly, India, d. 15 March 1975. Raised in Edinburgh from the age of 6, Brown began playing clarinet with Al Fairweather and Stan Greig, fellow-students at the Royal High School. He made his first important impression on the UK jazz scene in the mid-50s, when the Fairweather-Brown All Stars were formed. This was the period of the trad jazz boom, and Brown's skillful yet impassioned clarinet playing was one of that era's highlights. Unlike many of his fellow trad bandleaders. Brown's interests were ever-expanding, and any bands under his leadership were home to adventurous musical souls, such as Brian Lemon and Tony Coe. Through the '50s and '60s Brown pursued musical excellence, making a string of classic albums, including MCJAZZand THE INCREDIBLE MCJAZZ, and working with such diverse jazz personalities as George Chisholm and Kenny Wheeler. In addition to his playing activity, he was a perceptive and witty writer ( THE MCJAZZ MANUSCRIPTS), and was heavily involved in running an architectural practice that specialized in building acoustic recording studios. His health began to fail in the '70s, although he was able to visit the USA where he recorded with Earle Warren. His death in 1975, came at a time when he still had much to offer the jazz world.