Clifford Brown

American jazz trumpet player
Born October 30, 1930, Wilmington, Delaware, USA, died June 26, 1956, Bedford, Pennsylvania, USA
Nicknamed 'Brownie', he was encouraged by both Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro, the latter was Brown's main influence. He performed with R&B bandleader, Tadd Dameron, Lionel Hampton, and Art Blakey before forming his own quintet (co-led with Max Roach). In June 1956, Brown and pianist Richie Powell were being driven from Philadelphia to Chicago by Powell's wife Nancy for the band's next appearance. While driving on a rainy night on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, west of Bedford, she lost control of the car and it left the road. All three were killed in the resulting crash. Brown is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, in Wilmington, Delaware. He won the "Down Beat" critics' poll for the ‘New Star of the Year’ in 1954; he was inducted into the "Down Beat" 'Jazz Hall of Fame’ in 1972 in the critics' poll.