Celebrating Black History: Alfred V. Brown (Viola '52)

Born in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen on August 19, 1929, Alfred V. Brown (Viola ’52) was a musical trailblazer, a violist, violinist, record producer, arranger, and orchestral contractor who opened the door for countless Black musicians and female artists, as he championed their presence in the otherwise white, male-dominated studio recording business. Mr. Brown was also one of the first African American classical orchestral musicians at a time when the professional world of classical music in the United States was not ethnically diverse.

The oldest son of Obediah and Alma Brown from the West Indies, his academic journey took him first to the City College of New York. After graduating in 1947, he attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he was the first Black student to be admitted to the conservatory. He then transferred to Curtis Institute of Music in 1948, and studied with faculty members William Primrose and Karen Tuttle.

After completing his studies at Curtis, Mr. Brown became a member of the NBC Radio Orchestra, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. This professional stepping stone became the catalyst to a successful career as an instrumentalist and producer in the recording industry from the 1960’s to 2010, and his listed discography numbers in the hundreds. As an instrumentalist, he was honored with the coveted National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Award for Most Valuable Studio Musician in 1984, and had earlier been invited by Leonard Bernstein to join the New York Philharmonic, which would have led him to become the first Black musician in the orchestra (a title held by violinist Sanford Allen in 1962), but success in the recording business led him to graciously decline the offer.

As a producer, he found himself working in every possible musical style and genre, from jazz to disco, singer-songwriter, funk, rock, R&B, to folk and world music. Among his many accomplishments, he was producer for progressive funk band Mandrill, Lena Horne, and Ron Carter, as well as the first studio album for feminist singer-songwriter Cris Williamson. He toured with Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Luther Vandross, and Barbra Streisand, and worked with many artists, including Dawn Upshaw, Backstreet Boys, P.M. Dawn, Jackie DeShannon, Deodato, Divine, Yvonne Elliman, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Carmen McRae, Portishead, Janis Ian, Arturo Sandoval, Many Patinkin, David Sanborn, and countless other musicians.

Throughout his career, Mr. Brown appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including Grand Hotel (1989) and Gypsy (1990). His playing can also be heard on countless pop and jazz albums as well as movie soundtracks including Philip Glass’s Naqoyqatsi,  The Wiz, Victor/Victoria, the film Malcolm X, and many other Spike Lee film soundtracks.

His unerring musical sense offered him the opportunity as a contractor to assemble musicians for a veritable “who’s who” of recording artists: Britney Spears, David “Fathead” Newman, Grover Washington Jr., Lalo Schifrin, Chic, John Faddis, Ashford & Simpson, Hugh Masekela, and many others. In addition to the many album and recordings that he contracted, he put together a massive number of orchestras for film scores and TV commercials.

Alfred V. Brown passed away at age 84,  in Manhattan on November 17, 2013, after complications from an accidental fall. He was a sixty-four-year member of the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the largest local union of professional musicians in the world.

Please visit the Curtis Institute of Music Open Archives and Recitals (CIMOAR). Learn more about Curtis’s library and archives HERE.

Photo Credits: 1–3.) Courtesy of the Curtis Archives and Special Collections. 4.) Courtesy of the Local 802.