Bross Elvie Townsend Jr. (October 18, 1933 – May 12, 2003) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

pianist.

Townsend was born in

Princeton, Kentucky Princeton is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Caldwell County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The population was 6,329 during the 2010 U.S. Census. Princeton is home to several notabl ...

. His father was also a pianist, and started his son on the instrument at age seven. Townsend moved to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

in 1951 and attended the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

. He accompanied local singers such as

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

and

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter best remembered as a singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...

and played freelance from 1953 with

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, and

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

. He made several tours of Europe. 19980522-Bross Townsend-150

Townsend was active in New York City from 1959 almost up until his death there in 2003; he worked with Warren Smith (in the Composer's Workshop Ensemble),

Carrie Smith Carrie Louise Smith (August 25, 1925 – May 20, 2012) was an American blues and jazz singer. She was not well known in the United States but had a small following in Europe. Career Smith was born in Fort Gaines, Georgia, United States. S ...

Bubba Brooks David Kenneth Brooks, Jr., better known as Bubba Brooks or Bubber Brooks (May 29, 1922 in Fayetteville, North Carolina – April 11, 2002) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was the brother of Tina Brooks. Brooks's first professional ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (March 24, 1936 – November 9, 2013) ...

Arvell Shaw Arvell Shaw (September 15, 1923 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work with Louis Armstrong. Life and career He was born on September 15, 1923, in St. Louis, Missouri. Shaw learned to play tuba in high ...

, in addition to performing solo. He was also a member of

The 3B's The 3B's (also credited as The Three B's) was a jazz trio comprising pianist Bross Townsend, bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Bernard Purdie.McDonald, StevenReview at Allmusic.Allmusic. Retrieved 6 August 2013. They recorded two albums of jaz ...

, with Bob Cunningham and

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of Tuplet, triplets against a half-time backbeat: the P ...

. Townsend went blind in the middle of the 1990s but continued to perform. He often backed vocalist

Discography

;As leader/co-leader *''What a Body'' – Bross Townsend and his trio – GP label GBTB 5030 *1995: ''I Love Jump Jazz'' (Claves Jazz) *1998: ''I Got Music on My Mind'' (BNH) ;With The 3B's *1993: ''After Hours with The 3B'' *1994: ''Soothin n Groovin with the 3B'' – additional personnel: Eunice Newkirk (vocals); Donny Albano,

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He worked for NBC as a staffman from 1964, including for Dick Cavett (1971) and ABC with Bobby Rosengarden in (1952). Musicians he collaborate ...

(guitar);

Rob Paparozzi Robert Steven "Rob" Paparozzi (born October 14, 1952) is an American Grammy-nominated harmonica player and vocalist from New Jersey. In the early 1970s, Paparozzi fronted the Psychotic Blues Band, a blues rock group which played extensively in t ...

(harmonica);

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...

(tenor saxophone); Fred Smith (trumpet).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Bross 1933 births 2003 deaths People from Princeton, Kentucky American jazz pianists Cleveland Institute of Music alumni Blind musicians American blues pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from Kentucky Blues musicians from Kentucky 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians The 3B's members American blind people American musicians with disabilities