Cleopatra Brown (December 8, 1909 or 1909 – April 15, 1995), known as Cleo Brown, C. Patra Brown or Cleo Patra Brown, was an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

vocalist and pianist. She was the first woman instrumentalist to receive the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship.

Life

While Brown's place of birth has been published as Meridian,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, Brown told W. Balliett in a 1986 interview published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' that she was born in

De Kalb, Mississippi De Kalb is a town in and the county seat of Kemper County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,164 at the 2010 census. De Kalb is named after General Johann de Kalb, a Franconian-French military officer who served as a major general ...

, shortly before her father took a position as a pastor in Meridian. She played piano in the Baptist church as a child. In 1919 her family moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and she began learning piano from her brother who worked with "Pine Top" Smith, playing boogie-woogie for dances. From around 1923 she worked in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, as well as taking gigs in clubs. In 1935, she replaced

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

as pianist on New York radio station WABC. From the 1930s to the 1950s she toured the United States regularly, recording for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

(among other labels) along the way and recording many humorous, ironic titles such as "Breakin' in a New Pair of Shoes", " Mama Don't Want No Peas and Rice and Coconut Oil", "When Hollywood Goes Black and Tan", and "The Stuff Is Here and It's Mellow". Her stride piano playing was often compared to

, and she is credited as an influence on

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

, who played during the intermissions of her shows, and Marian McPartland. She played regularly at clubs in Chicago, toured widely, and recorded for both Decca and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. Brown began to shy away from singing bawdy blues songs because of her deepening religious beliefs and, in 1953, she was baptized, retired from music, and became a nurse in 1959. Jazz biographies frequently listed her as deceased due to her absence from music. The song "Sweet Cleo Brown" was recorded by Brubeck in tribute to her.Liner notes, "Dave Brubek Plays and Plays and Plays" Fantasy Records, Catalog #3259. Recorded 1957, remastered 1992. CD catalog # OJCCD-716. From the mid-1970s until 1981, she performed under the name of C. Patra Brown on radio shows in Denver, Colorado. She replaced boogie-woogie music with slower, inspirational music. She returned to record again, and performed on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. She gave birth to a son, Matthew, and had four grandchildren. She died on April 15, 1995, in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado.

Discography

* ''Living in the Afterglow'' (Audiophile, 1989) * ''1935–1951'' (Chronological Classics)

References

1909 births 1995 deaths American women jazz singers American jazz singers American blues singers Singers from Mississippi Singers from Chicago Musicians from Meridian, Mississippi Savoy Records artists American jazz pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Illinois Jazz musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American singers Decca Records artists NEA Jazz Masters {{US-blues-musician-stub