Norman Edward Brownlee (Feb 7, 1896 - April 9, 1967) was born in Algiers, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. He was a pioneer jazz musician and led (and played piano with) a very popular orchestra in New Orleans in the 1920s, Brownlee's Orchestra of New Orleans. He also performed with many well-known orchestras and musicians of his day. His bass fiddle is in the

New Orleans Jazz Museum The New Orleans Jazz Museum is a music museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, U.S., dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of jazz music. Originally a separate museum, the collection is now affiliated with the Louisiana St ...

. At least two of his recordings from 1925 are known, of 'Dirty Rag' and 'Peculiar' on

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

. He served in both WWI and WWII, as a Quartermaster during WWI and Executive Assistant to the base commander at

Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...

during WWII. After the second war, he was employed with Bayview Memorial Cemetery, where he became Office Manager. Norman was a lifetime member and past president of the

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...

Local in Pensacola, Florida.

References

1896 births 1967 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans {{US-jazz-musician-stub