© 2026

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Two Bass Hit: Ray Brown at 100 with Christian McBride and John Clayton

Ray Brown (left) and Christian McBride (right) in 1993
Courtesy of Christian McBride
Ray Brown (left) and Christian McBride (right) in 1993

Ray Brown was born 100 years ago, on Oct. 13, 1926. In a career spanning nearly six decades, he played alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker as bebop took shape, spent 15 years in the Oscar Peterson Trio and appeared on more than 2,000 recordings. He also mentored generations of musicians, including two bassists he called his "sons": John Clayton and Jazz Night host Christian McBride. In this episode, Christian talks with his "big brother" John to pay tribute to Ray.

Credits:

Writers and Producers: Sarah Geledi and Simon Rentner; Executive Producer: Steven A. Williams; Executive Producer at NPR Music: Suraya Mohamed; Executive Director of NPR Music: Sonali Mehta; Host: Christian McBride.

Copyright 2026 WBGO

Tags
Sarah Geledi
Sarah Geledi left her job in advertising in Montreal to pursue a career in music in New York City. She fulfilled that mission, producing content for the...
Simon Rentner
Creative Commons License
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to slightly shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.