Donald Ray Brown was born on March 28, 1954 in Desoto, Mississippi. Donald came from a musical family, which instilled a love of music in the young boy. His first foray into music included early stints on the drums, baritone horn and tuba. In the ninth grade, he began to play the trumpet and showed a great deal of talent on the instrument, winning several awards for his abilities.

Upon graduating from high school, Donald enrolled at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) on a trumpet scholarship, but he quickly switched to the piano. While attending college, he was persuaded to study jazz by his friend and classmate pianist James Williams.

At Memphis State, Brown gained considerable performance experience as a member of the Memphis Three, a trio of outstanding pianists who passed through the university in the 1970s including Williams and Mulgrew Miller.

Brown used his time in college to sharpen his composing and arranging talents by writing for the university jazz band. Upon finishing his studies in 1975, Donald performed locally before replacing Williams in drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the summer of 1981. The band at the time included trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, tenor saxophonist Billy Pierce and bassist Charles Fambrough.

In 1983, Brown accepted a teaching position at the Berklee School of Music, a position he held until 1985. While at Berklee, Donald taught several noted musicians including pianists Cyrus Chestnut, Danilo Perez and soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome. While teaching full-time, he also remained active as a composer. In 1986, Wynton Marsalis recorded Brown’s composition “Insane Asylum” on the album J Mood, which earned Marsalis a Grammy Award nomination in the “Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist” category.

The following year, Donald released Early Bird, his debut album as a leader. For the record, he enlisted the help of alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, bassist Bob Hurst, trumpeter Bill Mobley, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts.

In 1988, Brown took a teaching position at the University of Tennessee where he began to lead student ensembles and teach jazz history courses. Brown supplemented his teaching schedule with sideman work, appearing on singer Diane Reeves’ Blue Note album I Remember the same year.

During this time, Brown continued to record prolifically as a sideman. 1989 also saw Donald recording with Donald Byrd on his album Getting Down To Business, where he contributed the original composition “Theme for Malcolm.” The following year saw Brown involved with several different projects including arranging and producing Kenny Garrett’s album African Exchange Student. 1990 also saw Donald performing on Wallace Roney’s album Obsession, as well as his own album People Music.

Throughout his musical endeavors, Brown has remained dedicated to jazz education. In addition to his curriculum at the University of Tennessee, Donald has been invited to lecture and teach at several academic institutions including the Juilliard School of Music and the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony at the University of the Pacific.

Brown resides in Knoxville, Tennessee and is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee where he currently teaches piano, improvisation and jazz history. He maintains an active performance and touring schedule.