Mel Brown (drummer)

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Mel Brown (born July 25, 1944) is an American jazz drummer based in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Portland, delivering papers in the city’s Jazz district. In high school he played with the Portland Junior Symphony and studied at Portland State University, where he also played at local jazz clubs and recorded with Billy Larkin & The Delegates.

Brown moved to Vancouver and played with guitarist Tommy Chong. In 1967 he was hired by Martha Reeves to join Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, a role that led to work as a Motown studio musician and tours with Motown acts. He later recorded with major Motown stars such as Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye.

Returning to Portland in 1973, Brown formed a trio with pianist George Mitchell and bassist Phil Baker. In the late 1970s he toured with Diana Ross, while continuing to perform with his own groups. He ran The Mel Brown Drum Shop until 1984, then started a bookkeeping business called Metropolitan Accounting and Tax.

Back in Portland, he led a Sextet that played weekly at The Hobbit in Southeast Portland and teamed with Leroy Vinnegar to form a Hammond B-3 organ quintet. In the 1990s he joined the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival board and started the Mel Brown Jazz Summer Camp at Western Oregon University. He was inducted into the Jazz Society of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1999 and has performed with the Oregon Symphony.

Today Brown still lives in Portland and runs his accounting firm by day while continuing to perform. He had long-running gigs at Jimmy Mak’s with his Septet, Quartet and B-3 Organ Group until the club closed in 2016. He now plays with his B-3 Organ Group at the Jack London Revue and with his trio at Salty’s on the Columbia.