Brown, Thomas Paterson

Saxophonist, composer, and arranger, Thomas Philip Brown had his own dance orchestra during the late 1930s and 1940s, but later became a music copyist for Broadway musicals and touring productions.

Brown's dance band, the Tom Brown Orchestra, appeared at clubs in West Coast cities and played on radio shows. Brown, who composed and arranged his own music as well as that of others, eventually moved east where he became a copyist. His work as a copyist for musical theater productions spanned two decades, from Irving Berlin's Mr. President (1962) through 42nd Street (1980). Brown formed his own company, Music Associates, Inc., which also helped to orchestrate and copy music on order for the Samuel French Company. During the 1950s, Music Associates, Inc. also produced a series of recordings of operas in translation under the label, Opera of the Month, and a related series of opera appreciation texts entitled, Lets Understand Opera!