Patti Bown

Patti Bown was one of a pair of sisters who diligently studied classical piano as young girls in Seattle. The word "young" is meant in its fully glory; as legend has it, she played piano in the governor's mansion at the age of two. Her sister launched a career as a classical keyboardist and wound up marrying composer Gerald Valentine, while Patti Bown decided to play jazz in order to help create the sort of music that gets played endlessly in tiny Japanese bars, among other places. That comment is made in particular reference to the pile of Gene Ammons sides this pianist appears on, large enough to arouse the curiosity of a customs agent if packed in luggage and certainly strain a few muscles in the process.

Occupying a similarly hefty place in her discography are her collaborations with arranger, composer, and bandleader Quincy Jones. This relationship actually extends back to Bown's childhood; the two were childhood friends and have reported playing games such as "house" together. Little did they know back then that Jones would be taking his own big band on tour in Europe in 1959 with Bown featured as the pianist. The occasion for this tour was the revue Free and Easy, featuring music written by Harold Arlen.

A frequent contest winner as a child, Bown studied at the University of Washington and began working with local Seattle bands in the late '40s, well before graduating. Bown relocated to New York City in the mid-'50s, often tinkling around in the background of cocktail lounges as well as getting into the more upfront rhythm of a jazz gig. She has accompanied a variety of vocalists, including Billy Eckstine, Dinah Washington, and Leon Redbone. Her compositions include the tune "G'won Train." She was chosen to perform at the Kennedy Center in 1997.