Legendary jazz bassist Ray Brown has died, aged 75.
Brown played with jazz giants Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and his one-time wife, the late Ella Fitzgerald, in a career that spanned a half century.
He died in his sleep on Tuesday in Indianapolis where he was concluding the US leg of a tour.
John Clayton, a friend and fellow bassist said: "He is the primary contributor to be-bop from a bassist's standpoint. He was extremely important to jazz education."
Brown is survived by a wife and one son.
