Tom Browne - Funkin' for Jamaica

Tom Browne - Jazz Musician

Tom Browne, jazz musician, (born October 30, 1954 in Queens, New York, United States) is an American jazz musician, who rose to prominence first through his early work with Sonny Fortune, and scored two major hits in 1980 and 1981: the No. 1 US Billboard R&B single "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" and the No. 4 US R&B single, "Thighs High (Grip Your Hips and Move)".

Later in 1982 he released a minor hit called, "Fungi Mama (bebopafunkadiscolypso)" which was also recorded on the Arista record label. It reached number 58 in the UK chart.

Tom is perhaps best known for what music icon George Benson said of his “believability in any musical style; his ability to communicate!”. This ability to emerse ones-self into the musical era, style and dreamscape of a composition, and then artistically create as though you are perfectly at home in that location, is a rarity among musicians. Perhaps this ability is resultant of Browne’s upbringing near Jamaica, New York where greats like Count Basie lived on one block and James Brown on another.

Tom Browne Music Reviews

“It was the merger of so many musical influences and styles that created the Jamaica scene, and certainly my approach” says Browne.