Benjamin Franklin Brown (born August 25, 1952, Opa-Locka, Florida) is an American jazz double-bassist. Brown grew up in a musical family and initially learned piano before switching to guitar. He played briefly as a guitarist early in his professional career before studying bass formally at Miami Dade Junior College and the University of Miami, graduating in 1974. While a student, he played in the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra and was the bassist in the house band for a Miami jazz club, where he played behind touring musicians such as Mose Allison, Barney Kessel, and Sonny Stitt. After he finished his degree he worked with Al Gafa, Lou Rawls, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, and Al Haig. He also began a longtime association with Rodney Jones, with whom he would work into the 1990s. In the early