The multi-talented Oscar Brown, Jr., wrote numerous songs over his career, many in the jazz and gospel veins. He made his recording debut as a singer on Columbia Records in 1961 with the album "Sin and Soul...And Then Some." Critical acclaim followed. Soon after, he debuted at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York, and went on to share the bill with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. As a songwriter, he famously put lyrics to jazz instrumentals like Miles Davis' "All Blues," Bobby Timmons and Nat Adderley's "Dat Dere" and Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue." He also wrote the lyrics for the socially conscious Max Roach album "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite."