Born in 1929, the American jazz trombonist, pianist, composer and arranger became famous in the 1950s as a member of the Garry Mulligan Quartet and later through his work with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, in which he played a central role as arranger and co-leader. Brookmeyer was known for his distinctive style on the valve trombone and his complex yet accessible arrangements, which had a decisive influence on modern jazz. Over the course of his career, he worked with jazz greats such as Stan Getz, Clark Terry and Jimmy Giuffre and released numerous albums as a bandleader. Brookmeyer is regarded as one of the most important jazz composers and arrangers of the 20th century, who was a pioneer in the development of both big band jazz and orchestral jazz.