James Tim Brymn

Who was James Tim Brymn?

James "Tim" Brymn, was born in Kinston, North Carolina on October 5, 1881 and died in New York City on October 3, 1946. He was a black conductor, arranger, composer, and pianist who generally performed in the northeastern hot style jazz.

In 1905, Brymn wrote five songs that were used in the Smart Set shows. They were "Morning Noon and Night", "O-San", "Powhatana", "Travel On", and "Darktown Grenadiers". Later in his musical career, he was a musical director for James Reese Europe's Clef Club and the broadway show Liza, and also led orchestras at Ziegfeld's Roof Garden and Reisenweber's Jardin de Dance.

He studied at Christian Institute and Shaw University and received his musical education at the National Conservatory of Music. By 1920, Tim Brymn had a 70 piece orchestra, called The Black Devils aka The Overseas Jazz Sensation.

Tim Brymn and his Black Devil Orchestra were an all African-American 70 piece musical unit that represented the 350th Field Artillery Regiment during World War I. Tim Brymn's band was described at the time as "a military symphony engaged in a battle of jazz."