An aunt of Jimi Hendrix and the mother of recording artist Henri Brown, Pearl Brown is a bluesy, gospel-influenced jazz singer/actress who lives in Vancouver. Brown, whose main influences include Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, was a late bloomer as far as professional jazz singing goes. She started acting in the late '40s and played the character of Lena in a Vancouver production of "Raisin in the Sun", but Brown was 60 when, in the 1980s, she finally performed live as a jazz vocalist. From time to time, Brown has invited trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to join her on stage during his visits to British Columbia — first in 1985, then in 1991. It was in 1999 that West Wind (a German label) released Goin' Down Home, a collection of mostly live performances that Brown and Marsalis co-led. — Alex Henderson (All Music Guide)