Chicago native Oscar Brown Jr. worked as a writer and performer for more than half a century-starting at age 15, when he joined the cast of the radio series Secret City. He was also a key player in Richard Durham's Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days series from 1948 to 1950. And his musical explorations included sharing the bill with such greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Nancy Wilson, and Cannonball Adderly.