Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown

"I STARTED OUT in boogie woogie, went from there into big band jazz and I've just kept stepping on and on," says Gatemouth Brown. He's relaxing in the control room of Sun Studio in Memphis, working on his collaboration with Michelle Shocked. "I can take a blues and bend it around jazz charts. It's not hard to do – after 40 something years. I learned from a bunch of guys more experienced than I was at the time, and I've always strived to be an individual."