Brooks Bowman was a Princeton undergraduate whose brief career produced an enduring jazz standard before his death at age 23. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1913, Bowman wrote songs for Princeton's Triangle Club theatrical revues despite having no formal musical training. His composition "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)," written at age 21 for the 1934-35 revue Stags at Bay, transformed from a collegiate piece into a jazz standard covered by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, and Diana Krall. The song's harmonic sophistication and lyrical warmth have made it a perennial favorite in the jazz repertoire. Bowman died in a car accident in 1937 near Garrison, New York, leaving behind a catalog of only five known compositions.
