James "Buster" Brown (1913-2002) was an American tap dancer active from the 1930's to 2000. Brown started his career in African-American dance circuits while still in high school and went on to perform internationally, accompanying acts like Duke Ellington and dancing with Savion Glover. Having appeared in numerous films and documentaries, including Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club, he has been described as an inventor of the tap dance art form and one of the most prominent figures in the world of tap dance.