If you want to understand what a jazz trumpet is supposed to sound like, go no further than this essential 6 cd set of the halcyon days of Clifford Brown (1930-1956). Like way too many trumpeters, he died too young but his legacy is still felt today with trumpeters like Marquis Hill, Jeremy Pelt, Tom Harrell and Ambrose Akinmusire.
There are essentially 3 phases to Brown’s trajectory. The first are summed up with the “Sextet” and “Quartet” albums of the first disc. The latter has him in Paris with Gigi Gryce/as, Pier Michelot/b, and other Parisians for early boppers like “Minority” and “Baby”. The stripped down quartet shows a portend of things to come with wonderful horn work on “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” and “It Might As Well Be Spring”.
Clifford really starts hitting his stride in a 1954 jam session that includes all stars Maynard Ferguson/tp, Herb Geller/as ,Harold Land/ts and a vibrant Dinah Washington, who kills it on “Darn That Dream”. Brownie’s solo on It Might As Well Be Spring” is one for the records as well. An album with strings is possibly the best ever combo of the genre, with arrangements by Neal Hefti surrounding the mellifluous Brown on a haunting “Yesterdays” and glowing “Stardust”. A Desert Island Disc, if there ever was one.
Next up is the zenith of Brown, when he teams up with drummer Max Roach, pianist Richie Powell, bassist George Morrow and either Sonny Rollins or Harold Land on the tenor sax. This handful of albums define what modern jazz was supposed to sound like in the mid 1950s. Blues pieces like “Lands End”, driving and thriving boppers like “Cherokee” (with it’s clever ‘Indian’ intro by Roach) , and the propulsive “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, the moody “Delilah”, festive “Parisian Thoroughfare”, complete with traffic jam sounds, and originals that became classics such as “The Blues Walk”, “Daahoud” and “Joy Spring” are all here in their radiance. Let’s put it this way, if given a choice between listening to Miles Davis’ first “Classic” quintet with Coltrane, Jones, Chambers and Garland or these Brown-Roach bands, its not even close.
After his untimely death due to a car accident, a number of posthumous albums were released. Memorial collects earlier material of Brown with artists including Art Blakey-Philly Joe Jones/dr, Percy Heath/b, Elmo Hope/p, Charlie Rouse/ts, Gigi Gryce/as and others with some sparks flying on “Brownie Speaks” and “Cherokee”. The casual Jazz Immortal with LA cats Zoot Sims/ts, Shelly Manne/dr, Carson Smith/b and Russ Freeman/p deliver lithe takes of “Daahoud” and “Joy Spring”. If you start listening to this collection, you will not come out the same person, and may get so lost in this set that you never leave it. That is not a bad thing.