Customer Reviews

Ruby Braff and His New England Songhounds, Vol. 1

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Ruby Braff ... Scott Hamilton ... Dave McKenna. They were among the best of the current cornet, tenor sax and piano players when they recorded this a decade ago, and they remain among the best today. That's all you really need to know about this fine Concord CD, except that the tunes are as excellent as the musicians. It should be a part of any jazz collection.

Cited as "the greatst lyric cornetist working today," Ruby Braff teams up on this CD recorded on 4/30/91 with Scott Hamilton, Howard Alden, Dave McKenna, Frank Tate and Alan Dawson to produce an eminently listenable collection of twelve standards in a very smooth, mild jazz style. The selection of titles is well suited to the artist(s) and the renditions are superb. This CD stands near the top of my list of all time jazz favorites.

Of all of Ruby's LPs and CDs this and Volume Two show Ruby at his most relaxed and lyrical, with mature, full tone and amazing inventiveness (his unstoppable rolling notes often sound like a saxophone). That he is sided by Scott Hamilton on tenor, Howard Alden on guitar and Dave MeKenna on piano only adds to the joy. Ruby collectors should not miss this and Vol. Two.

The old song, "Love and Marriage," said it best: "You can't have one without the other." And you can't have this CD without owning Volume 1 of Ruby Braff's recordings with the New England Songhounds. If anything, Volume 2 is even better because it contains some songs left off the cassette version. Scott Hamilton and Dave McKenna join Braff in being as good or better than on the first volume.