Customer Reviews

The Definitive Clifford Brown

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Verve is the most shameless when it comes to issuing multiple anthologies by a single artist under titles such as "The Ultimate," "The Definitive," "The Best of." Since they have yet to release "The Best of the Best of," aside from purchasing all of the original albums a consumer has to make some tough choices (or assemble a personal favorite list compiled from downloaded mp3 files).

See my review of "The Ultimate Clifford Brown" for reasons to pick up that disc, compiled by trumpeter Nicholas Payton. There may be even more compelling reasons for selecting "The Definitive Clifford Brown." For one, it includes more tracks featuring the underrated Harold Land on tenor saxophone (a perfect complement to Clifford, practically "doubling" the sound of the trumpet). For another, it includes performances by Clifford of his two most famous compositions, "Joy Spring" and "Dahoud," as well as his spirited reading of "I'll Remember April." Unfortunately, the present album duplicates four of the tunes from the first collection and omits masterful Clifford solos such as those on "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Delilah," and "September Song" (an overlooked, muted-solo gem). And any collection that is truly "ultimate" or "definitive" would have to include his work on "Art Blakey Live at Birdland," not to mention his classic E flat blues riff, "Blues Walk," and his blazing solo on the Columbia recording of "Donna Lee."

Still, Clifford Brown may be the most non-controversial musician in the history of jazz, as admired for his lifestyle as his music and the favorite of most trumpet players I talk to. If you're new to him, "The Definitive" is probably the best place to start.

There's an old saying: "Whom the gods love, they take young." As soon as you hear the first few notes from Clifford's trumpet, you understand why the gods chose to snatch him away from us. For those just getting to know Clifford Brown, this compilation makes an excellent introduction. It contains a generous amount of material drawn from all the major works of his brief life, has good sound quality, and is reasonably priced. There's no need to go into a detailed analysis of the tracks--the music speaks for itself. Enjoy and be amazed.

Once upon a time, there was music. Of all Clifford Brown compilations this was is indeed the best. It highlites the superb moments of his musical career almost in chronological order. The last two songs are from the basin street recordings with Sonny Rollins by his side who was a member of this great band until it ended with the death of Brown. Clifford Browns amazing musical perception and his idealistic phrases on trumpet are original and technically unbelievable. Its true music if I ever heard it. I've studied just about every trumpeter out there, and Clifford Brown is the one I call the best student, and executer of the jazz music we put at the late bebop to mid hardbop period. A great moment indeed.

EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT COMPILATION CD OF THE MUSIC OF CLIFFORD BROWN. MOST OF THE SONGS WERE FROM THE BRILLIANT COLLABORATIVE COMPOSITIONS HE DID WITH MAX ROACH (AND THE VERY UNDER-RATED HAROLD LAND ON TENOR SAX), BUT THERE ARE OTHER GEMS HERE AS WELL, INCLUDING A GREAT BAND WITH ART BLAKEY, LOU DONALDSON AND HORACE SILVER, AND VOCALS FEATURING SARAH VAUGHN AND DINAH WASHINGTON. BUT THE MAIN THING HERE IS THE OUTSTANDING TRUMPET PLAYING BY CLIFFORD BROWN, ONE OF THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST TRUMPET PLAYERS EVER, WHETHER HE'S PLAYING HARD BOP OR A BEAUTIFUL BALLAD. THE FIRST TIME I HEARD HIM I KNEW I WAS HEARING SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL, AND I STILL FEEL THAT SAME WAY EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO HIM NOW. WHAT A TALENT. THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT I FOUND ON THIS "DEFINITIVE" COLLECTION IS THE OMISSION OF THE THEME SONG FROM THE MOVIE "LAURA", PLAYED BEAUTIFULLY BY CLIFFORD BROWN.