Ultimate Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: February 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000069NE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,950 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chosen by Nicholas Payton, June 11, 2000

By 

Edward Lewis "tigerlewis" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultimate Clifford Brown (Audio CD)

I love the concept behind Verve's "Ultimate" series. They've asked current, major musicians to compile "The Best of" recordings of historically famous players. For example, all of the tunes on this recording were chosen by Nicholas Payton. They've done such a good job of it that I'm trying to collect the entire "Ultimate" series.

I've listened to a lot of Clifford Brown. This is by far my favorite CD of all of them. It's got a few familiar tunes but it also has some which I had never hear Clifford play before - like his version of Star Dust. It's absolutely beautiful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Penultimate but essential, April 18, 2004

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultimate Clifford Brown (Audio CD)

I can think of no musician who's less controversial than Clifford Brown. In fact, he's probably the only musician about whom I've never heard a disparaging remark or even a statement of praise followed by a qualifier. If you're new to Clifford, this set is a good introduction but one that necessarily requires qualifiers. For one, you'll want to pick up a recording that has Clifford's own "Joy Spring." And of all of the versions of "I'll Remember April," Clifford's is the most memorable in my opinion (closely followed by Erroll Garner's spirited romp on "Concert by the Sea"). Also, there's no better demonstration of Clifford's sheer pyrotechnical capabilities than his definitive version of Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee." Finally, for many Clifford fans the most passionate and exhilarating Clifford Brown is to be found on Blue Note: "Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at Birdland, Vol. 1."

Verve's premise, that musicians are somehow more qualified to select the best work of their peers, assumes a degree of attentive and comprehensive research into the work of other musicians that frequently is not the case. The "Ultimate Bill Evans," for example, is downright disappointing, even accepting the "given" that much if not most of Evans' best work is not on Verve. Nicholas Payton, on the other hand, has obviously taken his assignment seriously and done an admirable job, including the material from the Brown-Ferguson-Terry session as well as the essential but easily overlooked muted solo on "September Song." The collection appears to be a genuine labor of love and is likely to promote similar feelings about this extraordinary musician within the newcomer to his music.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Study in Brown, May 26, 2008

By 

Nikica Gilic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Clifford Brown (Audio CD)

I'm hardly an expert in Clifford Brown, but I must say this is really a magnificent CD... Dexterous like Dizzy, warm and sentimental like Miles, this cat really blew some mean horn; it's such a shame he died so young (and not even from drugs, as opposed to Fats Navarro, whom he was allegedly influenced by)...

The quintets with Max Roach are brilliant, both with Sonny Rollins and Harold Land on tenor, and the rest of the compillation shows the variety of Clifford's mature expresiveness at such an early age...

The tracks with Sarah and Helen Merrill add greatly to the variety and richness of the cd.
Needless to say, I like it very much.