Customer Reviews

Ultimate Clifford Brown

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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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.

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.

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.

For the price, these Verve "Ultimate" CD's are pretty sweet. In the case of this album, it's probably the best place for someone to start who wants to get familiar with Clifford and learn why he's such a titan. Clifford could do it both on ballads ("Stardust" and "Memories of You" are from the essential "with strings" album) or tear it up on the faster tracks ("Gertrude's Bounce," which always sounded to me like a great undiscovered Christmas song!). Additionally, you get him backing up Sarah on "September Song" and his definitive treatment of "I Get a Kick," which features one of the most jaw-dropping drum solos in history from the one and only Max Roach. Seriously, if you want to get to know jazz or just get to know Clifford Brown, you can't go wrong with this collection.

Nicholas Payton, one of the jazz stars of the newer generation, has selected his 11 favorite Clifford Brown Verve sides to make 'The Essential Clifford Brown.' Yes, this is a superb release, featuring top-notch musicians such as Max Roach, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.

But I can't give this five stars. There are tons of Clifford Brown collections out there. If you're a new Brownie fan, than buy 'The Best of Clifford Brown: The Blue Note Years' as your first pick. Once you're used to hearing his Blue Note sides, pick up this one. This is definitely the perfect next-step.

Finally, I advise you (if you can) to look for his early 1950s Paris sides that he recorded. Those are getting rarer and rarer, but if you can find them, trust me, buy them.

But this is a great release. 'Gretrude's Bounce,' 'I Get A Kick Out Of You,' featuring Dinah Washington on vocals and somewhat of a jam session and 'Cherokee' are both featured here.

Overall, this is a good compilation, and the music is five stars all the way. But, unfortunately, I can't rank this as a five star record. It's a solid release, nonetheless, and Payton did a great job picking songs.

Recommended for any Clifford Brown fan, but take my advice and start with his Blue Note years.