Track Listing

1. Delilah
2. Parisian Thoroughfare
3. Daahoud
4. Joy Spring
5. Jordu
6. Blues Walk, The
7. What Am I Here For?
8. These Foolish Things
9. Blues Walk (alternative take), The
10. Daahoud (alternative take)
11. Joy Spring (alternative take)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10061 in Music
• Brand: Max
• Released on: 2000-02-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Many a young musician has been sabotaged by his own considerable abilities. So caught up are they in technical execution that they give elements such as emotion and taste short shrift. Trumpeter Clifford Brown was a musical dynamo, a man who was capable of playing many instruments well and who possessed supreme natural instincts and boundless energy. Brown painstakingly practiced and perfected his technique, but when practice time gave way to playing time--there was no other time for him--Brown's command was so deeply ingrained that he was free to concentrate on those other elements: emotion and taste. This reissue of the 1954 recorded debut of the Brown-Roach quintet stands as one of the most exciting works in all of jazz, and it plays as if the ensemble knew it at the time. Brown's trumpet work is fiery, confident, and nimble, tempered slightly by Miles Davis's lyricism; his tone is bright and bold, but the icing on the cake is the joy and tenderness that surface. Drummer Max Roach was already a bop veteran when he formed this groundbreaking hard-bop band and he prances like a dancer throughout. Harold Land's grounded, relaxed, grainy tenor is the perfect yin to Brown's yang. Brown emerges here as the crucial link between Dizzy Gillespie and basically all hot trumpeters to follow, even though he was not yet 24 when he made these recordings. Among the four extra cuts on this remastered reissue are alternate versions of "Daahoud" and "Joy Spring," two Brown compositions that have become hard-bop cornerstones. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Truly a masterpiece from a most underrated artist in jazz
With Miles Davis succeeding so well in the 1950's and "out performing" any other trumpeter in that decade some forget about some of the other fine brilliant trumpets that were in the shadows, I'm sorry to say, of Miles Davis. Some of these trumpeters included Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, and of course Clifford Brown. A big influence to many brilliant trumpeters such as Lee Morgan, who actually modeled his sound after Clifford Brown, Clifford Brown had a new sound, a bold screamin' sound that was essential to the movement into the more "modern" jazz at that point. In this album he is joined by one of the finest hard core drummers of the time, Max Roach, Harold Land, another truly outspoken artist, on tenor, George Morrow on bass and Richie Powell on piano. Every single cut on this album are just true jewels. This is a must for any one unfamiliar with Clifford Brown.

Should be bought more often!
On the Amazon list of recordings of Clifford Brown this is far below where it should be. To my mind it was, all in all, the most gratifying album he ever made. All the excitement that this group was capable of producing is best heard here, and in a great variety of truly excellent "tunes'. "Jordu", for example, is an absolute classic; a really wonderful melody in its own right, with astounding solos to match. So are "Joy Spring", "Parisian Thoroughfare" , and "Daahoud" - in fact, there is not a single disappointing track here, anywhere. This record was perhaps the one that brought Brown to true international fame, and it has lasted down the years with undimished splendour and brilliant, yet moving force. Brown's inventiveness was extraordinary, and combined with an ability to produce a greater emotional range than Dizzy Gillespie, whose skill and virtuosity he seems to match while nevertheless having his own very individual voice and having, to my mind, ultimately more to say. Had Brown lived beyond age 25 he would no doubt have been the greatest trumpeter besides Miles Davis. It is hard to compare the greatnesses of these two: Davis is on the whole the introvert and minimalist, while Brown states what he has to say more explicitly. Emotionally and artistically, both seem to me equally good, and those who so far have only got Miles Davis in their collection, as their favourite trumpet player for, say, the fifties and sixties, should certainly hurry to buy this recording. And I need to state that the performance of this particular ensemble is one of the great reasons for Brown's success on this album. Max Roach was, of course, one of the greatest of all drummers, at any time, and his interaction with Brown is absolutely superb. There is no uncontrolled egotism on either side, but wonderful support. Harold Land is not as great a genius as Brown - few are - but nevertheless a very, very good tenor who complements him beautifully. The piano and bass, while less exciting, are nevertheless fine, and fit into the total picture very well indeed. A truly excellent record, which continues to satisfy whenever you play it - indeed astonishes with its excellence. I would give it 6 stars if I could. You would never regret owning this CD. - Joost Daalder

About as good as it gets
The playing, song selection and, thanks to the fantastic 24 bit remastering job, the recording quality is about as good as it gets. When you consider what the engineers must have started with on this 1954 recording what they have accomplished isn't much less than a miracle. Absolute state-of-the-art sound! This album joins a small number of lesser known masterpeices in the jazz field like Serge Challoff's Blue Serge and Chico Freeman's Spitit Sensitive at the very top of the heap.