Search - Clifford Brown :: Beginning & The End

Absolutely incredible playing from a jazz master

madamemusico | Cincinnati, Ohio USA | 09/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first Clifford Brown record I ever heard was his 1953 Blue Note version of "Cherokee," and it totally overwhelmed me. This, however, was the first complete Brown album I bought, and though the two early tracks are interesting it is the 1956 session that pulls us in. Especially in "Night in Tunisia," the by-then standard Dizzy Gillespie tune, Brownie's improvisations are so breathtaking, so well-sculpted and musically secure, that one is left breathless by his powers of invention. Unfortunately, saxist Ziggy Vine is just an OK improvisor, certainly not on the level of a Sonny Rollins, and so once Brownie is done playing there's a bit of a letdown when Vine comes in. Nevertheless, this is highly recommended to any serious student of jazz as how to improvise in a way that is both logically structured and exciting. Wynton Marsalis, take note!"

Short But Sweet...Brown Was A Great One..

Original Mixed Up-Kid | New York United States | 12/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The man's life was cut short and this CD is also short (34 minutes) yet is a dynamic collection of music showcasing his earliest days and then his final days captured as a full circle testament on this excellent release.

Showcasing tracks from 1952 and 1956..from the earliest days with the r&b (Jamaican cuts here)band of Chris Powell to the jazz masterpieces he cut 1n 1956 with this fine Philly based band Brown's trumpet is masterful and gorgeous.

Their treatment of Charlie Parker's Donna Lee, Dizzy's, Night In Tunisia and the popular Walkin' makes this a real wonderful CD eager to make you go listen to his output with Blue Note,Verve and Emarcy,Prestige when he cut tremendously important and geourgeous music with the likes of Sarah Vaughn,Sonny Rollins,Max Roach,Harold Land,Zoot Simms just some of the company of notables..a shooting star he was.."