Search - Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride :: Super Bass

Fretful

My Uncle Stu | Boston | 12/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"


I love the bass, the instrument and the sound itself. And I'm a fan of all three bassists here, though particularly Ray Brown. I grabbed this CD the second I heard of it. I left it unlistened to for a while, enjoying the anticipation. It pains me to say this, but when I actually listened to it, I just wasn't crazy about it. Guess what the problem was. Right, too much bass. Three bass players and nothing on top, it just doesn't work that well. It works better as a concept and a conversation piece than as something I actually want to listen to. I like having it in my collection, but I've never felt the desire to listen to it a second time. After ten or fifteen minutes of listening to three bass virtuosos solo, I would have killed to hear just about anyone on a sax cut in with a high register screech, clear out some of those hollow overtones. Oh well.



It's not terrible. I did like Blue Monk and Brown Funk the best, enjoyed Mack The Knife too. Maybe for a bass player it would be a more interesting experiment. It just didn't quite work for me. I recommend Ray Brown's "Live from New York to Tokyo," a great live double album featuring two different versions of his trio from two different eras, and some of the installments of "Some Of My Best Friends Are..." series are great as well. Also check out "Live at the Blue Note," with Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson. You see? You put the bass on the bottom end to compliment some great musicians in the upper registers.



"

Great For Bassists

Rachel | Illinois, USA | 04/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While I adore this CD, and think that all bassists should listen to it at least once, it's decidedly not the CD for the rest of the jazz world -- it's all bass. But it's very good, and very acoustic. And if you like bass, you will love it. :)"

One of the best JAZZ cds I own...And I own alot.

J.C. | United States | 06/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The bass is usually not a lead instrument, usually it is in the back with the dishawashers. But here, you will find this is exactly why this performance is simply astounding. It is one of the best jazz performances I own, and it for someone new to Jazz this would be a great way to get a flavor for Jazz as an art. Ray Brown is king no doubt, John Clayton is a force to be reckoned as Ray's protege.



This is a must have, for beginner to jazz expert."