Ray Ray Brown

Norman Granz is one of the most important non-musicians in the history of Jazz and no one has made a greater contribution to the staging, recording and filming of Jazz concerts. This series of performances from the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival now makes a part of this legacy available on DVD for the first time.Milt Jackson is recognized as one of the finest vibraphone players ever to grace a Jazz stage, whether with the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet of collaborating with other great musicians.

This album is certain to be placed in the MJQ section of any shop that carries it. In reality though, only four of the cuts here feature the permanent, stand-alone, 1952-vintage Modern Jazz Quartet; the other eight having been done in the summer and fall of 1951, when they were still known as the Milt Jackson Quartet, with Jackson providing all of the original material. The differences are so subtle as to be indistinguishable – Milt Jackson and John Lewis are on every cut, while Al Johns subs for Kenny Clarke on drums, and Ray Brown precedes Percy Heath on four of the tracks. Clarke's drumming is more impressive in its quiet way, but Ray Brown's bass work is simpler and more forceful.

This set from the 1974 Concord Jazz Festival (which has been reissued on CD) is a follow-up to the studio record Soft Shoe and uses similar personnel: guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, drummer Jake Hanna, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson and, in a rare straight-ahead outing, pianist George Duke. Each of the musicians has their chance to be featured; Ellis and Brown play a duet version of "Detour Ahead," and Edison is quite lyrical on "Mood Indigo." This is a bright, swinging set that helped to launch the Concord label.

Alice Cooper takes over Halloween with a sensational concert featuring show stopping performances. Cooper has specially selected three of the UK's most dangerous performers to appear with him on stage. Their bizarre acts will feature guillotines, electric chairs, blood special effects and fire-eaters…

This set features the great Sarah Vaughan in a typically spontaneous Norman Granz production for Pablo with pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louie Bellson. Sassy sounds wonderful stretching out on such songs as "Midnight Sun," "More Than You Know," "Teach Me Tonight," and "Body and Soul," among others. All ten of the melodies are veteran standards that she knew backwards but still greeted with enthusiasm. A very good example of late-period Sarah Vaughan.