Jim Brown

Alto saxophonist Pete Brown has been showing up on Keynote and Savoy reissues for years, but seldom if ever has there been an entire package devoted to recordings made under his name. The Classics Chronological series has accomplished many impressive feats, but this disc deserves special attention. Brown brought excitement and sonic ballast to nearly every band he ever sat in with. His works with John Kirby and especially Frankie Newton are satisfying, but this CD contains the very heart of Brown's artistry. It opens with "Cannon Ball," a boogie-woogie from 1942 sung by Nora Lee King. This relatively rare Decca recording features Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Hamilton, and Sammy Price, the pianist with whom Brown would make outstanding music a bit further on down the road. Similarly rare and even more captivating are two extended jams recorded in Chicago in April of 1944. Brown's quartet on this date consisted of electrically amplified guitarist Jim Daddy Walker, bassist John Levy, and drummer Eddie Nicholson.

Following the success of Jim Ed Brown's biggest solo hit, "Morning," in 1970, he entered the Top 15 again a few months later with "Angel's Sunday," which brandishes a surprising vocal rhythm as a hook. Brown's albums are usually good, but Angel's Sunday is a little better than average thanks to the strong material and predominantly female background vocals, which re-create in spots the sound of his former trio, the Browns…

She's Leavin' is from Jim Ed Brown's solo period between the end of the Browns and the beginning of his successful partnership with Helen Cornelius…