Ray Brown

This two-fer reissue combines two live albums released by the Ray Brown Trio in the 1980s, The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio, featuring pianist Gene Harris and drummer Mickey Roker along with bassist Brown, recorded at the Blue Note nightclub in New York in November and December 1985, and Bam Bam Bam, with the trio consisting of Brown, Harris, and drummer Jeff Hamilton, cut in December 1988 at the 2,000-seat Kan-i Hoken Hall in Toyko. Harris, whom Brown had lured from obscurity and retirement in Idaho, was something of the bassist's protégé during this period, so it is not surprising that Brown actually takes a back seat on much of the music here, allowing Harris to be showcased.

This two-fer reissue combines two live albums released by the Ray Brown Trio in the 1980s, The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio, featuring pianist Gene Harris and drummer Mickey Roker along with bassist Brown, recorded at the Blue Note nightclub in New York in November and December 1985, and Bam Bam Bam, with the trio consisting of Brown, Harris, and drummer Jeff Hamilton, cut in December 1988 at the 2,000-seat Kan-i Hoken Hall in Toyko. Harris, whom Brown had lured from obscurity and retirement in Idaho, was something of the bassist's protégé during this period, so it is not surprising that Brown actually takes a back seat on much of the music here, allowing Harris to be showcased.

"Ray Brown with the All-Star Big Band" is a 1962 album by the jazz double bassist Ray Brown accompanied by a big band featuring the alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley.
"Ray Brown / Milt Jackson" is an album by bassist Ray Brown and vibraphonist Milt Jackson recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve label.

Verve's Ultimate series unveils a new concept in the hackneyed concept of greatest-hits collections: Instead of compilation producers, these albums feature tracks selected by figures who either worked with or were influenced by the artists themselves. The results are much more than your average best-of compilations; they're closer to treatises on the immense influence that those artists exerted on generations to come, documenting exactly why they were special and deserve to be remembered. The Ultimate Ray Brown volume was compiled by Christian McBride, who concentrates on two of the greatest albums in Brown's discography: 1956's Bass Hit! (four tracks) and the Milt Jackson collaboration Much in Common (seven tracks)…

As a follow-up to bassist Ray Brown’s previous record in which he collaborated with several of his favorite pianists, Some of My Best Friends Are…The Sax Players features six major saxophonists (tenors Joe Lovano, Ralph Moore, Joshua Redman and Stanley Turrentine plus altoists Benny Carter and Jesse Davis) on two songs apiece with his regular trio. Although more than 60 years separate the ageless Carter from Redman, each of the saxes originally developed their own voice in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. Highlights of the colorful set include Benny Carter’s playful rendition of “Love Walked In,” Moore’s cooking solo on “Crazeology” (a Benny Harris bop classic which the record mistakenly lists as written by Bud Freeman), Davis ripping through “Moose the Mooche” and Turrentine’s romp on the blues “Port of Rico.”