Ray Brown

Bassist Ray Brown, pianist Benny Green, and drummer Jeff Hamilton make for a perfect team on their Telarc CD. The tight yet swinging arrangements are full of subtle surprises and serve as a perfect format for the players, particularly Green. Highlights include Thad Jones' "Don't Get Sassy," Oscar Peterson's "Kelly's Blues," "Tanga," "Brown's New Blues," and a three-song Duke Ellington medley.

This CD (a straight reissue of the original LP) features a rather notable pianoless combo: vibraphonist Milt Jackson, guitarist Joe Pass, and bassist Ray Brown. These three masterful players recorded together in many settings during the Pablo years, but only this once as a trio. The colorful repertoire (which ranges from "The Pink Panther" and "Blue Bossa" to "Nuages" and "Come Sunday") acts as a device for the musicians to construct some brilliant bop-based solos.

Milt Jackson & Ray Brown - Montreux '77 (2003) {Pablo OJC20 375-2 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 390 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2003 Pablo Records / Fantasy / ZYX Music | OJC20 375-2 | 24bit remastered
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Vibes / Bass

This set from the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival was very much a spontaneous jam session. Flugelhornist Clark Terry, who happened to be in town early, was added to vibraphonist Milt Jackson's group at the last moment. When players the caliber of Terry, tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, pianist Monty Alexander, bassist Ray Brown, drummer Jimmie Smith and Jackson get together, one does not have to worry about the lack of rehearsal time. The sextet romps happily through Brown's "Slippery," "A Beautiful Friendship," "Mean to Me," "You Are My Sunshine," the CD's bonus cut "That's The Way It Is" and "C.M.J."; both Terry and Jackson have humorous vocals on the latter.

Although André Previn had not recorded a regular jazz album in 27 years at this point in time (discounting a pair of Itzhak Perlman sessions featuring Previn's compositions), the great majority of the performances on this trio set with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Ray Brown are first takes. Previn took time off from his busy schedule in the classical music world to return briefly to jazz, his first love. The results are often magical. Previn, Pass and Brown play together as if they had been touring as a group for years. The pianist is generous with solo space and Pass' solos are sometimes exhilarating. For Previn, it is as if the previous three decades did not occur for he plays in a style little changed from 1960, displaying an Oscar Peterson influence mixed in with touches of Lennie Tristano and Bill Evans.