The Beginning and the End

Artist: Clifford Brown
Label: Sony
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 074646649121
EAN: 0074646649121
ASIN: B000002ATP

Release Date: 1994-08-23

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Tracks:

I Come From Jamaica
Ida Red
Walkin'
Night In Tunisia
Donna Lee

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Customer Reviews:

Short But Sweet...Brown Was A Great One.........2005-12-12

The man's life was cut short and this CD is also short (34 minutes) yet is a dynamic collection of music showcasing his earliest days and then his final days captured as a full circle testament on this excellent release.
Showcasing tracks from 1952 and 1956..from the earliest days with the r&b (Jamaican cuts here)band of Chris Powell to the jazz masterpieces he cut 1n 1956 with this fine Philly based band Brown's trumpet is masterful and gorgeous.
Their treatment of Charlie Parker's Donna Lee, Dizzy's, Night In Tunisia and the popular Walkin' makes this a real wonderful CD eager to make you go listen to his output with Blue Note,Verve and Emarcy,Prestige when he cut tremendously important and geourgeous music with the likes of Sarah Vaughn,Sonny Rollins,Max Roach,Harold Land,Zoot Simms just some of the company of notables..a shooting star he was..

Absolutely incredible playing from a jazz master.......2004-09-04

The first Clifford Brown record I ever heard was his 1953 Blue Note version of "Cherokee," and it totally overwhelmed me. This, however, was the first complete Brown album I bought, and though the two early tracks are interesting it is the 1956 session that pulls us in. Especially in "Night in Tunisia," the by-then standard Dizzy Gillespie tune, Brownie's improvisations are so breathtaking, so well-sculpted and musically secure, that one is left breathless by his powers of invention. Unfortunately, saxist Ziggy Vine is just an OK improvisor, certainly not on the level of a Sonny Rollins, and so once Brownie is done playing there's a bit of a letdown when Vine comes in. Nevertheless, this is highly recommended to any serious student of jazz as how to improvise in a way that is both logically structured and exciting. Wynton Marsalis, take note!

Clifford Brown as we all remember him........2003-10-01

Clifford's first and last performances make up this album. It only makes one think what Clifford would have done had he lived. He was improving so much, and had taken the trumpet world by storm. Today, there are few trumpet players who can even hold a candle to Clifford's greatness. It was fun to hear Clifford in the Reggae/R&B band because you can tell there is something there in his solos. He sounds intense, almost as if he was a great, uncovered secret at the time. "I Come From Jamaica" reminds me a bit of a tune Rafael Mendez played called "Bo Bo Baila". These are amusing songs. Clifford's last performance, a guest showing, features the tunes "Walkin'", "A Night In Tunisia" and "Donna Lee". Clifford solos brilliantly on all of them, especially "Night In Tunisia", where he plays one of the greatest recorded solos I've ever heard. On "Donna Lee" he goes absolutely nuts and they play the tune with such speed and precision, proving why Clifford is the man. "Walkin'" is simply a warm-up, everyone sounds great but it's less intense than the following performances. This shows what a great night out could be back in the 1950's. The painful irony is the end where Clifford says he "must go now and it's been a pleasure being here". Truly an ominous omen. Clifford was a tragic loss for the music world, and this last performance is a wonderful thing to remember him by.

Terrific, but a correction.......2002-12-27

The commercial reggae-Jamaican music is an interesting curiosity, and shows how even the greatest geniuses had to scuff in their early years. The closing music is wonderful (though Clifford's companions obviously don't match up to the personnel of the incredible Rollins-Roach Quintet of the EmArcy years, with the drummer here particularly monotonous), but one serious correction: recent research has shown this session is NOT the last session Clifford participated in at Music Inn in Philadelphia before his fatal car crash. It was done a year earlier in New York. After his death, some opportunist started hawking this tape as "his last hours" and it stuck...

Losing Clifford was such a tragedy; a trumpet genius........2002-09-07

Clifford was not only a great voice on the instrument but he was a very special person as well. He didn't mess around with drugs like most jazz musicians of the 1950's and he did so much in the five-six years he spent making records before the tragic car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in summer of 1956. To make matters worse, Clifford wasn't even driving the car. He was a beautiful person, and all of this comes out in his playing. The heart, virtuosic trumpet lines, smooth vibrato, it's all here. This recording features the first and last recorded performances of Clifford Brown. "Ida Red" and "I Come From Jamaica" are just typical big-band reggae-flavored tunes but Clifford's breathtaking solos on these tracks brighten them, almost as if they are bringing out a little bit of sunshine into an otherwise forgettable session. The last recorded performance of Clifford includes him playing with a small group including Ziggy Vines on tenor saxophone, Sam Dockery on piano and a couple other local cats. Clifford blazes on "A Night In Tunisia", probably one of if not the best recording of the tune ever made. His solo is amazing and full of beautiful lines. Listen to this track and you will already know why Clifford was considered one of the best even at such a young age. On "Walkin'" it's classic Clifford again just jammin' with the group and he exhibits some cool licks here too. "Donna Lee" is played at a speedy pace and Clifford comes clearly throughout, sounding as strong and soulful as ever on this Charlie Parker tune. Listen to his last words at the end, which are sadly prophetic. "You've made me feel so wonderful, but I really must go now". This is a great example of Clifford's impeccable technique and great improvisation abilities. A must for any jazz fan.

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