''Clifford Brown & Max Roach'' is a 1954 album by influential
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
musicians
Clifford Brown and
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...
as part of the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet, described by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' as "perhaps the definitive bop group until Mr. Brown's fatal automobile accident in 1956". The album was critically well received and includes several notable tracks, including two that have since become jazz standards. The album was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
in 1999. It is included in ''Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings'', where it is described by ''New York Times'' jazz critic Ben Ratliff as "one of the strongest studio albums up to that time".
First released as a 10" vinyl in December 1954 (MG 26043), it included only five tracks: "Delilah", "Parisian Thoroughfare", "Daahoud", "Joy Spring" and "Jordu", all recorded at
Capitol Studios in Hollywood, in August 1954. In 1955, EmArcy released a 12" vinyl (MG-36036), adding "The Blues Walk" and "What Am I Here For", from a February 1955 session at Capitol Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Since then, it has been reissued multiple times, including in 2000 as part of the
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
Master Edition series with a replica of the original LP sleeve, new liner notes, and containing three alternative takes and one previously unissued track.
History
The album is one of several that resulted from the partnership between Roach and Brown after Roach invited Brown in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to join him in creating a band. Brown and Roach together selected additional musicians to comprise the quintet from among the jazz musicians currently active in
Hollywood. The band's early line-ups included
Sonny Stitt,
Teddy Edwards
Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and the ...
,
Carl Perkins and
George Bledsoe, but by the time the first of these sessions was recorded in August 1954, they had been replaced by the more long-term line-up of
George Morrow,
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffo ...
and
Richie Powell
Richard Powell (September 5, 1931 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was not assisted in his musical development by Bud, his older and better known brother, but both played predominantly in the bebop style. ...
, the brother of jazz luminary
Bud Powell. The band was prominent in the jazz scene; Land, brought in when predecessor Edwards declined to tour with the group, experienced an enormous increase in his reputation in the jazz world, while Land's successor (
Sonny Rollins) would be springboarded by the visible position into superstardom.
Critical reception
The album was critically well received. ''The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz'' ranks it as among the best of the short-lived quintet, which in its 2½ years of existence "left behind a body of music that encapsulates all the best virtues of hard bop".
"The numerous felicities of this tightly-knit working band", author Barry Dean Kernfeld wrote, "were seldom better displayed than in these dynamic performances". In its review,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
describes it as "by far some of the warmest and most sincere bebop performed and committed to tape", indicating that "
represents bop at its best and is recommended for collectors and casual fans alike".
Notable tracks
According to ''
The Rough Guide to Jazz'', two of the songs featured on this album, "Daahoud" and "Joy Spring", have become "part of the standard jazz repertoire".
The song "Joy Spring" was composed by Brown in honor of his wife, whom he called his "joy spring". She had been introduced to him by Roach as a student working to prove in her thesis that jazz was inferior to her field of
classical music, a thesis Brown convinced her was mistaken. Ratliff describes these two songs, along with the tracks "Parisian Thoroughfare" and "Jordu" as "four of Brown's great performances".
The first version of “Joy Spring” was recorded in August 1954 on the band's first album “Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet”. The melody of this piece has a joyous, life-affirming feel. Tenor saxophonist
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffo ...
takes the first solo and sets a bright, friendly tone that sustains throughout Clifford's and pianist
Richie Powell
Richard Powell (September 5, 1931 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was not assisted in his musical development by Bud, his older and better known brother, but both played predominantly in the bebop style. ...
’s solos. Clifford’s clarion sound and magnificent articulation is evident in the first two bars of this (or any, for that matter) solo. Both horns dig in as they trade fours with Max Roach who then executes a remarkably melodic drum solo as only he could.
Also notable is the album's version of the
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor.
Biography
Young is commonly said to ...
theme song for the
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
film ''
Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah are Biblical
figures.
Samson and Delilah may also refer to:
In music
* ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns
* ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown
* "Samson and Delilah" (t ...
'', which ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' columnist
Gary Giddins
Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a ...
selected as the outstanding jazz track for 1954, though he describes it as "the most unlikely of vehicles". In a 2006 interview with ''The New York Times'', jazz drummer
Paul Motian
Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties.
He first came to prominence in the ...
also singled out the song "Delilah" for reference, praising its organization and arrangement, declaring it "Simple, but great". ''The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz'' comments of the song that its "exotic mood" was "cleverly exploited", also noting that "
Brown's sweeping solo, the commentary supplied by Roach is worthy of special study, as he seemingly anticipates every nuance of his co-leader's lines".
Track listing
''Except where otherwise noted, songs composed by Clifford Brown.''
[Track list information for original album from Track list information for additional tracks as well as all composer and track length information from ]
# "Delilah" (
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor.
Biography
Young is commonly said to ...
) – 8:03
# "
Parisian Thoroughfare
"Parisian Thoroughfare," also known as "Parisienne Thorofare," is a jazz standard composed by pianist Bud Powell.
History
It was first recorded by Powell in February of 1951 for Clef Records. However, the first recording under its ultimate ti ...
" (
Bud Powell) – 7:16
# "The Blues Walk" – 6:53
# "Daahoud" – 4:01
# "
Joy Spring" – 6:48
# "
Jordu "Jordu" is a jazz standard written by Irving "Duke" Jordan in 1953. This song was first made popular by Clifford Brown and Max Roach, but many other jazz musicians have performed or recorded renditions of it, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, and C ...
" (
Duke Jordan
Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist.
Biography
Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...
) – 4:00
# "What Am I Here For?" (
Duke Ellington) – 3:04
Verve Master Edition CD bonus tracks
# "
These Foolish Things
"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...
" (
Harry Link
Harry Link (born John Harry Linkey, January 25, 1896, Philadelphia – July 5, 1956, New York City) was an American vaudeville actor and songwriter. He wrote and co-wrote several well-known jazz standards.
Career
Link studied at the Wharton S ...
,
Holt Marvell
Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.
Life and work
Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and desc ...
,
Jack Strachey) – 3:39
# "The Blues Walk" (alternative take) – 6:50
# "Daahoud" (alternative take) – 4:06
# "Joy Spring" (alternative take) – 6:44
Personnel
*
Clifford Brown –
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
*
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffo ...
–
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
*
Richie Powell
Richard Powell (September 5, 1931 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was not assisted in his musical development by Bud, his older and better known brother, but both played predominantly in the bebop style. ...
–
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
*
George Morrow –
bass
*
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...
–
drums
References
External links
Listing, with samplesat
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford Brown and Max Roach
Clifford Brown albums
Max Roach albums
Bebop albums
1954 albums
Albums produced by Bob Shad
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
EmArcy Records albums
Albums recorded at Capitol Studios