Search - Clifford Brown, Max Roach Quintet :: Last Concert

Clifford Brown Lives

Robert Kay Jr. | 11/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a 2 CD set which contains "live" recordings of Brownie about a week before his tragic car wreck, which also took the life of Richie Powell and his new wife. Together with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins and George Morrow, they were "The Quintet"... Most, or all of this stuff was on reel to reel tape in the trunk of his car, along with the "Bee Hive" recordings, and the recent "Cotton Club" release on CD. Anyway, I've had about 2 months now to digest "The Last Concert", and I must say, this CD is a must have for anyone remotely interested in Clifford Brown. In fact, the first cut on the first disc, "Just one of those things" ranks right up there with "Donna Lee". In some ways, it's even better... "What do you say, let's hear it for Clifford Brown"."

THE FINAL CLIFFORD BROWN/MAX ROACH QUINTET LIVE RECORDING,

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 08/06/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Three HISTORIC Stars, overall. Five Stars for the audible performances of the quintets and the Newport '55 Jam Session 'all stars', all of whom were clearly on fire, but the overall quality of sound is subpar. The first CD (plus the first track of disc 2) is the final live performance of the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet with Sonny Rollins on tenor sax, Richie Powell on piano, and George Morrow on bass in 1956, one week before 25 year old trumpet genius Clifford Brown's untimely death with Powell and Powell's wife Nancy in an auto accident. The sound has both noise and that across-the-club 'mike-ing' that turns Max Roach's cymbals into wind chimes, masks Powell's comping and makes Morrow's bass line muddy. Disc 2, track 2 & beyond, however, contains the bonus tracks of the Brown-Roach Quintet with Harold Land on tenor sax at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival with greatly improved sound dynamics ("Daahoud" is very good), and finally on disc 2, a bonus "Tea for Two" Newport Jam session that is actually the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond, joined by Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, with Clifford Brown coming in when 'fours' are traded. The sound here is also better than disc 1 but barely passable. Once again, 'RLR' (Rare Live Recordings) has pulled out all of the audio stops to save this 'lost' recording for the fans, but the buyer should be aware of the sound shortcomings. Recommended for 'Brown/Roach-ophiles' and historical jazz collectors only. For me, it's a 'keeper' anyway, mainly for (besides some heavyweight Rollins, Brown, Powell, and Roach solos) one envelope-pushing, almost technically-impossible run by Clifford Brown on "You Go To My Head" on disc 1 that exemplifies his huge loss to the jazz world which is still felt. Three Stars, overall!! (2 Audio CDs with excellent liner notes: Disc 1-62:48; Disc 2-65:41)

(Trivia: at one point, Max Roach introduces each member of the group, then lastly says "And I am Zutty Singleton" to wild laughter. And make no mistake about it, Bud Powell's brother Richie Powell was a rising star in his own right & also a great jazz loss. Two great stars who left the bandstand far too early. I don't think this is one of the self-recorded performances that Clifford Brown made using his own tape recorder because the mike is so far away, but he might have recorded from the side of the stage because of bandstand limitations.)"