This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Maybe it’s because most of the big-name pop and rock acts are hibernating. Maybe it’s because I spent the last month swinging to the Rat Pack Christmas album. Or maybe it’s just because they both start with the letters J and A. Whatever. All I know is I always seem to listen to a lot of jazz in January. Looks like this year is no exception — thanks mainly to a cornucopia of cool titles that landed in stores before the holidays. At least four respected labels — Blue Note, ECM, Impulse and Verve — have impressive and affordable new retrospectives or reissues on the racks right now. Even if you don’t know be-bop from doo-wop, I suggest you give one or two a try. Here’s a little primer to help you get into the swing on Clifford Brown:
WHO: Short-lived bop trumpet supernova Brown’s monumental talent and potential weren’t the only qualities that made him an anomaly in the jazz world — he was also a university math whiz who didn’t touch drugs.
WHEN: Sadly, Brownie’s career was over almost before it started; just four years after he made his recording debut in 1952, he was dead in a car crash.
WHAT YOU GET: A baker’s dozen gems from his all-too-brief catalogue, including a brace of 1954 performances with drummers Art Blakey (a blistering Wee Dot) and Max Roach (a zippy I Get a Kick Out of You) that showcase Brownie’s joyful, lyrical style.
WHERE HE FITS IN: At the top of the list of jazz’s unluckiest figures.
