Clifford Browne
Brownie Eyes
Well I made another trip to the used record store, this time to actually sell records (it was the first time I remember ever selling records, but I'm running out of room, and it doesn't make any sense to hang onto stuff that I'll never listen to). Well, the sales piece was disappointing--they would only buy 11 of the 40 or so records, and only got $3.00 each of store credit for them, which stung a bit since I'd bought about half of them at the same shop for 4x that just a few weeks ago. But I digress...
So, determined to be more selective in my purchases, I debated picking this up for $8 since it is a reissue from a label I didn't recognize. It had great liner notes, however, so I thought it was worth a shot. Anyway, I'm glad I did. Great music, well recorded and pressed.
Glad I took a chance, as I won't need to worry about selling this one back--it will get quite a bit of play from me.
Art Blakey Drums
Clifford Brown Composer, Primary Artist, Trumpet
Lou Donaldson Sax (Alto)
Gigi Gryce Composer, Flute, Sax (Alto)
Percy Heath Bass
Elmo Hope Composer, Piano
Philly Joe Jones Drums
Quincy Jones Composer
Ted Koehler Composer
John Lewis Piano
Ray Noble Composer
Ralph Rainger Composer
Leo Robin Composer
Charlie Rouse Sax (Tenor)
Track List:
A1 Hymn Of The Orient
A2 Easy Living
A3 Cherokee (Indian Love Song)
A4 Wail Bait
A5 Brownie Speaks
B1 Brownie Eyes
B2 Bella Rosa
B3 Get Happy
B4 De-Dah
AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow:
The great trumpeter Clifford Brown is heard in several settings on this LP, all of whose titles have since been reissued in a box set by Mosaic. The songs find Brown with a quintet featuring altoist Lou Donaldson and pianist Elmo Hope ("De-Dah" and "Brownie Speaks" are the most memorable). There is an alternate take of "Get Happy" with a sextet headed by trombonist J.J. Johnson, and the remaining five titles have Brown teamed in a sextet with altoist Gigi Gryce and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. Of the latter, "Easy Living" and "Cherokee" are classics. Although superseded by later reissues, this set has more than its share of superb music.