Four Classic Albums Brown and Roach Inc. / Jam Session / Study in Brown / New Star on the Horizon

I am not going to review each album in this value-priced set, but will, instead, give a brief overview of the contents of the two CDs and link to the albums which are included.Other reviews, both on this page and the ones for each album, have done a superb job of describing the music so I am not going to bore you by repeating what they said so well.Disc 1: first seven tracks are the 1954 album  Brown And Roach  (full title: Brown and Roach Incorporated). Personnel on this album are Clifford Brown (trumpet); Max Roach (drums); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Richie Powell (piano); George Morrow (bass).The remainder of Disc 1 (tracks 8-10) and track 1 of disc 2  Jam Session  recorded in Hollywood, CA in Oct 14 1954. The entire ensemble consists of the core Brown-Roach group consisting of Clifford on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, Richie Powell on piano, George Morrow on bass and Harold Land on tenor. Other musicians in the jam included Herb Geller on alto Junior Mance on piano and Keter Betts on bass. Fellow trumpeters Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry also sat in, and Dihah Washington handled vocals. Study In Brown  is on disc 2, tracks 2-10. It was recorded on February 23-25 1955 and released later that year. Personnel on this album are Clifford Brown (trumpet); Max Roach (drums); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Richie Powell (piano); George Morrow (bass).The final tracks on disc 2 (11-16) are from New Star on the Horizon which is a subset of  Memorial Album (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) . As far as I know, New Star on the Horizon - released in 1954 - has long been out of print. The personnel on these tracks are: Clifford Brown (trumpet), John Lewis (piano), Gigi Gryce, (alto saxophone and flute), Charlie Rouse(tenor saxophone), Percy Heath (bass) and Art Blakey (drums).If you visit the pages of the individual albums to which I have linked and tally their individual prices you will see that this set is a genuine bargain. Some other recommendations for the Clifford Brown fan include  A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1 (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition)  and  A Night At Birdland, Vol. 2 (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) , both of which feature Clifford with Art Blakey on drums, Lou Donaldson on alto, Horace Silver on piano and Curly Russel on bass.

I Love it! Clifford Brown and Max Roach are truly the most gifted and talented of musicians. I thoroughly enjoy listen to these four classic albums because they truly capture the gift of jazz music and the essence of each musician performing and soloing. I appreciate the prompt and professional service rendered by the seller. I am well pleased with this purchase!

Clifford Brown was with us for such a short time many of us don't get around to listening to him. Well, that works out just fine, you can purchase this set and get a real good picture of this great trumpeter's work. The liner notes are included which really enhances this set. It's no wonder that aspiring trumpeters listened to his playing. This is the perfect addition to your jazz collection.

The music is outstanding. However, on Avid Records the sounds in thin and tinny, especially when compare to any Verve CDs.

What a gem. Get it and sit back.He was one of the best, and we are reminded of his greatness with this well-priced and excellent sounding two disc collection

This was a gift for my son, a jazz trumpet master-in-training. Recommended to him by his college professor. He absolutely digs it.

Excellent+++++

I enjoy Clifford Brown's playing and this album.

Most jazz fans know that one of the greatest trumpeters of all time was cruelly taken from us in a car accident (along with pianist Richie Powell) when he (Clifford Brown) was a mere twenty five year old. Thus the number of recordings that features Brownie are limited, and certainly three of the four albums here are outstanding records, in two senses of the word: as an historical record, and as a lasting record of his fine skills, both technically and as a jazz musician.There are two albums recorded with Max Roach (d) with whom he co-led a group. These are: "Brown and Roach inc"(1954) and "Study In Brown" (1955). Both albums also feature Richie Powell (p; the younger brother of Bud) and George Morrow (b).The third significant albumis "New star On The Horizon" (1953) featuring Gigi Gryce, Charlie Rouse, John Lewis, Percy Heath and Art Blakey in addition to CB.For me, the least significant of the albums and that doesn't necessarily imply lower quality, is the fourth album "Jam Session" from 1954 that features Brownie, Maynard Ferguson, Clark Terry (all tpt), Harold Land, Herb Geller (sax), Richie Powell, Junior Mance (p), Keter Betts (b), Max Roach (d) and a vocal from Dinah Washington.The music is mostly well known "standards".There are adverse comments about the sound quality, but I have none. As usual with these excellent Avid value for money releases there is an informative booklet included. Without doubt FIVE STARS.

These compilations by AVID Jazz are a boon for those like myself who have many LPs that have been played too often and are never used now. I have been able to replace many albums from the 50s and 60s by buying the AVID re-releases and the Clifford Brown Four Classic Albums is another excellent example. Some of the tracks are short, under 3 minutes in one case but others are as long as 15 minutes, giving the artists ample time to expand on a theme. More than half a century ago I was a fan of Gigi Gryce and Clifford Brown so there was a lot or me to enjoy on this album. Overall I probably preferred the live recordings of the Jam Session.

The sound quality of Avid album collection I find to be first class and very competitively priced. I wish they would find a better way of packaging the double CD - the hinged panel is easily broken but at the budget price I am not complaining.

Wonderful and unique trumpeter

Brownie was already perfect when he died. After 60 years this music is still in many ways the Last Word of tonal jazz.