# Clifford Brown was the most brilliant trumpet player of his generation … Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2017/10/30/clifford-brown-was-the-most-brilliant-trumpet-player-of-his-generation-video/
- Published: 2017-10-30T00:32:19+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**30.10. – Happy Birthday !!! He was the most brilliant trumpet player of his generation,
an original and memorable composer, a dynamic stage presence and one of the authentic
legends of modern jazz.**

Clifford Brown was born October 30, 1930 in Wilmington, Delaware. As a young high
school student Brown began playing trumpet and within a very short time was active
in college and other youth bands. By his late teens he had attracted the favorable
attention of leading jazzmen, including fellow trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Miles
Davis and Fats Navarro.

At the end of the 40s he was studying music at Maryland University and in 1952, 
following recovery from a serious road accident, he made his first records with 
Chris Powell and Tadd Dameron. In the autumn of 1953 he was a member of the big 
band Lionel Hampton took to Europe. Liberally filled with precocious talent, this
band attracted considerable attention during its tour. Contrary to contractual stipulations,
many of the young musicians moonlighted on various recordings and Brown in particular
was singled out for such sessions. Back in the USA, Brown was fired along with most
of the rest of the band when Hampton learned of the records they had made. Brown
then joined Art Blakey and in mid- 1954 teamed up with Max Roach to form the Clifford
Brown- Max Roach Quintet. The quintet was quickly recognized as one of the outstanding
groups in contemporary jazz and Brown as a major trumpeter and composer.

At a time when many modern jazz trumpeters sought technical expertise at the expense
of tone, Brown, in common with his friend and paradigm, Navarro, had technique to
spare but also developed a rich, full and frequently beautiful tone. At the same
time, whether playing at scorching tempos or on languorous ballads, his range was
exhaustive. He was enormously and brilliantly inventive but his search for original
ideas was never executed at the expense of taste. In all his work, Brown displayed
the rare combination of supreme intelligence and great emotional depths. His playing
was only one aspect of his talent; he was also a fine composer, creating many works
that have become modern jazz standards. Although his career was brief, Brown’s influence
persisted for a while in the work of Lee Morgan and throughout succeeding decades
in that of Freddie Hubbard. Fortunately for jazz fans, Brown’s own work persists
in the form of his recordings, almost any of which can be safely recommended as 
outstanding examples of the very best of jazz. Indeed, all of his recordings with
Roach are classics.

During his remarkable three year run, Brown made more than a dozen albums among 
the ones on the EmArcy label are _Brown & Roach Inc_ (1954), _Study in Brown_ (1955),
_Clifford Brown With Strings_(1955), _A Study in Brown_(1955) _Clifford Brown All
Stars_ (1956), _Memorial Album_ (1956), _Clifford Brown & Max Roach at Basin St.
East_ (1956), and _Pure Genius_(1956) these are prime models of the art of jazz 
trumpet. There are many compilations available, as are box sets as the _Complete
Blue Note-Pacific Jazz_ (Mosaic) and the EmArcy 10 disc set _Brownie: The Complete
Clifford Brown._

Many of his compositions became standards, including the uptempo “Daahoud,” reflective“
Joy Spring”, and “Sandu.” His version of “Cherokee” though not his composition, 
is still considered the definitive one. Benny Golson did a memorable “I Remember
Clifford,” a moving tribute to the young trumpeter, and is a perennial jazz favorite.

Clifford Brown had established himself as the most potent trumpeter in jazz to arrive
on the scene since Dizzy Gillespie. Equally influenced (and encouraged) by Fats 
Navarro and Gillespie, Brown possessed both a remarkable technique for high-speed
playing, with every note perfectly placed and formed, and also a beautiful lyrical
ballad style. He developed an innate sense of solo form, a rich tone, and a virtuoso
technique in all trumpet ranges. His style included brilliant high notes, high rhythmic
detail, and a generous incorporation of grace notes and varied inflections, all 
of which he played with rare grace and ease. He was especially noted for the melodic
qualities of his improvising, which often flowed in long phrases. His impact and
influence on the jazz world is only matched by his artistry on the trumpet.

On June 26th, 1956, while driving between engagements during a nationwide tour, 
Brown and another quintet member, pianist Richie Powell, were killed in a road accident.
Clifford Brown was twenty five years old.

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