Clifford Brown

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Clifford Brown (born October 30, 1930 in Wilmington , Delaware , † June 26, 1956 in Bedford , Pennsylvania ) was an American jazz trumpeter .

Life

Brown received his first trumpet lessons from his father and from 1945 played in the school band of his high school. From 1948 he attended the Delaware State College. At the same time he began to play in the jazz clubs of Philadelphia , where he made the acquaintance of well-known musicians of the bebop scene such as Kenny Dorham , Max Roach , JJ Johnson , Benny Golson and Fats Navarro . Navarro recognized Clifford Brown's great talent and encouraged him to become a musician. In 1949 Brown moved to Maryland State College, which was known for its good music department, but continued to play occasionally in jazz clubs. It was only Dizzy Gillespie who motivated him to devote himself entirely to jazz. In 1952, Brown recorded his first record with the rhythm and blues formation by Chris Powell. Engagements with Lou Donaldson and Tadd Dameron followed . In 1953 he was hired by Lionel Hampton and accompanied him on his European tour in the same year. During this time, numerous important recordings were made in Stockholm and Paris with a wide variety of line- ups. In 1954 he won the renowned competition of the jazz magazine Down Beat . Together with Max Roach, he founded a formation that quickly established itself as one of the best hard bop formations, the Brown Roach Quintet. In 1956, Clifford Brown was killed in a car accident on the way to an appearance. With him died the pianist Richie Powell and his wife Nancy, who drove the car.

meaning

Clifford Brown is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz talents of his time. His tragic, early death at the age of 25 abruptly ended his promising development. His lively style and warm tone made him distinctive. He is remembered as a sensitive companion of the singers Helen Merrill and Sarah Vaughan (album Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown 1954). The recordings made between 1952 and 1954 document an unusual maturity of the young musician, who played a decisive role in shaping the style of hard bop. Benny Golson composed the jazz track I Remember Clifford in his honor .

Appreciations

“The death of 'Brownies' was the greatest shock the jazz community had experienced since the death of Charlie 'Bird' Parker a year earlier, it was even felt to be even more senseless, tragic, and through no fault of one's own. […] [Clifford Brown] had managed to become the bop trumpet idol thanks to its technical brilliance, its appealing sound and its melodic inventiveness. More than that: the artist, who always went to work in a systematic manner, who neither drank nor took drugs, was not only stylistically, but also in his way of life the harbinger and role model of a younger, more disciplined, healthier generation. "

- Marcus A. Woelfle , 2005

Discographic notes

List of his most famous compositions

  • Joy Spring
  • Daahoud
  • Bones for Jones
  • George's dilemma
  • Gerkin for Perkin
  • Sandu
  • Swingin '
  • Tiny capers
  • Brownie Speaks
  • LaRue
  • Blues walk
  • All weird
  • Goofin 'with me
  • Clifford's Ax
  • I should have told you goodbye
  • I'm the one
  • Jumpin 'the blues
  • Long as You're Living
  • The Best Thing for You Is Me
  • Two Hearts That Pass in the Night
  • When We're Alone

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Markus A. Woelfle: Clifford Brown . In: Peter Niklas Wilson (ed.): Jazz classics . 2 volumes. Reclam (RUB), Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-15-030030-4 , Vol. 2, pp. 521-527, here 521.
personal data
SURNAME Brown, Clifford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Wilmington , Delaware
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1956
Place of death Bedford , Pennsylvania