CLIFFORD BROWN

THE LIFE AND ART OF THE LEGENDARY JAZZ TRUMPETER

by Nick Catalano ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2000

Clifford Brown's premature death deprived jazz of one of its greatest trumpeters—a loss that seems even more poignant some

forty years later. Born in 1930, in Wilmington, Delaware, Brown began playing in school bands and informal dance groups in his early teens. Encouraged by his parents and teachers, he practiced constantly and soon became a local star. An important influence was Fats Navarro, a brilliant bebop trumpeter whose life was cut short by heroin use. Taking warning from Navarro's fate, Brown became a model for clean living among his generation of jazzmen, and was noted for his amiable disposition. His playing blossomed as he gigged and jammed with top players in the jazz clubs of Philadelphia. After a series of record dates as sideman, and a European tour with Lionel Hampton's band, he returned to the US in 1954 and formed a seminal quintet with drummer Max Roach. In the two years before Brown and pianist Richie Powell died in a car crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, that group made a strong impact on jazz listeners. Unfortunately, Catalano (Performing Arts/Pace Univ.), assuming his readers are intimately familiar with Brown's music, relies primarily on verbal descriptions of his solos, providing only two passages of written music. A few of his other judgments are even more questionable. He takes several gratuitous potshots at Miles Davis, overlooking the possibility that even had Brown survived, he might never have rivaled the later success of the charismatic Davis. Nor did Brown's death send jazz into a tailspin, as Catalano implies; the music remained strong for nearly a decade before rock drove it from popular awareness. Still, the author’s enthusiastic and well-researched summary of Brown's career should send jazz buffs back to their record collections for serious listening.

A worthy project diminished by Catalano’s impressionistic approach and special pleading.

Pub Date: March 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-19-510083-2

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION