Memorial Album
Encyclopedia
Memorial Album is an album by American jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown
composed of tracks recorded at two sessions in 1953 and originally released on the Blue Note
label in 1956. Apart from a few obscure recordings, the album represents the first tracks recorded under Brown's leadership.
The 2001 RVG Edition of the album features a re-organized track listing and a new, astounding remastering at 24-bit resolution. The first six tracks on said edition were originally released as Lou Donaldson/Clifford Brown - New Faces-New Sounds (BLP 5030), whilst tracks #10-15 were released with the title New Star on the Horizon (BLP 5032), issued in 1954. Also featured here are several alternate takes originally released as Alternate Takes in the U.S. and More Memorable Tracks in Japan as bonus tracks. Ultimately, Van Gelder points out in the CD booklet that "the original LP mixed various sessions in incomplete form", whilst the CD reissue "presents the music of each session as it was recorded and in complete form."
The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album 4 stars stating "Recorded in 1953, the material on this 18-track CD isn't quite as essential as some of Brown's work with drummer Max Roach
in 1954 and 1955, but is still superb... Casual listeners would be better off starting out with some of Brown's recordings with Max Roach; nonetheless, seasoned fans will find that this CD is a treasure chest".
Original 12" LP (1956, BLP 1526)
New Star on the Horizon 10" LP (1954, BLP 5032)
Tracks 10-18
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
composed of tracks recorded at two sessions in 1953 and originally released on the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label in 1956. Apart from a few obscure recordings, the album represents the first tracks recorded under Brown's leadership.
The 2001 RVG Edition of the album features a re-organized track listing and a new, astounding remastering at 24-bit resolution. The first six tracks on said edition were originally released as Lou Donaldson/Clifford Brown - New Faces-New Sounds (BLP 5030), whilst tracks #10-15 were released with the title New Star on the Horizon (BLP 5032), issued in 1954. Also featured here are several alternate takes originally released as Alternate Takes in the U.S. and More Memorable Tracks in Japan as bonus tracks. Ultimately, Van Gelder points out in the CD booklet that "the original LP mixed various sessions in incomplete form", whilst the CD reissue "presents the music of each session as it was recorded and in complete form."
Reception
Blue Note collaborator Bob Blumenthal called the compilation an early chapter "in the tragically brief legacy of one of the greatest musicians in jazz history. They helped introduce trumpeter Clifford Brown to the world, contributed to his meteoric rise to prominence, and set an incredibly high standard for debut recordings that successive generations have found difficult to match."The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album 4 stars stating "Recorded in 1953, the material on this 18-track CD isn't quite as essential as some of Brown's work with drummer Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
in 1954 and 1955, but is still superb... Casual listeners would be better off starting out with some of Brown's recordings with Max Roach; nonetheless, seasoned fans will find that this CD is a treasure chest".
Track listing
2001 CD reissue- "Bellarosa" (Elmo HopeElmo HopeSt. Elmo Sylvester Hope was an American jazz pianist, performing chiefly in the bop and hard bop genres. His highly individual piano-playing and, especially, his compositions have led a few enthusiasts and critics such as David Rosenthal to place him alongside his contemporaries Bud Powell and...
) - 4:14 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Carvin' the Rock" (Hope, Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
) - 3:56 - "Cookin'" (Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
) - 3:14 - "Brownie Speaks" (Brown) - 3:46
- "De-Dah" (Hope) - 4:51
- "You Go to My HeadYou Go to My Head"You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. The song is a unique conjunction of a sophisticated lyric and complex, lush harmonic structure by two songwriters who were not generally known for such elegance; nevertheless the song is highly...
" (J. Fred CootsJ. Fred CootsJohn Frederick Coots was an American songwriter. He wrote over 700 songs.He is most famous for the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", a song that became one of the biggest best sellers in American music history....
, Haven GillespieHaven GillespieJames Lamont "Haven" Gillespie was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as well as "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Breezin' Along With The Breeze", "Right or Wrong," "Beautiful Love",...
) - 4:19 - "Carvin' the Rock" [Alternate Take #1] - 3:51 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Cookin'" [Alternate Take] - 3:08 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Carvin' the Rock" [Alternate Take 2] - 4:05 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Wail Bait" (Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
) - 4:02 - "Hymn of the Orient" (Gigi GryceGigi GryceGigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...
) - 4:07 - "Brownie Eyes" (Jones) - 3:56 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Cherokee" (Ray NobleRay NobleRay Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
) - 3:27 - "Easy LivingEasy Living (song)"Easy Living" is a jazz standard written by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin for the film Easy Living directed by Mitchell Leisen.The song has been recorded by many jazz performers including Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Anita O'Day, and Miles Davis...
" (Ralph RaingerRalph RaingerRalph Rainger was an American composer of popular music principally for films.-Biography:Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, Rainger embarked on a legal career before escaping to Broadway where he became Clifton Webb's accompanist...
, Leo RobinLeo RobinLeo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
) - 3:44 - "Minor Mood" (Brown) - 4:34
- "Wail Bait" [Alternate Take] - 4:07 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Cherokee" [Alternate Take] - 3:42 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Hymn of the Orient" [Alternate Take] - 4:01 Bonus track on CD reissue
Original 12" LP (1956, BLP 1526)
- "Hymn of the Orient"
- "Easy Living"
- "Minor Mood"
- "Cherokee"
- "Wail Bait"
- "Brownie Speaks"
- "De-Dah"
- "Cookin'"
- "You Go to My Head"
- "Carving the Rock"
New Star on the Horizon 10" LP (1954, BLP 5032)
- "Cherokee"
- "Easy Living"
- "Wail Bait"
- "Minor Mood"
- "Hymn of the Orient"
- "Brownie Eyes"
Personnel
Tracks 1-9- Clifford BrownClifford BrownClifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- alto saxophone - Elmo HopeElmo HopeSt. Elmo Sylvester Hope was an American jazz pianist, performing chiefly in the bop and hard bop genres. His highly individual piano-playing and, especially, his compositions have led a few enthusiasts and critics such as David Rosenthal to place him alongside his contemporaries Bud Powell and...
- piano - Percy HeathPercy HeathPercy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother to tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Philly Joe JonesPhilly Joe JonesJoseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
- drums
Tracks 10-18
- Clifford Brown - trumpet
- John LewisJohn Lewis (pianist)John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
- piano - Gigi GryceGigi GryceGigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Charlie RouseCharlie RouseCharlie Rouse was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by the collaboration for more than ten years with Thelonious Monk.- Biography :...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Percy Heath - bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
- drums