Jazz Classic ‘Clifford Brown & Max Roach’ Coming Back To Vinyl
The early Verve title is being reissued through the label’s Acoustic Sound Series.
In the summer of 1954 and the winter of 1955, the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet came together at Capitol Studios in Hollywood to record a landmark jazz LP. More than 70 years later, Clifford Brown & Max Roach is coming back to vinyl via Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series. The record is up for pre-order now and set for release in November.
In 2000, The New York Times hailed the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet as “perhaps the definitive bop group until Mr. Brown’s fatal automobile accident in 1956.” Meanwhile, The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz notes that the quintet “left behind a body of music that encapsulates all the best virtues of hard bop,” best exemplified on these seven tracks.
Clifford Brown & Max Roach shows off the band at the peak of its powers. Brown’s trumpet and Roach’s drums each get plenty of spotlight moments, and together they exhibit a telepathic connection with bandmates Harold Land (tenor saxophone), Richie Powell (piano), and George Morrow (bass). Per All Music Guide, the album “represents bop at its best and is recommended for collectors and casual fans alike.”
Originally released as a five-track album on 10-inch vinyl in December 1954, Clifford Brown & Max Roach was expanded to the 12-inch format the following year with the addition of “The Blues Walk” and “What Am I Here For.” The album is highlighted by the Brown-penned standard “Joy Spring,” widely recognized as one of his crowning achievements.
The Acoustic Sounds Series has been giving some of Verve’s greatest releases the fresh spotlight they deserve. This year the series, which features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging, has relaunched titles from Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Diana Krall, and many more.
