Ted Brown - Shades of Brown

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:04
Size: 151,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:54)  1. After You've Gone
(5:48)  2. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(6:19)  3. Almost Like Being in Love
(6:31)  4. She's Funny That Way
(5:29)  5. Limehouse Blues
(5:00)  6. How Deep is the ocean
(4:36)  7. This can't be Love
(6:28)  8. Cherokee
(4:39)  9. Embraceable You
(5:31) 10. The Song is You
(4:46) 11. You go to my Head
(5:58) 12. I Found a new baby

Although nearing his 80th birthday by the time this early-2007 session was issued near the end of the same year, tenor saxophonist Ted Brown hasn't recorded extensively as a leader. A onetime student of Lennie Tristano, he mastered the pianist's intricate reworkings of standards, though he eventually returned to a more straight-ahead approach to his instrument, becoming a descendant of Lester Young's playing style. With support from guitarist Steve Lamattina (making one of his first appearances on a widely distributed jazz CD) and veteran bassist Dennis Irwin, Brown possesses a light tone and consistently swings in these cool performances, with the rhythm section also playing at a low volume level, making for a relaxing date. Yet, Brown is very much his own man and not a "repeating pencil" trying to re-create Young's work, much like Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and other cool-toned saxophonists who paid their dues during the 1950s. There isn't a piece on the session that's less than a half-century old, but Brown and his mates make each of them sound fresh. "Cherokee," "This Can't Be Love," and "You Go to My Head" are just a few of the highlights of this rewarding CD.

By Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/shades-of-brown-mw0000585361

Personnel: Ted Brown (tenor sax);  Dennis Irwin (bass);  Steve Lamattina (guitar)

Shades of Brown

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Bill Evans & Lee Konitz - Play The Arrangements Of Jimmy Giuffre

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:29
Size: 172,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. Palo Alto
(5:02)  2. When Your Lover Has Gone
(9:50)  3. Cork'n' Bib
(4:29)  4. Somp'm Outa' Nothin'
(3:36)  5. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:55)  6. Uncharted
(3:59)  7. Moonlight In Vermont
(5:08)  8. The Song Is You
(1:58)  9. Darn That Dream
(4:48) 10. Ev'rything I've Got (Belongs To You)
(4:19) 11. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:00) 12. I Didn't Know About You
(3:57) 13. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(4:11) 14. You're Driving Me Crazy
(4:08) 15. You're Clear Out Of This World
(3:39) 16. The More I See You
(4:12) 17. You Are Too Beautiful

Merged from two brilliant 1959 studio sessions, this disc is, just as the title and artist credits suggest, a showcase for three immense talents. Those expecting to hear the snap-crackle of Roy Haynes' snare or Bob Brookmeyer's punctuated counterpoints after reading the all-star lineup may be surprised to hear them relegated to the background, but any disappointment will end there. The brilliant playing of Konitz and Evans, paired with Jimmy Giuffre's sensitive arrangements, is enough to satisfy any true jazz lover. Assembled for the album Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre, the first band, a quintet of saxophones backed by the rhythmic underpinnings of Evans, bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Ronnie Free, immediately shows its musicality on the angular, quasi-atonal "Palo Alto. After a rundown of the pointillistic Giuffre arrangement, Konitz jumps in and alternately toys with and floats over the buoyantly swinging rhythm section and airy horn backgrounds. Konitz and Evans solo at length on "Somp'm Outa' Nothin', which can only be described as a blues that has a hard time getting off the "one" chord. The arrangement is quintessential Guiffre, with its dense tone clusters and recurring rhythmic pedal; Evans takes incredible liberties with the harmonic structure and shows an early affinity for Monk. Following a chamber-jazz reworking of "Darn That Dream, in which Giuffre masterfully exploits the subtle harmonic movements using a quintet of saxophones, the album is rounded out with a number of tracks from the '59 album You And Lee. Recorded five months after the initial Konitz/Giuffre studio session, this date finds a trio of trumpets and trombones replacing the saxophone section and adding a distinct edge to the music. Konitz is clearly the leader here; his probing, inventive solos are featured throughout the lineup of reworked standards, and the comping work is split by Evans' piano and the earthy guitar of Jim Hall. The tunes, especially "You Don't Know What Love Is, show Konitz at his best. He dazzles the listener with his sensitivity and invention and revels in the shimmering, transparent beauty evoked by Giuffre's arrangements. ~ Matthew Miller https://www.allaboutjazz.com/play-the-arrangements-of-jimmy-giuffre-bill-evans-lone-hill-jazz-review-by-matthew-miller.php?width=1920

Personnel: Band 1: Lee Konitz, Hal McKusick: alto saxophone; Ted Brown, Warne Marsh: tenor saxophone; Jimmy Giuffre: baritone saxophone/arrangements; Bill Evans: piano; Buddy Clark: bass; Ronnie Free: drums.

Band 2: Marky Markowitz, Ernie Royal, Phil Sunkel: trumpet; Eddie Bert, Billy Byers; trombone; Bob Brookmeyer: valve trombone; Lee Konitz: alto saxophone; Bill Evans; piano; Sonny Dallas: bass; Roy Haynes: drums; Jimmy Giuffre: arranger, conductor.

Play The Arrangements Of Jimmy Giuffre

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Kirk Knuffke & Ted Brown - Pound Cake

Styles: Cornet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:30
Size: 141,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Arrive
(5:38)  2. Jazz Of Two Cities
(7:24)  3. Pound Cake
(5:35)  4. Feather Bed
(5:53)  5. Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You
(5:53)  6. Slippin' & Slidin'
(7:37)  7. Swivel
(7:08)  8. Lennies
(5:27)  9. Dig It
(5:35) 10. Blimey

It seems that cornetist Kirk Knuffke, in addition to his many more adventurous projects, has made it his personal mission to document a good deal of the jazz tradition as well, through an ongoing set of recordings with SteepleChase.  (See the reviews on this site of his “tribute” discs with Jesse Stacken: his Mingus record, Orange Was the Color, and his Like a Tree, which includes compositions by Carla Bley, Ornette Coleman, and Misha Mengelberg.  Although unlike those other discs this one includes some originals, some of the standout tracks are the jazz standards, which include Lester Young’s “Pound Cake” and Don Redman’s “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good to You.”  Considered collectively, these albums aren’t destined to become Free Jazz Blog classics, as they’re considerably more mainstream than the majority of recordings we review. Nevertheless, they’re still quite compelling in their own right, as Knuffke manages to infuse them with enough energy and creativity to avoid having them become staid repertory exercises.

It helps that he has such talented bandmates: in this case, his senior partner Ted Brown, a longtime “cool”-styled tenor saxophonist who has recorded with Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz; bassist John Hébert; and drummer Matt Wilson, like Knuffke also a veteran of both outside and inside recording sessions.  Each offers his distinctive voice as an essential part of the collective whole.  Brown has a restrained yet self-assured tone, and his studied explorations of these tunes, including a number of his own originals, are consistently interesting.  Hébert can generate a nice swinging bass line when he needs to, but he’s also able to open things up a bit, using more space in his playing to give the others room to work.  Wilson is right there with him in this regard, as he can provide some punch when it’s called for, but he is typically willing to limit himself to occasional light snare and cymbal accents so as not to overwhelm the proceedings, especially on the quieter tracks. For his part, Knuffke shows himself to be a virtuosic presence, ranging from impressive flurries of notes (particularly on the title track) to more careful, measured passages that are more subtle and spare.  While his technique is remarkable, he always manages to put it in the service of the music as a whole, and he’s particularly sensitive when joining in with Brown, as the two engage in some thoughtful interaction on a few of the tracks a great example being “Swivel,” one of the two Knuffke compositions on the record, in which the two horns intertwine nicely during the last third of the tune. Every now and then it’s good to hear a well-played mainstream record that does justice to the ongoing vitality of the jazz tradition, and this certainly qualifies.  I’m not at all sure how Knuffke manages to find time for all his varied projects, but this is a worthy one. ~ Troy Dostert http://www.freejazzblog.org/2013/11/kirk-knuffke-and-ted-brown-pound-cake.html

Personnel:  Kirk Knuffke – Cornet;  Ted Brown - Tenor Saxophone;  John Hebert – Bass;  Matt Wilson - Drums

Pound Cake

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Lee Konitz, Ted Brown - Dig-it

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:47
Size: 166,7 MB
Art: Front

( 8:31)  1. Smog Eyes
( 8:05)  2. Dig-it
( 7:11)  3. 317E. 32nd Street
( 7:15)  4. Dream Stepper
( 4:37)  5. Down The Drain
( 9:41)  6. Hi Beck
( 9:07)  7. Feather Bed
( 6:46)  8. Kary's Trance
(11:30)  9. Subconcious Lee

Lee Konitz and Ted Brown have lived many lives since they played together as students and sidemen of pianist Lennie Tristano more than fifty years ago. Konitz started with Claude Thornhill’s Orchestra before working with Gil Evans and Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool Nonet. His familiar alto saxophone was featured in what many say was the first recorded free improvisational music. While working in somewhat obscurity, Konitz has managed to record hundreds of records on mostly minor labels. Ted Brown did one better, dropping out of jazz to find a day gig. Both men have made a return to jazz, Brown at the encouragement of his students and Konitz on several critically acclaimed releases notably Alone Together with Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau. This reunion in a pianoless quartet is all about their mentor, Lennie Tristano. His music (their music) of the 1940/50’s paralleled bebop, but in a complex multi-layered way. Tristano was said to have instructed the two to play “...deliberately uninflected, in a neutral tone, concentrating instead on the solo.” 

This style, reflected on this release, is anything but unemotional. Konitz and Brown’s cool tones create a delicate internal tension that is and was a bridge between Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman. Can we have more? ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dig-it-lee-konitz-steeplechase-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php
 

Personnel: Lee Konitz – Saxophone;  Ted Brown – Saxophone;  Rufus Reid – Bass;  Joe Chambers - Drums; Albert Dailey – Piano.

Dig-it

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Ted Brown, Jimmy Raney - Good Company

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:05
Size: 151.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Blimey
[3:12] 2. We'll Be Together Again
[6:36] 3. Lost And Found
[4:33] 4. Sir Felix
[6:56] 5. Instant Blue
[4:45] 6. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[6:08] 7. People Will Say We're In Love
[6:20] 8. Lost And Found
[6:25] 9. We'll Be Together Again
[5:05] 10. Blimey
[4:31] 11. Sir Felix
[6:46] 12. People Will Say We're In Love

Ted Brown (Ts); Jimmy Raney (G); Hod O'Brien (P); Buster Williams (B); Ben Riley (D). Recorded December 23, 1985 in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA by Rudy Van Gelder.

Tenor saxophonist Ted Brown studied with, and belonged to the coterie of like-thinking players around Lennie Tristano. He recorded with Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz and recorded under his own name with Warne Marsh and Art Pepper as sidemen. Here, after an eight year recording hiatus, in the company of legendary bebop-guitar-great Jimmy Raney and an all star rhythm section with pianist Hod O'Brien, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Ben Riley. This rare session from 1985, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Recording Studio, has 5 alternate takes, and was never released as CD before.

Good Company

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