Ray Brown: Some Of My Best Friends Are...The Trumpet Players (2000)

This is the fourth in a series of CDs that has had the great bassist hosting distinguished guests: singers, pianists, and saxophonists. Now it's time for six trumpeters, covering several generations, from the veteran Clark Terry to Nicholas Payton, 26 at the time of recording, but there's no incompatibility between their individual meetings with Brown's smoothly swinging, energetic trio. With pianist Geoff Keezer and new drummer Karriem Riggins, Brown's band at times suggests the Oscar Peterson trio (whose bassist was Brown).

As for the trumpeters, each gets two opportunities with the trio. Clark Terry is puckishly witty on "Itty Bitty Blues" and does a nice job of alternating muted trumpet and flugelhorn on "Clark's Tune." His muffled, personal sound is an effective contrast to generally brassy attacks, but Roy Hargrove, too, shows fitting restraint on his exposition of "Stairway to the Stars." No one's brassier than Jon Faddis, who even plays muted slow blues with unlikely force on "Bags' Groove," then swaggers in his upper register on "Original Jones." Hargrove and Payton acquit themselves admirably on the boppish "Our Delight" and "The Kicker," respectively. Terence Blanchard takes "Getting Sentimental over You" at an unlikely clip, showcasing the trio as well as his own sparkling chops. His concluding "Goodbye" may be the best ballad performance in a good assortment, though Payton's "Violets for Your Furs" is eloquent and moving.

There's a real surprise here in the lesser-known Australian, James Morrison. His brash sound on "I Thought About You" evokes memories of swing-era greats, while Morrison double-times and bounces around the horn with Dizzy-like abandon on Brown's otherwise subdued "When You Go." --Stuart Broomer

Tracklist:

1. Our Delight
2. Bag's Groove
3. I Thought About You
4. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
5. Violets For Your Furs
6. Itty Bitty Blues
7. Stairway To The Stars
8. Original Jones
9. When You Go
10. The Kicker
11. Clark's Tune (Legacy)
12. Goodbye

Personnel: Clark Terry, James Morrison, Jon Faddis, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Geoff Keezer (piano); Karriem Riggins (drums).

Some of My Best Friends Are the Trumpet Players

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