Ruby Braff, probably the best cornettist in jazz, turned 71 in March, but signs of aging haven't affected his distinctive sound. Braff had the misfortune to come to attention in an era when every horn player was supposed to sound like Dizzy Gillespie or Clifford Brown.
Braff's warm but rough tones are most comfortable in a surrounding of swing. He's a master of the genre and continues to produce recordings that are illustrative of the best aspects of jazz in the '30s and '40s. His latest CD will be reviewed in an upcoming column. This time out, I want to pay attention to his 1997 release, "Being With You,"(Arbors ARCD 19163) a brilliant salute to his distinguished predecessor, the incomparable Louis Armstrong.
Surrounded by a stellar collection of players, Braff demonstrates for the umpteenth time that he has the cornet nailed. The backing musicians are some of the best working in the swing genre, including Dan Barrett on trombone, Scott Robinson on baritone and clarinetist, Jerry Jerome on tenor, Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, the masterful Johnny Varro at the piano, the legendary Bob Haggart on bass and great timekeeper Jim Gwin sitting at the drums. Joe Wilder plays fluegelhorn on "Royal Garden Blues."
The CD includes some of Satchmo's most identifiable songs, all given a unique reading by Braff and band. The tunes include "I Never Knew," "Little One" (with Braff doing a nice vocal), "Keepin, Out of Mischief Now," "If I Could Be with You," "Twelfth Street Rag," and Armstrong's signature, "When It's Sleepy Time Down South."
As the authors of "The Rough Guide to Jazz" put it, "Braff remains the most artistic trumpeter/cornettist to emerge since Louis Armstrong, who represented everything that Braff respects in music: honesty, lyricism, strength, sound, and the kind of polished-jewel creations that Braff has called `the adoration of the melody.'"
On the liner notes for this album, Braff observes that when he's playing cornet, "I'm really thinking of a cello or something else. I'm drawn to strings, and I think a lot of tenor saxophonists such as Ben Webster and Lester Young."
Despite his 50 years in music, Braff remains a relative unknown, but certainly not because of his talents, which are immense. But being a swing man in a "modern" era undoubtedly has kept him from achieving the renown that should be his by default. "Being With You" is a great collection, worth adding to the shelves of any discerning listener.
NAT'S LITTLE BROTHER
Lionel Frederick Cole, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole's five children, was born in 1931, twelve years after the Coles greeted Nat, whose career became one of the most successful in the pop music genre of the '40s and '50s.
Although recording since 1952, Freddy Cole has remained relatively obscure until the past few years, when deserved recognition finally began to arrive.
His fifth release for the Fantasy label, "Love Makes the Changes" (Fantasy FCD 9681) is an excellent showcase for a singer who long has been a dependable performer. With a style in which one will hear echoes of brother Nat, Freddy has carved out a niche of his own, one that continues to attract new fans. This album should reach a wider audience that he's achieved in the past.
Cole made a modest splash a few years ago appearing as guest vocalist on Grover Washington Jr.'s excellent "All My Tomorrows." Washington joins in on two tracks of Cole's new album. As Washington says, "Every time you think you have Freddy Cole figured out, he reaches over and finds another way to touch your heart."
Others on the disc include such famous jazz players as pianist Cedar Walton (whose economical style is simply magnificent), George Mraz on bass, Ben Riley on the drums, along with other brand-name musicians such as Will Lee, Kenny Washington, David Williams, and Eric Alexander.
The title song, a catchy love song that Cole makes his own, opens the program of 10 tunes that are off the beaten path, save for Billy Joel's perennial, "Just the Way You Are." I particularly liked Cole's work on the gorgeous "A Sinner Kissed an Angel."
Freddy Cole is more than Nat "King" Cole's little brother. He's a great singer in his own right.
WOODY'S WONDER GUYS
Of all the big bands I ever saw live in concert, Woody Herman's rules the roost. My first encounter came during the early 1950s. I was just out of high school and traveled to Charleston, W.Va. to catch a concert that featured Herman's Third Herd, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frankie Laine, if memory serves. I do recall the price of a ticket. It was $3.50. Ah, how times have changed and prices have soared!
My next visit with the Herman band came in the early '60s, when Herman had just created the Fourth Herd and brought his band to Eden Park, in Cincinnati, for a free concert. Afterwards I managed to corner Nat Pierce, Herman's pianist for that tour, and babbled about how much I enjoyed his work.
There were a couple of other encounters over the years. My old vinyl collection included several Herman gems. His be bop masterpiece, "Lemon Drop," was one of the records that so captured me that I became a major fan of jazz while still in high school.
Herman died eleven years ago this October. But his music remains influential and the library of jazz masterpieces he left behind should continue to entertain jazz lovers well into the new millennium.
At 3:30 a.m. on July 6, 1974, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Herd appeared on stage for a two-hour set that kept avid fans enthralled and remained one of the most memorable events in Montreux history. That special event has been captured on the new release, "Woody Herman Herd at Montreux" (Fantasy OJCCD 991-2).
Although only 35 minutes in length, the CD freezes in time a great edition of the Herman band, with some wonderful performances by his ever youthful assembly of talent.
The six cuts range all over the map, from the rock-like "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Superstar," to the unusual arrangement of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." There's a Latin number, "Montevideo," and a seven-minute salute to Duke Ellington, "Tantum Ergo." The CD ends with a sizzling rendition of Billy Cobham's jazz standard, "Crosswind."
Herman, who seldom featured his own accomplished playing on clarinet, has one brief solo on "Fanfare." The band, despite having waited until early in the a.m. to play their set, sounds juiced as only a Herman band could be. For Woody's fans, this will be a great addition. For the uninitiated, there could be plenty of interest found in these all-too-brief moments.
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POWERSSOUND: BOB POWERS on Jazz cornetist RUBY BRAFF, singer FREDDY COLE, and the WOODY HERMAN BAND.
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