Clifford Brown. Internet photo c.1955
Lee Morgan of Ocean Grove suggested this jazz selection by the late Clifford Brown. Ironically there was a jazz trumpet player named Lee Morgan, but it’s not the same guy. This is Lee’s comment about the song below:
“As I walked through the car show today, I kept hearing Clifford Brown’s trumpet soaring above the strings of the oft-covered “Yesterdays.” One of many geniuses of the jazz trumpet, Clifford Brown, with a great rhythm section in 1955, covered “Yesterdays” (by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach) with a string orchestra conducted by Neil Hefti.
A rising star, Clifford died in a car accident at age 25. His influence on later jazz trumpeters is well known.
Editor’s Note: There was an era in jazz when all the greats, including Ella and Louis, recorded with strings, often with full orchestras. I never liked that much because the strings just didn’t seem to fit with classic jazz. I do however enjoy jazz violin, bass and cello.
Lee points out how unique Clifford Brown was, and because he died so young, everything he left is very precious; only four years of recordings remain.
This album is called, “Clifford Brown with Strings.”
Subsequent to this note, Lee sent us a link to a web site (All About Jazz) which explains the jazz with strings phenomenon. After reading that, I will have to take another listen. The link is below .