Ray Brown :Some of My Best Friends are Guitarists

RAY BROWN TRIO
Some Of My Best Friends Are...Guitarists

Telarc

Ray Brown is, without doubt, one of the most beloved and well-known jazz bassists working today. He has played with just about any jazz legend you can name, and many that the average person probably can't name. Brown manned the bass chair for every one of Frank Sinatra's television specials, directed the Monteray Jazz Festival for two years, and directed the Concord Summer Festival in 1976 and 1977. In addition, he played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell before forming his own trio in 1948. He toured with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic for 18 years, finally becoming part of the legendary Oscar Peterson Trio.

Over the past few years, Brown has recorded an impressive set of albums under the series title Some Of My Best Friends Are... Entries in the series have included singers, pianists, tenor saxophonists, and trumpet players. Now we get Brown and his trio (Geoff Keezer, piano, and Karriem Riggins, drums) paired with some of the best guitarists out there. The result is a thouroughly enjoyable album that demonstrates the incredible swinging support Brown continues to lend as a member of the rhythm section as well as his considerable talents as a leader.

Things get off to a roaring start with guest John Pizzarelli, who plays "Squeeze Me" in the urbane, sophisticated style that has earned him rave reviews and favorable comparisons to the Nat King Cole trio. Brown's own trio is up to the challenge of playing with Pizzarelli, as pianist Keezer doubles the melody on the bridge along with the guitarist. Brown is very much in evidence as he solidly walks behind solos by Pizzarelli and trades fours with his guest. An uptempo "I Want to Be Happy" features Herb Ellis (another Oscar Peterson alumnus), with his somewhat more muted sound and lightning-fast technique. Keezer weighs in with a heated solo of his own.

Russell Malone emulates Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, and sounds particularly wonderful playing ballads such as the one included here, Milt Jackson's "Heartstrings". Unencumbered by the string arrangements of his recent outings, Malone here plays with beauty and just the right underscore of blues feeling. Brown and company provide the guitarist with the perfect backing for his soloing as well. Malone returns for a swinging rendition of Neal Hefti's "Little Darlin'"; in fact, the rendition here makes you forget the countless times you've heard the tune and allows you to listen with fresh ears to this composition.

Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius isn't a household name here in the states, but he certainly has the credentials to be hanging with Brown and the trio: he's worked extensively with Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted-Pederson, Michel Legrand, Max Roach, Herbie Hancock, and has been the guitarist with Oscar Peterson's group since 1997 (anyone sense a pattern here?).Wakenius lends his composition "Blues for Ray", a very swinging number a la Peterson, as well as providing a gorgeous reading of "My Funny Valentine". Brown plays wonderfully on the tune as well, his deep, resounding bass line providing a counterpoint to Wakenius' interpretation of the melody, the two stringed instruments winding around each other like ivy and trellis--the only difficulty is determining which is which.

Kenny Burrell, who counts Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt among his influences, contributes an airy "Fly Me to the Moon" as well as his own tribute to the late Billy Higgins, "Soulful Spirit." The tune is a reflexive, melancholy, but sweet tribute, and one that Higgins certainly deserves. The album is rounded out with performances by Bruce Forman, who embodies the spirit of bebop with his rendition of "The Song Is You" as well as his Wes Montgomery tribute, "Blues for Wes". Pizzarelli returns for a spirited romp through the standard "Tangerine" as well.

Ray Brown certainly has little left to prove in the way of playing jazz bass, and his hefty catalog of recordings, both as a leader and sideman, attest to his skill and his popularity with other musicians. Some of My Best Friends Are...Guitarists is tribute not only to the great company that Brown keeps but also to the strong and healthy state of the guitar as a jazz instrument.