Search - Ray Brown, Milt Jackson :: Montreux 77

Montreux '77

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 09/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pablo producer Norman Granz put this session together as a jam session, gathering musicians already at the Montreux Festival and asking if they wanted to play (Clark Terry was asked at the last moment). Lockjaw Davis is on tenor, Monty Alexander on piano, Ray Brown on bass, Jimmie Smith on drums, Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn, and, of course, Jackson on vibes. It's good Granz found and asked Terry to join, last moment or not, because he's tops on this occasion. He plays wonderfully on the unusual up-tempo version of A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP, after Jaws misses the mark by a mile in his wailing and honking solo. Milt is featured on MEAN TO ME and plays it flawlessly, and SLIPPERY, a Ray Brown tune that's kind of like an extended blues, is handled well by all. C.M.J. is a typical 12-bar blues you might expect to get in a jam session setting like this where everyone gets their taste and is gone, but that's the only tune that's like that. From the applause on the CD the Montreux crowd seemed very pleased with what was going down. It's easy to see why."