Ray Brown Trio: Ray Brown (acoustic bass); Benny Green (piano); Jeff Hamilton (drums).
Recorded live at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, California on April 1 & 2, 1993. Includes liner notes by Donald Elfman.
For this Telarc CD, bassist Ray Brown and pianist Benny Green split the solo chores almost evenly with drummer Jeff Hamilton, giving them stellar and creative support. Green has his best improvisations on "Phineas Can Be" and "Taking a Chance on Love," and the trio plays very close attention to dynamics (often swinging very quietly) and quickly reacting to each other's ideas. Rather than merely jamming the songs (the majority of which are standards), the bop-oriented group gives each melody a colorful framework filled with plenty of subtle surprises. ~ Scott Yanow
Professional Reviews
Down Beat (1/94, p.35) - 3 Stars - Good - "...The Brown group sounds settled and sure of its material before a live club crowd....
