Let's Talk About Lawrence Brown

[Pete C]

I love his sound. For my money he was the most lyrical jazz trombonist ever. He only recorded 2 sessions under his own name, but of course he's on countless records with Duke. His sound is unmistakeable. I hear a lot of him in Steve Turre.

[Bill Barton]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I love his sound. For my money he was the most lyrical jazz trombonist ever. He only recorded 2 sessions under his own name, but of course he's on countless records with Duke. His sound is unmistakeable. I hear a lot of him in Steve Turre.

Yes, yes, a million times yes! Lyricism with capital "L," that's for sure...

[stonemonkts]

I'm a huge fan of Lawrence Brown (with thanks to Pete C for originally recommending the sublime "Slide Trombone").

After realizing how great this musician was, I searched for everything and anything with Brown as leader or sideman, especially small group settings. The Johnny Hodges Small Group Mosiac box has some beautiful tracks with Brown.

I can easily state that "Slide Trombone" is among a handful of my absolute favorite recordings from anyone, of any era.

For me, whenever Lawrence Brown raised that horn to his lips, it was pure magic.

He was also one cantankerous prickly cat too (which I for one don't hold against him).

[stonemonkts]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I hear a lot of him in Steve Turre.

I also hear him in Slide Hampton.

[hearsay]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I love his sound. For my money he was the most lyrical jazz trombonist ever.

I couldn't agree with you more, one of my absolute favorites. I recall in one interview he felt that his tone had gotten too smooth and it was difficult to record, I can only imagine what it sounded like live then! I think his features with Duke far outweigh any of his own records, as Duke seemed to really know how to utilize such brilliance.

Although I don't think you could argue that Brown was one of the more bluesy players in the Ellington Orchestra, next to Hodges, Nanton, Bigard, but one of my favorite solos by him and one of the most soulful blues solos I've ever heard is his from "Things Ain't What they used to be" from the carnegie hall concert 1944. I tried to learn this solo with all of it's inflection to poor result.

[clinthopson]

Absolutely right, Pete!

Although it's not particularly "lyrical," I've always dug Brown's definitive version of "Rose Of The Rio Grande."

[rollhead]