CD1
Hi-Fi Salute to Bunny
1. Keep Smiling at Trouble
2. It's Been So Long
3. I'm Coming Virginia
4. I Can't Get Started
5. Marie
6. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
7. Downhearted Blues
8. Somebody Else is Taking My Place
Easy Now
9. For Now
10. When My Sugar Walks Down the Street
11. I Just Couldn't Take It, Baby
12. My Walking Stick
13. Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day
14. Give My Regards to Broadway
15. Willow Weep for Me
16. This Is My Lucky Day
17. Someday You'll Be Sorry
CD2
1. Yesterdays
2. The Song Is Ended - but the Melody Lingers On
You're Getting to be a Habit with Me
3. Someday Sweetheart
4. When Your Lover Has Gone
5. You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me
6. Let's Do It
7. Swing That Music
8. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
9. Taking a Chance on Love
10. Cabin in the Pines
11. Lazy
12. If Dreams Come True
Ruby Braff Octet with Pee Wee Russell at Newport
13. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
14. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
15. Oh, Lady Be Good
Jimmy Rushing and the Newport All-Stars
16. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
17. Goin' To Chicago
18. St. Louis Blues
Ruby Braff - Trumpet with:
Hi-Fi Salute to Bunny
Benny Morton - Trombone
Pee Wee Russell - Clarinet
Dick Hafer - Tenor sax
Nat Pierce - Piano
Steve Jordan - Guitar
Walter Page - Bass
Buzzy Drootin - Drums
Easy Now
Emmett Berry - Trumpet (tracks I/9-13)
Bob Wilber - Tenor sax (tracks I/9-13)
Vic Dickenson - Trombone (tracks I/9-13)
Marty Napoleon - Piano (tracks I/9-13)
Mundell Lowe - Guitar
Leonard Gaskin - Bass
Don Lamond - Drums
Roy Eldridge - Trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks I/14-II/2)
Hank Jones - Piano (tracks I/14-II/2)
You're Getting to be a Habit with Me
Don Elliott - Vibes
Hank Jones or Nat Pierce - Piano
Mundell Lowe - Guitar
Milt Hinton - Bass
Don Lamond - Drums
Ruby Braff Octet with Pee Wee Russell at Newport
Pee Wee Russell - Clarinet
Sam Margolis - Tenor sax
Jimmy Welch - Valve trombone
Nat Pierce - Piano
Steve Jordan - Guitar
Walter Page - Bass
Buzzy Drootin - Drums
Jimmy Rushing and the Newport All-Stars
Jimmy Rushing - Vocals
Buck Clayton - Trumpet
Pee Wee Russell - Clarinet
Bud Freeman - Tenor sax
Vic Dickenson - Trombone
Ray Bryant - Piano
Freddie Greene - Guitar
Champ Jones - Bass
Buzzy Drootin - Drums
When Ruby Braff appeared on the jazz scene, his methods were widely regarded as old-fashioned, since he played in a style similar to that of small swing groups in the 1930s. Fortunately, he found a sympathetic ear with such people as John Hammond, who recorded him alongside other musicians who played in a similar style (Vic Dickenson, Edmond Hall, Sir Charles Thompson). Their music came to be called "mainstream" and established itself as a continuing thread throughout jazz.
Many of these like-minded musicians can be found alongside Braff in this generous double CD which contains three of Ruby's original LPs, plus some extra recordings taken at the 1957 and 1959 Newport Jazz Festivals. The sleeve-notes all list Ruby Braff as playing the trumpet on these sessions, but he is better known as a cornettist - and it is difficult to tell the difference between the two instruments. Certainly Braff sounds more forthright on some of these tracks than he did in his later days, when his cornet tone was distinguished by a liquid depth.
Ruby may sound outspoken because of the echo in the acoustic of the first LP - a tribute to Bunny Berigan. But however, he came across, Ruby's playing was always tasteful and melodic. On the second LP, he was joined by a choice of two other trumpeters - Emmett Berry and Roy Eldridge - and the difference between them is manifest in a track like Give My Regards to Broadway, where Braff seems to favour a lower register with a more furry tone than Berry. The difference is even more marked in Willow Weep for Me, where one plays muted. Marty Napoleon's piano solo on this tune is as sparkling as a cool stream. The contrast between Ruby Braff and Roy Eldridge is even more marked, although Roy has his quieter moments when he switches to flugelhorn.
As you might expect, there are many notable solos from Braff's colleagues: too many to mention individually. Suffice it to say that Benny Morton's trombone is authoritative, Pee Wee Russell has his usual waif-like sound, and pianists Hank Jones and Nat Pierce are models of good taste.
The third LP - You're Getting to be a Habit with Me - was by a sextet featuring vibist Don Elliott, guitarist Mundell Lowe and two pianists, although Braff continues to be the most melodious of all. Swing That Music shows that Ruby was not just a sweet ballad player but could also handle very fast tempos. Taking a Chance on Love gives Don Lamond an opportunity for some fine drum breaks, especially at the end, when he alone accompanies Braff on brushes. If Dreams Come True is an ebullient tune that seems to bring out the best in Ruby (he also plays it rapturously on a duet album with Dick Hyman).
The last six tracks in this collection have the almost tangible atmosphere of the Newport Jazz Festival, although this also means reduced recording quality. But the music is still fine, with Ruby playing an entrancing version of These Foolish Things, hardly stating the theme but improvising right from the start. The final three tracks are enlivened by the presence of easygoing blues singer Jimmy Rushing. The group really goes to town on St Louis Blues.
With almost 160 minutes of classy music at budget price, this album is indeed a bargain.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Avid AMSC 1011
