Ray Brown-Monty Alexander-Russell Malone • Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Russell Malone

 

Review by Rick Anderson
It would be nice to say that Ray Brown's final recording session before his sudden and untimely death in the summer of 2002 resulted in a masterpiece, but although this trio session with guitarist Russell Malone and pianist Monty Alexander is perfectly serviceable, a masterpiece it is not. It's a very attractive album -- Brown was probably not capable of producing anything less as a leader -- but it suffers just a bit from Alexander's slightly sugary style and from the lack of a drummer. Recording without a drummer had been the latest thing in the jazz world for several years when this album was released, but it's not entirely clear what the benefit of such an arrangement was supposed to be. On this album, the swing standard "Fly Me to the Moon" and Dexter Gordon's boppish "Dexter's Dex" would have had much more oomph with a sympathetic drummer on board (though on the latter, Malone's Django Reinhardt-styled backup and Brown's inimitable freight train rhythmic drive do go some distance toward making up for that lack). And the mid-tempo numbers seem to plod just a bit as well. But as always, there's no questioning either the inventiveness of Brown's solos or the rich sumptuousness of his enormous tone.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ray-brown-monty-alexander-russell-malone-mw0000227413

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Reseña de Rick Anderson
Estaría bien decir que la última sesión de grabación de Ray Brown antes de su repentina y prematura muerte en el verano de 2002 resultó en una obra maestra, pero aunque esta sesión de trío con el guitarrista Russell Malone y el pianista Monty Alexander es perfectamente útil, no es una obra maestra. Es un álbum muy atractivo - Brown probablemente no era capaz de producir menos como líder - pero sufre un poco del estilo ligeramente azucarado de Alexander y de la falta de un batería. Grabar sin batería era lo último en el mundo del jazz desde hacía varios años, cuando se publicó este álbum, pero no está del todo claro cuál se suponía que era el beneficio de tal arreglo. En este álbum, el estándar de swing "Fly Me to the Moon" y el boppish "Dexter's Dex" de Dexter Gordon habrían tenido mucho más ímpetu con un simpático batería a bordo (aunque en este último, los coros de Malone al estilo de Django Reinhardt y el inimitable impulso rítmico de tren de mercancías de Brown compensan en cierta medida esa carencia). Y los números a medio tiempo también parecen flojear un poco. Pero como siempre, no hay duda de la inventiva de los solos de Brown ni de la suntuosidad de su enorme tono.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ray-brown-monty-alexander-russell-malone-mw0000227413

Colaborador / Contributor:  Ketmokin

Tracks
01 - Django (J - Lewis)
02 - Fly Me to the Moon (B - Howard)
03 - Blues for Junior (R - Brown)
04 - Honeysuckle Rose (F - Waller - A - Razaf)
05 - Compassion (M - Jackson)
06 - Dexter's Dex (D - Gordon)
07 - I Just Can't See for Looking (N - Robinson - D - Stanford)
08 - One for Hamp (R - Brown)
09 - Don't Go (M - Alexander)
10 - Look Who's Here (R - Malone)
11 - You Can See (M - Alexander)


Credits:
Ray Brown (Bass);
Monty Alexander (Piano);
Russell Malone (Guitar).

RECORDED 2002
Label Telarc

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