THE pervasiveness of Miles Davis’ influence and the profound impact his trumpet made on the modern jazz scene, have prevented many – over the years – from looking beyond his artistic landscape. In consequence, not many are aware of the extraordinary capabilities of Clifford Brown who gave concrete meaning to the Fats Navaro trumpet dynasty. It is this trumpet tradition that has blossomed through such faithfuls as Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard including today’s Terence Blanchard and Roy Hargrove.

Brown who died at the young age of 26 took the trumpet to an unprecedented level – with solos that contained revolutionary melodic language. With the advent of academic interest in jazz in recent years, Brown’s achievement has been analysed in dissertations and discussions in professional conferences while his focused approach to composition has influenced countless musicians. One of Clifford Brown’s finest recordings – and one which manifests all his fine qualities remains Clifford Brown Quartet in Paris recorded in October 1953. The CD is most highly recommended to the true Clifford Brown collector. The great trumpeter performs six songs but there are also six alternate takes. Backed by a quiet French rhythm section, Brown is in excellent form throughout this set, particularly on the two takes of The Song is You and a superb version of It Might As Well Be Spring.

But perhaps his greatest recorded work is Live at the Bee Hive recorded in November 1955. The 2 LP set is further proof that the best recordings are those that are free from pre-conceived ideas; and subjected to on - the - job conditions. Recorded at a Chicago jam session, trumpeter Clifford Brown, drummer Max Roach and their regular bassist George Morrow meet up for the initial time with the great tenor, Sonny Rollins who was just then returning from his first sabbatical during which he went to rethink his approach to the music; his tenor was bristling with new ideas and a brilliant tonal conception. Other participants include Nicky Hill – also on tenor, pianist Billy Wallace and guitarist Leo Blevins. They are heard here stretching out on long versions of pop standards even though recording quality is not as good as expected. Notwithstanding, this recording is phenomenal and of historical interest.

Veteran critic Nat Hentoff once declared, “Nobody I knew in the jazz world ever had a bad word to say about Clifford Brown. He was too open, entirely without guile, without even a hint of malice toward any one.” Hentoff’s remarks are indicative of the powerful effect Brown had on people who knew him. And it was precisely the combination of his amazing talent and his virtuous life that set many musicians who encountered him on a different life path. Before he came along, many jazz players used drugs in imitation of Charlie Parker; but because of his example, many players cleaned up their acts. He believed that in order to achieve success as a jazz artist, a performer had to live with enormous focus and discipline.

Clifford Brown was one of those rare musical artisans who could spend a few hours figuring out the essence of an instrument and then be able to develop immediate facility on that instrument: he could spend a few days in North Africa, assimilate the colours of the indigenous music, and create a composition incorporating those elements that would become a classic in jazz literature. At age23, alongside the quintessential bebop percussive virtuoso Max Roach, Clifford Brown created a musical explosion that continues to dazzle audiences to the present day.

What Brown and Roach achieved in their group of the early 1950s was unique. At a time when the art  music of the great boppers was being diluted at “Jazz at the Philharmonic” blowing sessions designed to excite the appetites of screaming audiences, Clifford and Max turned elsewhere. Drawing upon training that had strong classical roots, Brown had found an unusual jazz colleague – a drummer who listened to Stravinsky. The two musicians spent long hours discussing new concepts of jazz performance that would incorporate many traditions inherent in classical forms. It soon became clear that only in the context of intellectually crafted compositional design could the music achieve the artistic heights Brown and Roach desired. Solos, the raison d’être for any improvisational virtuoso, had to be economical, serving the needs of the compositional framework rather than the demands of egocentric players or hero-worshipping fans.

As an improviser, Clifford Brown created flowing lines of soaring melody and improvisation containing geometric symmetry and punctuated with an articulated attack and buttery tone that became the envy of trumpeters everywhere. With the drummer Max Roach, tenor saxophone player Harold Land (whose sound identity was almost the same as that of Teddy Edwards’) and later Sonny Rollins, the group played to audiences packed with musicians and other cognoscenti who were continually astounded at their performances. And of course, the star of the show and the main attraction was Clifford Brown whose trumpet was like no other.

As a trumpeter, Clifford Brown stands alone. The reason he is not as popular as the Miles Davises and Dizzy Gillespies of this world is that he did not live long enough to demonstrate and manifest his amazing talent to emerging generations of jazz musicians and fans. He lived for only 26 years – from 1930 to 1956!