Clifford Brown

[TroyK]

I was searching for something today and found the "was Miles Davis overrated" thread. Kind of glad I didn't see that when it was live, because those things never go well, but discussions of Miles' greatness, invariably lead me to Brownie, who I think was generally the perfect jazz musician in fundementally every way except longevity, through no fault of his own.

I don't really want to offer that up to debate, because I don't want to suggest disrespect to the other greats, but let me ask:

What would have happened if he had lived? No way of knowing what kind of phases he would have gone through, but would he be a household name? Would jazz have developed differently? He had such a huge impact in such a short period of time, I just can't help but wonder.

Anyone up for a theoretical discussion?

Troy

[Ed Fuqua]

Not without more coffee. The Brown/Roach group was really without peer (until the Davis Quintet) in terms of a popular, touring stable unit. Sonny sounded great, but the group with Harold Land was probably my favorite.

[Mark Carlsen]

Originally Posted by TroyK

I was searching for something today and found the "was Miles Davis overrated" thread. Kind of glad I didn't see that when it was live, because those things never go well, but discussions of Miles' greatness, invariably lead me to Brownie, who I think was generally the perfect jazz musician in fundementally every way except longevity, through no fault of his own.

I don't really want to offer that up to debate, because I don't want to suggest disrespect to the other greats, but let me ask:

What would have happened if he had lived? No way of knowing what kind of phases he would have gone through, but would he be a household name? Would jazz have developed differently? He had such a huge impact in such a short period of time, I just can't help but wonder.

Anyone up for a theoretical discussion?

Troy

Some great points...all I can say is maybe more players today would have a bigger, more beautifull sound and Clifford's phrasing would be a model for any up coming jazz artist. I'm guessing Lafaro,Blanton,and others who passed on to soon would of added more to the Art..