Harold Land (tenor sax), Clifford Brown (trumpet), Richie Powell (piano), George Morrow (bass) and Max Roach (drums). From the album Study in Brown (1955).
The way Clifford Brown and Max Roach’s group playing began to change with respect to the bebop bands. They emphasized composition and arrangements, and replaced bebop’s unison with counterpoint trumpet and saxophone passages. They mostly played themes at medium tempo, but even when the tempo was fast, the phrases were moderate and calm.
Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet
Roach’s solos had an established structure, but always maintaining the influence of the blues. These changes would lead to the appearance of the hard bop style. Although this group was not the first one to use these resources, it was the one that gave the greatest impetus to the new style, which dominated modern jazz during the 1950s.
The first thing you hear is a cymbal played by Roach, and the double bass also incorporates. The whole group then starts the theme at medium tempo. Brown begins his solo wrapped in a Caribbean rhythm, but suddenly the swing briefly appears and the Caribbean rhythm returns again. He’s not in a hurry and delights in every note he plays. Then Land comes in the same relaxed way and his speech is easy to understand. Then the piano comes in and his solo is also calm and pleasant, and all that remains is to re-exposure of the theme.
© EmArcy Records
