Clifford Brown--"last" concert?

[ghost of miles]

Iirc there's been some debate about the gig that makes up part of Columbia's Clifford Brown BEGINNING AND THE END cd...can anybody else weigh in on this? Here are listings from one online discography for Brown (bold emphasis mine):

>>Clifford Brown - Max Roach Quintet

Clifford Brown (tp) Sonny Stitt (as -8) Sonny Rollins (ts) probably Richie Powell (p) probably George Morrow (b) Max Roach (d) Bob Story (ann)

WIOR radio broadcast, "Continental Restaurant", Norfolk, VA, June 18, 1956

1. Just One Of Those Things Philology (It) W 1008-2

2. You Go To My Head -

3. Good Bait -

4. One For My Baby Philology (It) W 1009-2

5. Someone To Watch Over Me -

6. What's New? -

7. These Foolish Things -

8. I Get A Kick Out Of You -

* Clifford Brown - Brownie's Eyes, Vol. 7 (Philology (It) W 1008-2)

* Clifford Brown - Brownie's Eyes, Vol. 8 (Philology (It) W 1009-2)

Clifford Brown Sextet

Clifford Brown (tp) Billy Root (ts -1,3) Mel "Ziggy" Vines (ts -3) Sam Dockery (p) Ace Tisone (b) Ellis Tollin (d)

"Music City Club", Philadelphia, PA, June 25, 1956 or May 31, 1955

1. A Night In Tunisia Columbia KC 32284

2. Donna Lee -

3. Walkin' -

* Clifford Brown - The Beginning And The End (Columbia KC 32284)<<

So is the Norfolk gig actually the last recorded performance by Brown that we have?

[Big Beat Steve]

I have the Columbia "The Beginning and the End" LP listed above, and the liner notes by Dan Morgenstern describe this date as the "last" known recordings. However, at one point a couple of years ago I crossed out that date on the cover and wrote "31 May 1955" there so apparently I must have read somewhere (can't recall where) that this information on the LP clearly is incorrect. Small wonder ... nobody is perfect, the reissue dates from 1973 and more recent research may have unearthed that May date as being the correct one.

[paul secor]

There was an interview with Billy Root published in Cadence where he stated that the "last concert" actually occurred over a year earlier - May 31, 1955. The later date made for a better story but wasn't true.

[Free For All]

There was an interview with Billy Root published in Cadence where he stated that the "last concert" actually occurred over a year earlier - May 31, 1955. The later date made for a better story but wasn't true.

Especially because he says something like "I must go now..." at the end of the last tune. Made for a interesting story but turned out to be a year earlier.

[ghost of miles]

That's what I thought... many thanks, y'all.

[Free For All]

BTW, those solos on Walkin', Night in Tunisia & Donna Lee are MF masterpieces! Absolutely stunning command of the language & the horn. God Bless Clifford Brown.

[brownie]

The fact that the Norfolk gig was not The Last Concert is old news. May 1955 was when this was recorded.

The Norfolk Continental restaurant gig of June 18, 1956 is now considered Clifford Brown's final recorded appearance.

It was released by RLR on a double CD:

[paul secor]

BTW, those solos on Walkin', Night in Tunisia & Donna Lee are MF masterpieces! Absolutely stunning command of the language & the horn. God Bless Clifford Brown.

Yeah. Even if it wasn't "the end" or "the last", it's up there with the best.

Edited April 20, 2010 by paul secor

[Tom in RI]

How's the sound on those Continental Restaurant sides?

[brownie]

Not hifi!

Acceptable.

Just keep in mind its' the Clifford Brown-Sonny Rollins-Max Roach unit!

[Tom in RI]

Thanks Brownie, well I didn't expect hifi, hoping for, say, comparable to Boris Rose recordings from the '50s'.