March 2000

Ruby Braff
Linger Awhile
Vanguard

By Owen Cordle

This Braff reissue, recorded in the '50s, includes tunes from three albums and features jazzmen such as trombonist Vic Dickenson, bassist Walter Page and pianists Nat Pierce and Sir Charles Thompson, among others-my advance copy does not list all the personnel. The opener, "Sweet Sue," is classic Kansas City-meets-Chicago jazz. The tenor soloist sounds like Bud Freeman. On "I Cover the Waterfront," Braff provides an excellent example of how to embellish the melody. "Keeping Out of Mischief Now" is a Basie-like swinger, with Dickenson and a clarinetist (Buddy Tate?) spicing things up with growl tones. Although I don't dig Vanguard's reissue process of breaking up the original albums-they've also done it with Jimmy Rushing, Dickenson, Mel Powell and others-the music here is first rate.