Ray Brown and Milt Jackson: Much In Common, All Star Big Band

Released under the “Verve Take 2” logo, this spirited two-disc compilation gives us three classic mid-1960s LPs (Ray Brown with the All-Star Big Band, Featuring Cannonball Adderley, 1962; Ray Brown-Milt Jackson, 1965 and Much in Common, a 1964 quintet date co-led by Bags and Brown with vocalist Marion Williams), plus seven previously unissued out-takes. With casts of all-stars like Clark Terry and Phil Woods, everything crackles and pops. Indeed, it all cooks. Still, I’m partial to Cannon’s wailings and Ray’s romp on Pettiford’s “Tricrotism” [sic].

Originally Published September 1, 1997