by Stephen Cook
One of most enthralling bodies of work from the post-bebop years, Clifford Brown's sides for the Verve and Blue Note labels deserve a spot in every serious jazz collection. But where to start? For those wanting to just sample the goods, there are a handful of fine budget discs out there, especially on Verve; this edition of their Compact Jazz series certainly ranks high, thanks to a balanced program of the trumpeter's varied output. Mostly cut in the few years before his tragic death in 1956, the 12 tracks include some of Brown's cornerstone combo work with drummer Max Roach (&Jordu&) and sideman sessions for both Sarah Vaughan (&It's Crazy&) and Dinah Washington (&I've Got You Under My Skin&). Add to that a taste of Brown's lovely strings date with Neil Hefti, more vocals (this time with Helen Merrill), and the solo contributions of Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Harold Land, and many others. A fine overview, indeed.