AMG Review of Ultimate Clifford Brown

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Although serious fans and collectors will have little use for the disc, Ultimate Clifford Brown is a solid collection of 12 highlights from the trumpeter's Verve recordings as selected by Nicholas Payton. For the curious neophyte, the disc offers a good overview of Brown's time at the label, featuring the trumpeter in a variety of different settings, including combos with Dinah Washington, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, Helen Merrill and Max Roach. Certainly, the disc should be thought of as an introduction, not the final word, but on that level it works very well. Among the featured numbers are "Star Dust," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Delilah," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Step Lightly (Junior's Arrival)," "Cherokee," "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "September Song."