AMG Review of Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years

John Bush
All Music Guide

Verve's two-disc collection of the best recordings from the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet recorded for Mercury/Emarcy between 1954 and 1956 includes a parade of Brown-Roach classics -- "Parisian Throroughfare," "Cherokee," "Jordu," "Daahoud." The second disc, which doesn't include Brown at all, reels through a highlight film of Max Roach's varied quintets of the late '50s after the death of Brown in 1956. Of course, Roach's sessions during that time feature many great recordings -- trumpeter Booker Little is a competent replacement for Brown, and tenors Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, and Stanley Turrentine all have great spots -- but record buyers expecting this set to live up to its title might be disappointed. To get the full treatment, get this plus any one or two of the other duet LPs, like Brown and Roach Incorporated.