AMG Review of Bassics: Best of Ray Brown Trio 1977-2000

Matt Collar
All Music Guide

Focusing on the latter part of his career, the double-disc anthology Bassics: Best of Ray Brown Trio 1977-2000 collects a nice cross-section of the recordings bassist Ray Brown made with his various trio configurations for the Concord and Telarc labels. Included is work the iconic musician made with such pianists as Cedar Walton, Gene Harris and Monty Alexander, as well Benny Green and Geoff Keezer. These are elegant, sophisticated mainstream jazz recordings that are the epitome of swinging modern jazz. While listeners looking for a more representative view of Brown's long career should probably check out his influential early recordings, Bassics offers a perfect overview of the still superb Brown in the autumn of his life.