Ruby Braff: I Hear Music

Ruby Braff, cornetBill Charlap, pianoTommy Newsom, tenor saxBucky Pizzarelli, guitarJohn Beal, bassTony DeNicola, drumsDaryl Sherman, vocal #7 Ruby Braff has never run out of great songs to play and ingenious ways to play them. One of the most prolific recording artists of recent times, it should be noted that his output is even more quality than it is quantity. Braff and the Braffsmen offer tangible proof that jazz as we know it, i.e. the concept of theme and improvised variations, is still no less pungent with possibility than the great songs themselves. It's not just what each soloist plays but when: each individual statement carefully follows another, playing something in response to the previous solo, offering some wry commentary on the original tune. The entire session and indeed, the ongoing career of Ruby Braff are arguments for the continued validity of the basic tenets of jazz; the balance of solos and ensembles, of improvisation and playing the written melody, of group dyn