Max Roach & Clifford Brown - Daahoud (1972 US Mainstream Records Vinyl LP)

Max Roach & Clifford Brown - Daahoud | Vinyl LP - 1972 Mainstream Records (MRL 386, mono, gatefold, US pressing with Japanese insert)

The Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet existed for two years. Brown joined Roach in 1954, and the group they formed with Harold Land on tenor saxophone, George Morrow on bass and Richie Powell on piano became the most important hard bop ensemble of its moment, rivalled only by the Jazz Messengers. Brown was 23. He played trumpet with a warmth, clarity and technical command that had no precedent among musicians his age, and the compositions he wrote for the group, "Daahoud" and "Joyspring" among them, became standards before he turned 25. These six tracks were recorded by Bob Shad, who ran the jazz division at EmArcy, Mercury's jazz subsidiary. The tapes sat unreleased through Brown's death, through the quintet's dissolution, and through Shad's departure from Mercury to found Mainstream Records. In 1972 he issued them as Daahoud, with Nat Hentoff writing liner notes that describe rediscovering the tapes and realising they constituted a complete, previously unheard session.

The repertoire mixes two Brown originals with standards. "Daahoud," named for Max Roach (it's an Arabic name Roach was given), opens side A at a bright tempo with Brown's trumpet leading. "Joyspring" follows a melodic arc that showcases why Brown's compositional gift was as distinctive as his playing. "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You" is the ballad, taken at a pace that lets Brown's tone carry the sentiment without ornamentation. Side B opens with Cole Porter's "I Get A Kick Out Of You" at over seven minutes, the longest track and the one where Land's tenor gets the most space. "These Foolish Things" is a three-minute reading, and Roach's "Mildama" closes the album. Richie Powell, Bud Powell's younger brother, plays piano throughout with a lighter touch than his brother's.

This is the 1972 Mainstream Records pressing (MRL 386), a mono gatefold with multicolour labels and the "386 Collector's Item" branding on the front cover. This copy includes a Japanese liner note insert (UPS-579-A), confirming it was sold into the Japanese market.