| Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | January 24, 1995 |
| Recorded | August 3, 1954 – October 1960 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 148:45 |
| Label | Verve 526373-2 |
| Producer | Bob Shad |
Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years is a compilation album featuring recordings by trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach in groups together and separately which were originally released on Mercury and subsidiary labels. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [2] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz | [3] |
Allmusic's John Bush noted "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 ...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". [2] The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection. [3] [4]
Disc one
Disc two
Maxwell Lemuel Roach was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He worked with many famous jazz musicians, including Clifford Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and Booker Little. He also played with his daughter Maxine Roach, a Grammy nominated violist. He was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1992.
Clifford Benjamin Brown was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", and "Daahoud" have become jazz standards. Brown won the DownBeat magazine Critics' Poll for New Star of the Year in 1954; he was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1972.
Henry Mobley was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Lester Young, and his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players such as Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions include "Double Exposure", "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis".
Booker Little Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He appeared on many recordings in his short career, both as a sideman and as a leader. Little performed with Max Roach, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy and was strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. He died aged 23.
Richard Powell was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was not assisted in his musical development by Bud, his older and better known brother, but both played predominantly in the bebop style.
Study in Brown is a Clifford Brown and Max Roach album. The album consists predominantly of originals by members of the band. The songs "Lands End", by tenor saxophonist Harold Land, and "Sandu", by Brown, have gone on to become jazz standards. The song "George's Dilemma" is also known as "Ulcer Department". Brown's solo on "Cherokee" is among the most acclaimed solos in jazz.
Max Roach + 4 is an LP recorded by jazz drummer Max Roach, which featured Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Sonny Rollins on tenor sax, Ray Bryant on piano, and George Morrow on bass. It was the first album Roach recorded after his collaborators, trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Richie Powell, died in a car crash in June 1956.
Clifford Brown & Max Roach is a 1954 album by influential jazz musicians Clifford Brown and Max Roach as part of the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet, described by The New York Times as "perhaps the definitive bop group until Mr. Brown's fatal automobile accident in 1956". The album was critically well received and includes several notable tracks, including two that have since become jazz standards. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. It is included in Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings, where it is described by New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff as "one of the strongest studio albums up to that time".
Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street is a 1956 album by the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet, the last album the quintet officially recorded. Apart from Sonny Rollins Plus 4, it was the last studio album Brown and pianist Richie Powell recorded before their deaths in June that year. The title is a reference to the Basin Street East jazz club, where the quintet had performed several times.
Sonny Rollins Plus 4 is a jazz album by Sonny Rollins, released in 1956 on Prestige Records. On this album Rollins plays with the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet. The album was the last recording including pianist Richie Powell and Brown, as both died in a car accident three months later.
Rollins Plays for Bird is a 1957 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Prestige label, featuring performances by Rollins with Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach on material associated with Charlie Parker.
This article presents the discography of the jazz saxophonist and band leader Sonny Rollins.
Jazz Contrasts is an album by American jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham, recorded in 1957 and released on the Riverside label.
Abbey Is Blue is the fourth album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring tracks recorded in 1959 for the Riverside label.
MAX is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in 1958 and released on the Argo label.
Deeds, Not Words is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in 1958 and released on the Riverside label.
Jazz in ¾ Time is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in late 1956 and early 1957 and released on the EmArcy label.
Quiet as It's Kept is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in 1959 and released on the Mercury label.
Parisian Sketches is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach recorded in Paris in 1960 and released on the Mercury label.
Sonny Boy is a 1961 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins comprising four tracks from his final recordings for the Prestige label, three of which were originally released on Tour de Force, along with an unissued performance from the session that produced Rollins Plays for Bird.