It’s so sad that prolific jazz bass legend Ray Brown didn’t live to see the release of this, the finest album of his latter-day career (he passed away July 2, at age 75). And not only is this collaboration with pianist Monty Alexander and guitarist Russell Malone Brown’s finest Telarc disc—it’s one of the label’s best jazz releases ever and one of the most delightful mainstream jazz albums of the year. With a relaxed, after-hours ambience, this session sees the trio reanimating jazz standards (“Django”) and left-field classics (Milt Jackson’s “Compassion”), as well as showcasing originals by each player. Brown’s tone and taste are that of a jazz sage, Alexander has never sounded better (especially on his gorgeous Francophone intro to “Django”), and Malone’s gritty, bluesy touch seems just right. The CD comes with a free bonus disc showcasing highlights from Brown’s Telarc catalog. But the SACD version—featuring amazing high-resolution, multi-channel sound—is definitely the one to have. Telarc’s SACD titles are hybrid, dual-layer discs, so they also play as state-of-the-art stereo discs in standard CD players.—BB
