Bennie Remembers Clifford

By MARC CRAWFORD
Downbeat Magazine, Oct. 12, 1961

A little more than five years ago, at almost 80 miles an hour, 25-year-old Clifford Brown crashed 10 his death on a highway en route from Detroit to Chicago. Yet, as he died, a jazz classic was about to be born, the moving tribute, I Remember Clifford, penned by his friend, Benny Golson, and to which Jon Hendricks, the poet-laureate of jazz, later added lyrics.

Since the composition was completed in February, 1957, no fewer than 15 artists and groups have recorded it.

Recently, composer-tenorist Golson sat on a pop crate high in the band loft of Chicago's Regal Theater and talked of the times before Brownie died.

"Nobody's ballads are like Brownie's," Golson said, "And at the time of his death. Brownie was going in his direction more determinedly than anyone I've ever seen. Really. the last two years of his life, he got ahold of what he wanted to do. His imagination was infinite. He always had a bag of surprises."

Golson met Brown in the late 1940s. "1 was 19 and Brownie was about 16 and sounded good even then," he said. "One night, Fats Navarro was presented in concert. He was the only 'name' present; the rest were local musicians. Well, Brownie got up and played that night, and when he finished, Fats tucked his trumpet under his arm and stood beside Brownie and applauded. I knew Brownie well. In 1953 we played together in Tadd Dameron's band, later together with Lionel Hampton."

Articulate and scholarly looking. Golson paused with eyes shining, moved from pop crate to the unsheeted day bed and continued:

"There is no telling to what heights Brownie would be soaring to now be-cause I believe he would never have stopped. We have no control over God's will. But to me, Brownie's death represented an abrupt culmination of a very great talent. I wanted to write something that would sound similar to or synonymous with him and also to serve a reminder to all of us who knew him and those who would come to know of him, of his greatness."

Howard University-trained Golson appeared nonplussed at the question of what he meant by Brown's greatness, but then, with pondering tolerance, he said, "Let me put it to you this way. You hear trumpet players play, and, as you listen, you realize that this one might play ballads beautifully, another might play well only in the middle register, End still another might only be proficient in the upper register and at fast tempos. A trumpeter might possess two of these instrumental attributes, but Clifford had obtained all of them. He could change from a meek lamb, musically, into a fierce tiger. He could play the bottom, top, loud, soft: he was playing the whole instrument.

"You could tell at a certain point in his development he was strongly influenced by Fats Navarro. I'm sure there were others. But from that he found his own direction. His style was such that it radiated emotional impulses, so to speak."

"Here," he said, removing his glasses, "I'll explain what I mean. Like you'd Sit there and hear him play, and he'd make you react physically. He made you twitch, move your feet. He had a mystical charm.

"The last time I heard him was at a rehearsal. It will stay on my mind forever, that particular time, that particular rehearsal.

"It was at the now-defunct Blue Note in Philly with Max Roach. Sonny Rollins was there. I had brought some tunes I had written for them, and they were trying them out. Brownie was on the inside of the bar leaning against the bandstand, and I was seated on the customer's side of the bar.

"They began to play my Step Lightly; none of them had ever seen it before. Brownie went into his solo cold, and I felt as 1 looked into the bell of his horn as though something tangible was reaching out and shaking my body. I trembled. Yet, I couldn't move off that seat. What he was playing at that moment was wondrous, miraculous-any kind of adjective you can think of. That's what was happening at that moment.

"When they finished the tune, I wanted to say so much to him, but all I could get out was, 'It sure was crazy, Brownie.' And he answered in his own shy way, 'The next time I'll get it.' I walked out of the club in another world."

June 26, 1956, Golson remembered was the correct date of Brownie's death.

"Brownie was Jazztet! Jazztet on stage, on stage! ..."something else," Golson finished and darted out the door.

NOTE - There are several other Clifford Brown articles available here.

Bennie Remembers Clifford
http://www.shout.net/~jmh/articles/clifford3.html
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