I Could Write A Book – Ray Brown’s Great Big Band (SPECIAL 2-CD SET)

Label: Summit Records

Release date: April 2024

Catalog number: 821

Tracks:

	The City Medley comp: Cory; Van Heusen; Carmichael; Rodgers; Bernstein
	America The Beautiful comp: Samuel Ward
	Spring is Here comp: Rodgers; Hart
	You Are The Sunshine of My Life comp: Stevie Wonder
	How About You? comp: Burton Lane
	How Long Has This Been Going On? comp: George Gershwin
	Blues for the Two Ks comp: Ray Brown
	I Could Write A Book comp: Rodgers; Hart
	The Shadow of Your Smile comp: Johnny Mandel
	Patterns comp: Oliver Nelson
	The Touch of Your Lips comp: Ray Noble
	The Fugue/Airegin comp: Slide Hampton; Sonny Rollins
	It Might As Well Be Spring comp: Rodgers; Hammerstein
	Little Jeannette Leigh comp: Ray Brown
	Stella By Starlight comp: Victor Young
	If I Should Lose You comp: Ralph Rainger
	Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas comp: Hugh Martin
	Christmas Time Is Here comp: Vince Guaraldi
	The Christmas Song comp: Mel Tormé
	Jingle Bells comp: James L. Pierpoint
	A Christmas Love Song comp: Johnny Mandel

SPECIAL TWO CD SET

DISC 1:

1 The City Medley
2 America The Beautiful
3 Spring is Here
4 You Are The Sunshine of My Life
5 How About You?
6 How Long Has This Been Going On?
7 Blues for the Two Ks
8 I Could Write A Book
9 The Shadow of Your Smile
10 Patterns
11 The Touch of Your Lips
12 The Fugue/Airegin

DISC 2:

1 It Might As Well Be Spring
2 Little Jeannette Leigh
3 Stella By Starlight
4 If I Should Lose You
5 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
6 Christmas Time Is Here
7 The Christmas Song
8 Jingle Bells
9 A Christmas Love Song

After twenty-seven years of performing (including two CDs), and after a six-year hiatus, Ray Brown’s Great Big Band has reassembled to record one last time…the result is over 100 minutes (two CDs) of pure, authentic big band jazz!….From an 18-city tour sampling in the “The City Medley” to “America” to outrageously cool Christmas arrangements, this double CD set is quite a ride!

Five (5) Christmas tunes included
Also included: America The Beautiful and The City Medley

When he was in eighth grade, Ray’s brother Steve played him a Maynard Ferguson recording of “Where’s Teddy,” an arrangement by Maynard’s tenor saxophonist and writer, Willie Maiden. From that moment, Ray decided he would learn to write big band Jazz just the way Willie did. Thirteen years later he found himself sitting next to him on the Stan Kenton Band playing his arrangements every night for fifteen months. Many years after that, when his own big band book reached fifty arrangements, he started the “Great Big Band.” The players’ great skill and expert musicianship performing Ray’s music have brought this album to fruition. All twenty of them hope big band Jazz aficionados everywhere will enjoy this performance.

That said, this is Ray Brown’s “Great Big Band,” and, THIS IS HIS BOOK!

REVIEW:

“I Could Write A Book”, the third release from composer/arranger Ray Brown’s Great Big Band, is a superb production in every way. Ray’s arrangements explore the full orchestral potential of a large jazz ensemble. They are clever, intricate and consistently engaging. No matter the style, tempo, time signature, dynamic, mood, or musical challenge, Ray’s Great Big Band brings his expansive artistic concept to vibrant and soulful life.

Ray’s career trajectory took him from a musical childhood on Long Island, through the Ithaca College School of Music, to a stint in the U.S. Army, and then tours with noted big bands (including playing the jazz trumpet chair for Stan Kenton’s band). Ultimately, he accepted a position teaching jazz at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, CA, settling there to raise his family. He assembled the Great Big Band from the best musicians in the Bay Area along with two special east-coast players: Ray’s brother Steve Brown on guitar, and Steve’s son Miles Brown on bass.

With 5 trumpets and 5 trombones, the saxophones doubling on flutes and clarinets, plus an expanded rhythm section featuring vibes and guitar in addition to piano, bass and drums, Ray employs an extensive musical palette. The music on this 2-CD, 21-track set bursts with creativity and each arrangement is a gem.

“The City Medley” opens the album with power, precision, and a good-natured musical wink. Rather than being a traditional medley where one song follows another in succession, here Ray weaves placename quotes from 18 different songs into one unified 7-minute arrangement. Drummer Alan Hall plays a solo to set up the band and they launch into “Chicago” followed by “The Yellow Rose of Texas” dovetailing into “California, Here I Come”. Throughout the piece, Ray shifts between a variety of tempos and styles, often set up with more drum work. The band moves deftly between swing, Latin, and ballad segments with gusto and grace.

The second track features trombonist John Gove in a samba rendition of “America the Beautiful”. Ray inserts short traditional brass choir passages to contrast with the samba’s complex syncopation. Next, a lush and stately treatment of the ballad “Spring Is Here”, demonstrates alto saxophonist Mary Fettig’s finely-honed solo skills. Throughout the album, all soloists play with feeling and finesse.

While limited space prevents describing every selection, Ray’s liner notes provide context and background for each one. Of particular interest are the 7/4 version of “You are the Sunshine of My Life” featuring Ray on vibes and Steve on guitar, along with “How Long Has This Been Going On?” a highlight for Steve’s lyrical and silky ballad playing. A sumptuous arrangement of Johnny Mandel’s “The Shadow of Your Smile” shows Ray’s masterful woodwind writing. The title song, “I Could Write A Book” cooks with crisp playful backgrounds and ensemble passages. Two tunes composed by Ray, the swingin’ “Blues for The Two Ks” and the subtly hued ballad “Little Jeanette Leigh” (both written for his daughters) are also very special.

The last five tunes are Christmas songs initially released in December 2023. Most people will recognize the first four (including “Jingle Bells” when played in 7/4!) but the final tune, Johnny Mandel’s obscure “A Christmas Love Song”, deserves to be heard more often. These selections will offer festive joy for many Christmases to come.

Buy this fabulous music on CD for the opportunity to read Ray’s detailed and personal liner notes. The entire package is well-produced with band photos, a photo of the three Browns, and terrific photos of Ray in the office and in the studio. The recording engineers also deserve recognition for crafting an outstanding mix and overall sound. The music is balanced and clear in every format whether CD player, streamed to Bluetooth speakers, or simply played through the cell phone—a significant achievement considering the innate challenges of recording such a large ensemble.

Ray Brown wrote a book–a GREAT book for a GREAT big band! Just as favorite stories delight when re-read, the music on this album holds up to repeated listening and will remain a pleasure in perpetuity.

-Cookie Coogan for JAZFAX

REVIEW:

Ray Brown has had a successful career as a trumpeter and arranger for the likes of Stan Kenton, Bill Watrous, Bill Berry, the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut Big Band and the Full Faith and Credit Big Band. He formed his own big band, Ray Brown’s Great Big Band, in 1994. They gigged around the Bay Area and recorded two albums before Brown disbanded in 2016. In 2022, he reformed the band to record I Could Write a Book (Summit – 821), a two-disc set containing 21 of his charts. Most of the selections are standards, including the closing five tracks of Christmas songs. The best word to describe the music on the album is exciting. Brown’s charts are superb and demanding. The players are well suited to the task of bring the music to life. The ensemble playing is tight with sparkling solo work sprinkled throughout. It is a fortunate for modern big band enthusiasts that Brown brought these players together once more to add this wonderful exclamation point to a terrific band.

-Joseph Lang for Jersey Jazz

REVIEW:

Big and meaty big band charts reminiscent of Billy Mays’ days with Sinatra are served up by arranger, conductor, composer and vibes man Ray Brown as he leads his 20 piece big band through a two disc set that covers everything from originals to standards to even some Christmas tunes. Talk about variety!

The first disc is comprised of confident and bright section work by the brass and reeds on pieces like “How About You” , with some hip piano work provided by Eddie Mendenhall on the slinky “Blues For Two Ks”. A fun “The City Medley” is like a musical tour bus, touring through tunes from “Chicago” to “San Francisco” and, of course, “New York”. Some nice bopping sax work by Mary Fettig and Charlie McCarthy digs in deep on a hard driving “The Fugue/Airegin”. Hold on tight!

The second discs has a clever samba’d read of “ It Might As Well Be Spring”, with Brown himself hammering away on the easy swing of “Stella By Starlight” , with John Gove’s trombone nice and velvety for “If I Should Lose You”. For the Christmas cheer, the horns are gracefully elegiac on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, and Don Becks piano taps into Vince Guaraldi on a warm “Christmas Time Is Here.” Most tasty is an obscure “A Christmas Love Song” that deserves a second and third listen, , with the sax section doing some tricky work on the sleigh ride of “Jingle Bells”. This is a collection of charts that charm-check it out.

-George Harris for Jazz Weekly

REVIEW:

Celebrating twenty-seven years of performing together, Ray Brown’s Great Big Band has reassembled to record one last time. With this CD, you will enjoy over 100 minutes of authentic big band jazz on two-compact discs, a double set of extraordinary music.

It all started when Ray Brown was in eighth grade. His brother Steve played him a Maynard Ferguson recording of a tune called “Where’s Teddy.” Young Ray fell in love with the big band sound. The tune was composed by Maynard’s tenor sax man, Willie Maiden. Funny how things work out. Thirteen years later, Ray Brown found himself sitting next to Willie Maiden on the Stan Kenton Bandstand. It was fifteen years after that unimaginable meeting with the man whose music had inspired him to become a jazz musician, composer and arranger, Ray Brown established his Great Big Band. If you are a big band lover, this album is for you!

On Disc one you will enjoy familiar songs like “Spring is Here” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” as well as patriotic beauties like “America the Beautiful” all spiced up with big band arrangements. The title tune (“I could Write A Book”) is included along with popular songs like “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “How About You” and “How Long Has this Been Going on?” Every arrangement is full of spunk and the fire that a big band brings to the stage. Ray Brown is a former jazz trumpeter and arranger for both the Stan Kenton and Count Basie bands. His beautiful arrangements let each player step forward to show off their multi-talents. For example, on “How Long Has This Been Going On” Steve Brown’s amazing guitar talent is showcased in a beautiful way.

-Dee Dee McNeil for Making A Scene

I Could Write A Book – Ray Brown’s Great Big Band (SPECIAL 2-CD SET)

Tracks:

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