This electrifying 1955 recording of "Cherokee" from the album Study In Brown captures the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet at the height of their powers. Ray Noble's 1938 composition, with its demanding 64-bar AABA form in B-flat and rapid-fire chord changes, has long served as the ultimate test of a jazz musician's technical command. At a blistering tempo of approximately 350 BPM, trumpeter Clifford Brown tears through two choruses with the astonishing speed, clarity, and melodic invention that made him one of the most acclaimed brass players in jazz history. Tenor saxophonist Harold Land follows with a single chorus, holding his own at this extreme tempo with fluid, well-constructed lines. Pianist Richie Powell, younger brother of Bud Powell, contributes a single chorus that reveals his command of bebop piano language. Drummer Max Roach closes the solo section with a characteristically musical drum solo over the form, demonstrating the structural approach to drum improvisation that revolutionized the instrument's role in jazz. Study In Brown, recorded for EmArcy Records, stands as one of the quintessential hard bop albums, and this performance of "Cherokee" exemplifies the technical brilliance and creative fire that defined this tragically short-lived ensemble.
