Artist

Ruby Braff

Last updated: 1 day ago

One of the great swing/Dixieland cornetists, Ruby Braff went through long periods of his career unable to find work because his music was considered out-of-fashion, but his fortunes improved by the 1970s. A very expressive player who in later years liked to build his solos up to a low note, Braff's playing was instantly recognizable within seconds.

Braff mostly worked around Boston in the late '40s. He teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:61EY7PIU7wT3t3766ZTvqB">Pee Wee Russell</a> when the clarinetist was making a comeback (they recorded live for Savoy), and after moving to New York in 1953, he fit easily into a variety of Dixieland and mainstream settings. Braff recorded for Vanguard as a leader, and with <a href="spotify:artist:3r3wpxv745YZLTjE6aqwIw">Vic Dickenson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1rQ8RuN5MY5dBeBz81fIho">Buck Clayton</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1QTyeOWOgAXxQQf32kPLAL">Urbie Green</a>. He was one of the stars of <a href="spotify:artist:1rQ8RuN5MY5dBeBz81fIho">Buck Clayton</a>'s Columbia jam sessions, and in the mid-'50s worked with <a href="spotify:artist:1pBuKaLHJlIlqYxQQaflve">Benny Goodman</a>. But, despite good reviews and occasional recordings, work was hard for Braff to come by at times. In the 1960s, he was able to get jobs by being with <a href="spotify:artist:0yGSMADWCnOYJAoOXGwkgc">George Wein's Newport All-Stars</a> and at jazz festivals, but it was not until the cornetist formed a quartet with guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:6gfYnWOaiGqyRWxKj7No38">George Barnes</a>, in 1973, that he became more secure. Afterward, Braff was heard in many small-group settings, including duets with <a href="spotify:artist:5RRGjsMRTbm0kqvZcFplZT">Dick Hyman</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1HDR9tHRZtaRr3nnuBilmA">Ellis Larkins</a> (he had first met up with the latter in the 1950s), quintets with <a href="spotify:artist:7sBx432MZn1MzHeYHAA5qr">Scott Hamilton</a>, and matching wits with <a href="spotify:artist:7sgBK9xjqtnAFTfm2SvWMR">Howard Alden</a>. He remained one of the greats of mainstream jazz until his death in 2003. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

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