Jazz Articles about Ruby Braff

Ruby Braff/Pizzarellis: C'est Magnifique!

by George Kanzler
April 7, 2008

It's not surprising that Tony Bennett, as well as the late Frank Sinatra, was a fan of the cornetist Ruby Braff (1927-2003). Like those singers, Braff had a life-long affair with the canon of (mostly) American songs known as pop standards. And like them, Braff brought fine-tuned musicality, craft and consummate artistry to interpreting that canon. He also brought a conspiratorial intimacy to his performances, as though he was letting you in on some special nuance or secret that only ...

Ruby Braff Quartet: Watch What Happens

by AAJ Staff
March 7, 2003

This review also serves as a tribute and an obituary for a marvelous jazz cornetist. Ruby Braff died on February 9, 2003 in North Chatham, Mass., at age 75. The cause of death was given as “complications related to emphysema and asthma." The cornetist, born in Boston on March 16, 1927, said that his major influence was Louis Armstrong. He had no formal education beyond high school; he said that he attended “Louis Armstrong University." Braff was an outspoken and ...

Ruby Braff: I Hear Music

by AAJ Staff
November 1, 2002

Ruby Braff has compiled an album of sheer pleasure in quintet work. His well shaped cornet sound, and the interplay of the instruments through each cut is a shining example of mastery of pacing and a sense of timing. Within each of the cuts is a conversation between the instruments where each one says their version of the melody in turn. Cut 2, a medley of “Chicago” and “My Kind of Town” also has hints of Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold ...

Ruby Braff and Ralph Sutton: R & R

by C. Michael Bailey
October 17, 2002

Two Like Minds...

Two classic traditional jazz recordings have finally made it to compact disc. The Ralph Sutton—Ruby Braff Duet (Chaz Jazz 101-2. 1979) and The Ralph Sutton—Ruby Braff Quartet (Chaz Jazz 102-2, 1979) have been re-released on a single Chiaroscuro CD— R & R: Ruby Braff and Ralph Sutton. This disc is a welcome addition to the digital age as this is the jazz of the 1920s and ‘30s as played by two of the greatest practitioners of the ...

Ruby Braff: Music For The Still Of The Night

by Mike Neely
September 1, 2001

Ruby Braff has been so good for so long that it’s easy to take him for granted. He suffers from what a friend of mine calls the “Zoot Sims Syndrome" a situation in which another great release is not given its due because what did you expect? Well, Ruby Braff keeps cranking them out: creative performances with inspired bands. He also keeps attracting (like Sims consistently did) some of the best musicians jazz has to offer, his latest recording Music ...

Ruby Braff: Ruby Braff With Strings: In the Wee Small Hours in New York and London

by C. Michael Bailey
March 1, 2000

The Night Watchman. Ruby Braff may very well be the conscience of jazz. He has been performing for fifty years, always at a high level. His style is of an earlier time as is his instrument. He performs on the instrument of Joe King Oliver and stays mostly in the lower register. His performance is timeless. In no way does it sound old fashioned. A treasure is what Ruby Braff is. With Strings is nominally a tribute to Bing Crosby ...