Ruby Braff: the cornet playing years

cornet74 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 13 May 2013 Posts: 504

Before I start here I'll ask that anyone who sights any misapprehensions on my part or any errors please correct them here.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that until about a year ago, I only had a most minor knowledge of Ruby Braff. How he could have been off my radar is beyond me. But better late than never...

From what I can piece together, everything Braff did on cornet came after he had firmly established himself as a trumpet player. Somewhere along the line he seemed to gravitate towards the cornet. Sadly, there is very little of him on youtube. But fortunately what does exist is excellent. Unlike many of his contemporaries on cornet, he was quite a modern player. I recently saw a YouTube I had been looking for over the course of many years. And that is a trumpet/cornet extravaganza produced by, I think George Wein, and is from 1966. In addition to Braff, the other cornet players were Thad Jones and And Bobby Hackett, both playing the Getzen Eterna, and with two very different styles, but I will say both in excellent form. It's my most recent cornet purchases that came to me quite accidentally after my Yamaha cornet was destroyed in an accident. I did opt for a copper bell and the ML version. An excellent horn.

On this recording, and from pictures of Braff from the same period, Braff is playing a shep crook cornet, of which he seemed to have quite a few. There are also pictures of him sitting in what appears to be his home or apt. Among a multitude of mouthpieces and horns. By the mid-1970s, he seemed to settle on a long Bach and Benge which he played with various mouthpieces. Before that and during the shep. Crook period, one picture shows him playing a horn with what appears to be a Wick mouthpiece. I've come to since learn that he favored mouthpieces in the VB 10.5 diameter so I'm assuming he played 5 series Wicks as its the same diameter as the VB 10.5. Again, an assumption. But given his contemporaries such as Hackett and Davis who played a VB 10.5C mpc., my assumption is somewhat informed.

In this 1966 concert, he plays a lot of straight 8th notes and in a harmonically sophisticated harmonically advanced manner. In the 1970s/80s youtubes, he mixes up quite deftly both swing and bop harmonic constructs. His use of the melodic minor scale put him squarely in the bop camp, although his rhythmic constructs are firmly rooted in swing. His time was impeccable and he tended to play right on the beat rather than slightly behind the beat. His use of octave displacement and at fast tempos, as well as his flexibility made him a formidable soloist.

It's interested to note that he was born the same year as Miles Davis, 1926, although he chose to use the swing concept predominantly in his playing. In some ways, he is similar to Ellington in that his harmonic/ melodic and rhythmic devices are rooted in swing; the more advanced he became he never abandoned swing as the medium to frame his melodic/harmonic/rhythmic phrasing and presentation. In moments of sardonic levity, he introduces himself as Miles Davis. Strictly within the rubric of cornet playing, he was very much what appears to be a downstream player. And he was capable of going from the very soft to the very loud (And Vs Vs) very quickly and in a dramatic show of a formidable, but not gratuitous, technique.

Age did not appear to slow him down. He maintained virtually all of his attributes right to the end of his career.

Obviously, I have huge gaps in my knowledge of his playing, so any listening suggestions, corrections, additions or clarity in general would be very much appreciated.

Thank you,
c74
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A.N.A.Mendez · Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 6:48 pm Post subject:

He's a monster
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Turkle · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:18 am Post subject:

I love his playing so much. He's sort of the flip side of Wild Bill Davison - Very smooth and mellow, harmonically sophisticated, with a melodic approach to the horn. Just a sweet, sweet cornet sound.

My favorite records of his are the duet ones he recorded with just him on cornet and Ellis Larkins on piano. Every Sunday, I play jazz at a cocktail bar with just my pianist and I, and I must have listened to the Braff/Larkins records about a million times while preparing for those gigs!
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homecookin · Heavyweight Member Joined: 07 Nov 2013 Posts: 868

I discovered Ruby Braff about 45 years ago when I was in college.
I was at my dad's house digging through his massive record collection and I found a couple of Ruby Braff albums. I haven't listened to Ruby Braff in a long while, but after reading your post cornet74 I am definitely going to get back into listening to Ruby Braff
Beautiful playing.

Richard III · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:51 am Post subject:

I've been looking for a piano player to do the Dick Hyman side of the duets he did. As soon as I mention that and they listen to the recordings, they lose interest. I've wanted to do a Ruby Braff inspired concert for some time. This is a perfect example of what I'm looking for in sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-3g4kvngv4
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James Becker · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 8:45 am Post subject:

A funny and true story.

During one of Ruby's visits to our shop our woodwind tech John walked into the showroom to the sounds of Ruby playing. At the time not knowing who he was, John's reaction to Ruby's sound was either this old guy has lost his chops or was trying to sound like Ben Webster. Just then Ruby finished his phrase, took the horn from his lips and proudly stated "That's my best Ben Webster", John was completely blown away!
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Turkle · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 9:48 am Post subject:

Turkle · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 6:51 pm Post subject:

Never mind, I answered my own question. From this article:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/20113-ruby-braff-bold-brash-brass

He played a Benge cornet with a Wick 5 mouthpiece. Nice. He mentions he loves the Benge because it's so lightweight. That's precisely what I love about my King Master. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for a good eBay deal on a Benge cornet, you never know...
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derby_mute · Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 6:48 am Post subject:

Braff's early recordings are on an F. Besson Paris trumpet (his first session on lp is from June 1954). By approximately 1958 he was playing an F. Besson Paris cornet. Bobby Hackett was playing one at about the same time.

Braff played the Besson until the 1970s when he started playing a E. Benge 3 long model cornet - silver plated. A later photo I found shows him with a brass lacquer horn, so possibly he switched in the late 1990s, early 2000s.

His last session was recorded in 2002 so he spent give or take 44 years on cornet.

Regarding Braff playing "bop" lines, most if not all of the interviews I've read with him mention only Louis Armstrong as an influence, although he clearly stated that he was influenced by swing-era saxophonists (particularly Lester Young) and wanted a saxophone as his first instrument. But his parents bought him a trumpet. I don't think he was much interested in bop. His interest was in playing popular songs of the 1920s-1940s.

He was mostly self-taught although I did read where he took some lessons in the 1970s for help with his embouchure - I think from Jimmy Maxwell.
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bunny · Veteran Member Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 230

Some great early Ruby on trumpet here, although video/sound quality isn't great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbZrocd6vs

Ruby, Bobby, and Wild Bill- three individualists on the cornet who all started out influenced by Louis and wound up with very unique styles.

Turkle · Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:01 am Post subject:

derby_mute · Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:01 am Post subject:

derby_mute · Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:05 am Post subject:

A nice interview with Ruby can be found here: https://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/jim-godbolt-interviews-ruby-braff/
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Cornets:
Selmer model #43
Selmer Concept
Baldwin Custom (Blessing Artist stencil)
1923 Buescher shepherd's crook
1880 F. Besson Paris
Trumpets:
1931 Cleveland Greyhound
1935 Olds French model

Turkle · Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:23 am Post subject:

cornet74 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 13 May 2013 Posts: 504

jhatpro · Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:58 pm Post subject:

I remember him playing to a very small audience on a rainy nght at Chicago’s Streetervile Holiday Inn around 1974. He played beautifully with no griping about the weather or the tiny turnout.

I recall thinking this guy is the definition of a pro.
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