Brown, Ellis, Ermoll Jazz Masters

Sure, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis have been recorded together a squillion times and sure, they always play well together and sure, they swing and here they are again, doing what they do best and of course, they do not disappoint. What makes this recording more interesting is the rest of the band. Here the two Americans are paired with some great Australian players on a disc recorded at Trafalgar Studios in Sydney back in the late Nineties. Pianist Serge Ermoll keeps things hot with his chunky comping and elegantly energetic lines whilst Barry Duggan holds down the reeds chair magnificently. The drums are played by none other than the incomparable wild man of Aussie drumming, Stewie Speers with this being, to the best of my knowledge, his last recording gig before he went to the big venue in the sky. A fitting finale for a great drummer. This disc is no doubt hard to find now but if you come across a copy you could do a lot worse. The Americans sound like they're having a great time with their Aussie cousins and you will too.