by Kathy O’Connell, Host, Kids Corner on XPN

Sometimes fate makes a musical moment historically significant. That’s what happened in 1956, when jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown appeared on Detroit’s nighttime TV show, “Soupy’s On.” In the 1950’s, comedian Soupy Sales was the brightest star on Detroit television, with a daily kids’ show (“Lunch with Soupy Sales”) in the afternoon and a jazz-oriented talk show (“Soupy’s On”) every night at 11 pm. In his autobiography, “Soupy Sez,” Soupy describes “Soupy’s On”:

“It was a mixture of slapstick, sketch comedy, and music…One of the great joys of the show was that I was able to invite many of the greatest jazz musicians and singers of the era, who often passed through Detroit as they toured the country in the mid-to-late 1950’s. These were the halcyon days of jazz, when bop and bebop were sweeping the nation. Detroit had about 22 jazz clubs that you could go to every night of the week and catch somebody good. Among the greats who appeared and performed live on my show were Count Basie, Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Lester Young, and Clifford Brown, who made his only televised appearance just before he was tragically killed, at the age of 26, in a car accident while traveling to a gig from Philadelphia to Chicago in June, 1956…”

Clifford Brown’s sound on the trumpet has been described as “warm and round.” Neil Tesser wrote of Brown: “(he) could play with a speed and precision that challenged, and at some times eclipsed, even the virtuosity of his own idols…But even more than that, Clifford became known for a brain-boggling capacity long, complex, and stunningly well-constructed solos.” In his personal life, Brown stayed away from the drugs and alcohol that had ruined too many jazz artists’ lives. His addictions were chess and doughnuts.

Clifford Brown and Max Roach formed the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet, called “a high water mark of the hard bop style.” Sonny Rollins played with the Quintet, saying of Brown: “He showed me it was possible to live a good, clean life and still be a jazz musician.” In June 1956, Clifford Brown and pianist Richie Powell were being driven from Philadelphia to Chicago by Brown’s wife Nancy for the band’s next appearance. Driving on a wet road, she lost control of the car and all three were killed.

It is only by a twist of fate that the video of Brown’s appearance on “Soupy’s On” exists. Working with no budget in those days before videotape, Soupy wanted a filmed record of his late night talk show. It just happens that the one episode he recorded for posterity is the one featuring Clifford Brown’s performance. This historically significant piece of film appears in Ken Burns’ documentary “Jazz.”

Clifford Brown on “Soupy’s On” (introduced by Soupy Sales):