Dizzy Gillespie

I Remember Clifford

Originally written and arranged for trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1956, this version of Benny Golson's tribute to the late Clifford Brown, 'I Remember Clifford,' has become a favorite ballad of jazz trumpeters the world over. It has been performed and recorded by artists as diverse as Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer and Kenny Dorham.

The piece is written to feature a trumpet soloist throughout. The backgrounds underpinning the solo are typical Golson: warm, tasteful, and harmonically rich. The trumpet soloist is given a rest starting at bar 31, where the trombones take over the melody, followed by the saxophones at bar 39. The piece ultimately builds to an emotional climax at the restatement of the introduction at bar 63. There is an optional 8va for the trumpet soloist at this point in order to add to the intensity.

This version is based on a reworked version of Golson's original chart. For example, the trombone soli at bar 31 is not present on the original recording, while the saxophone soli at bar 39 is noticeably different. This reworked version was recorded by the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars in 2000, featuring a beautiful performance from trumpeter Claudio Roditi. This arrangement is written for a trumpet soloist with standard big band instrumentation and is based on the original set of parts - this is not a transcription. We hope you enjoy playing this arrangement as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you!