"Joy Spring" is a 1954

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

composition by Clifford Brown that became his signature work. The title was his pet name for his wife Larue.

Early history

Brown first recorded "Joy Spring" in a studio session led by him on August 6, 1954, at Capitol Recording Studios, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, with

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliff ...

(tenor sax),

Richie Powell Richard Powell (September 5, 1931 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was not assisted in his musical development by Bud, his older and better known brother, but both played predominantly in the bebop style ...

(piano), George Morrow (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

), and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

(drums). They did two

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

s – and . Six days later (August 12, 1954), at the same studio, Brown, as leader, recorded

Jack Montrose Jack Montrose (December 30, 1928 – February 7, 2006) was a jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger. After attending college in Los Angeles, he worked with Jerry Gray and then Art Pepper. Montrose also did arrangements for Clifford Brown. He became k ...

's arrangement of it with

Stu Williamson Stu Williamson (May 14, 1933 – October 1, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter and valve trombonist. Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, Williamson was the younger brother of jazz pianist Claude Williamson. In 1949, he moved to Los Angeles, wh ...

(

valve trombone A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

(

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

), Bob Gordon (

baritone sax The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrab ...

), Russ Freeman (piano),

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Caree ...

(

), and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...

(drums). That take has been issued on several albums, including '' Jazz Messages'' (

Jazztone Concert Hall Society, Inc., was a New York City-based membership-subscription-oriented record production and distribution company founded in 1946 by Samuel Mulik Josefowitz (1921–2015) and David Josefowitz (1918–2015), brothers. The New York o ...

), ''Clifford Brown & Max Roach'' (

Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...

), and ''Jazz Imortal – Featuring Zoot Sims'' (1988;

). Larue Anderson, before marrying Brown, had been a classical music student at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

. Without any knowledge of jazz theory – and, in particular, without any knowledge of bebop articulations, phrasing, and the use of half-step progressions, tritone substitutions, and other musical features of the style – she had begun writing a thesis titled "Classics versus Jazz".

, her friend who introduced her to Brown, took her aside and said: "Honey, the whole world is not built around tonic / dominant." He convinced her to the point that she became a jazz devotee.

Covers

In 1985,

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and r ...

wrote lyrics to Brown's music and the song was performed and published by Manhattan Transfer on their album ''

Vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

'' with the title "Sing Joy Spring". * 1955, version in the studio album '' Arranged by Montrose'' of

* 1957,

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

trio with Ray Brown,

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raise ...

At the Opera House ''At the Opera House'' is a 1958 live album by Ella Fitzgerald. The album presents a recording of the 1957 Jazz at the Philharmonic Concerts. This series of live jazz concerts was devised by Fitzgerald's manager Norman Granz; they ran from 1944 ...

'' * 1958,

Lem Winchester Lem Winchester (March 19, 1928 – January 13, 1961) was an American jazz vibraphone player. Early life Lemuel Winchester was born in Wilmington, Delaware. His parents were politician William J. Winchester and Alverta Winchester. Career Formerly ...

and

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

in the album '' A Tribute to Clifford Brown'' * 1960,

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ti ...

with his quintet in the live album ''

On the Sunny Side of the Strip ''On the Sunny Side of the Strip'' is a 1960 live album by the George Shearing quintet, one of five live albums recorded by the quintet. Track listing #"Jordu" (Duke Jordan) – 4:10 #"As I Love You" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 3:15 #"Conf ...

'' * 1961,

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

on his debut album ''

New Vibe Man in Town ''New Vibe Man in Town'' is the debut album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1961 and released on the RCA label.Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

live version in the album '' Joy Spring'' * 1981,

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

with his quartet in the album '' The Dolphin'' * 1982,

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives f ...

in the album '' Born To Be Blue'' * 1985,

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

Emily Remler Emily Remler (September 18, 1957 – May 4, 1990) was an American jazz guitarist, active from the late 1970s until her death in 1990. Early life and influences Born in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,Staff"Emily Remler Dies On Australia Tour; Guit ...

in the album ''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi P ...

''. * 1989,

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gr ...

in the album ''

Things Ain't What They Used To Be "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons. Background In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington ...

'' * 1992,

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became hi ...

in the tribute album '' I Remember Clifford'' with

Ed Calle Ed Calle (born ''Eduardo J. Calle'') is a musician from Miami, Florida. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Calle plays the saxophones, flutes, clarinets, EWI, and keyboards, engineers projects, and performs vocals. He also composes and arrange ...

and again in 2003 in the album ''Trumpet Evolution'' * 1993, Doug Sert in the album ''Joy Spring'' * 1994,

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generatio ...

, in the tribute album '' Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown'' * 1995,

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

in his album '' Tito's Idea'' * 1996,

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ' ...

in the album '' Collage'' * 1998,

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

in the album '' Ten Fingers, One Voice'' * 2003,

in his album '' Joy Spring (The Swinging Side Of Larry Coryell)'' "Joy Spring (The Swinging Side Of Larry Coryell)"
on Discogs. * 2007,

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

with his posthumous release in the album ''Time Out'' * 2012,

Paolo Fresu Paolo Fresu ( sc, Pàulu; born 10 February 1961) is an Italian jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, as well as a composer and arranger of music. Career Born in Berchidda, Sardinia, he picked up the trumpet at the age of 11, and played in the ba ...

with Marco Tamburini,

Fabrizio Bosso Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to: * Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver * Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian politician * Fabrizio Brienza (born 1969), Italian m ...

, Flavio Boltro,

Franco Ambrosetti Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Let's Get Lost'' – "Joy Spring" : 1999: ''

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First me ...

'' – "Joy Spring"

References

{{Authority control 1950s jazz standards 1954 compositions 1954 songs Jazz compositions Songs with lyrics by Jon Hendricks Songs with music by Clifford Brown